Intellectual Property

and Its Conventions

Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions;
literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images
used in commerce. It is protected in law by patent, copyright and
trademark, which enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit
from what they invent or create.

Concept of Intellectual
Property (IP)
The term 'property' is of widest importance. The Supreme Court defined property
to mean "the highest right a man can have to anything being that right which one
has to lands or tenements, goods or chattels which does not depend on another's
courtesy. It includes ownership of estates and interests in corporeal things, and
also rights, such as trademarks, copyrights, patents and even rights 'in personam"
capable of transfer or transmission, such as debts, and signifies a beneficial right to
or athing considered as having a money value, especially with reference to transfer
or succession, and of their capacity of being acquired".
Property may be corporeal and incorporeal. Corporeal property is always visible
and tangible. It relates to material things. Whereas, incorporeal property is
intangible and having no physicalexistence. Intellectual property rights deals with
intangible property.
Intellectual property is a legal concept which refers tocreations of the mind for
which exclusive rights are recognised. Under IP Law, owners are granted certain
Cclusive rights to a variety of intangible asets, such as musical, literary and Cin th
artistic works, discoveries, inventions and words, phrases, symbols and design
ghts, trade dress and in some jurisdiction trade secrets. Concepta
P cannot be defined or identified by its own physical parameters. Generally, Theories C
trademarks, copyrights, patents and trade secrets are referred to as intellectual " Internatior
to Intellect
property.
 copyright. However, certificate of registration of

erevcopr
iladtienngce¢
History of IP and the entries nade therein serve as prima fucie
with reference to
AVenetian Lawof 1474 made the first systematic attempt a court of law dispute ie
to protect an invention in the fornm of patent. In the same ownership of copyright. Application for tn
entury, Johannes Gutenberg contributed to the o igin of filed inCopyright office. copyright Can be
the first 'Copyright System' in the world. Computer software or programme can also be
Although, the British Statute of Anne (1710) and the "literary work'. As per Copyright Act, 1957, of registered
India,'
a
Statute of Monopolies (1624) are nowseen as the origins of work' includes computer programmes, tableiteranad
the copyright and patent law respectively. Modern usage of compilations, including computer database,
the terms dates back to l867 with the founding of the 'Source Code' has also to be supplied along
North German Federation whose Constitution granted application for registration of copyright for with the
Iegislative power over protection of the IP to the federation, products. softwite
after the merger of Paris Convention (1883) and the Berne The 2012 amendments make Indian
Convention (1886) as adopted IP in their common title. compliant with the Internet Treaties like the Copyright La
WIPO
Objectives of IP Intellectual Property Organisation) Copyright (Wots
Trn
(WCT) and WIPO Performances and
" To protect the rights of the product, its innovators, (WPPT).
Phonograms Treat:
inventors, research sponsors and the public.
To eliminate the infringement, improper exploitation Industrial Property
and abuse of the project's intellectual assets belonging to Industrial property means a property that is used ig
the product or the other persons. manufacturing, processing or warehousing. It is a kind
Tooptimise the environment and incentives for research intellectual property. It relates to creations of the human
and for the creation of new knowledge. mind. Such creations are inventions and industrial desiom
" To promote linkages with industry and stimulate Industrial property includes trademarks,patents, industral
research through developing and utilising novel designs, geographical indications, trade secrets, etc.
technologies and creative works for commercialisation These are as follows
and plough back resources to the interested parties.
1. Trademark
" To promote creativity and innovation. Atrademark is typically a name, word, phrase, logo, symba.
" To ensure fair and equitable distribution of all benefits
accruing from all innovations and inventions. design, image, or a combination of these elements. There s
also a range of non-conventional trademarks comprising
Types of Intellectual Property marks which do not fall into these standard categories, sud
as those based on colour, smell, or sound (like jingles. A
Intellectual property is usually divided into two branches trademark cannot be offensive.
Copyright According to Section 2(1) (zb) of the Trademarks Act, 1%
Copyright is a bundle of rights given by the law to the of India, a trademark should be capable ot Du
creators of literacy, dramatic, musical and artistic works and represented graphically and should also be capable 0
the producers of cinematography and sound recordings. distinguishing the goods or services of one person tu
The rights provided under Copyright law include the rights those of others. tothe
of reproduction of the work, communication of the work to The function of trademark is to give an indication
manufactur
the public, adaptation of the work and translation of the tothe
purchaser or a possible purchaser as indicationofbi
work. Ideas or concepts do not have copyright protection. quality of the goods or services, to give an senvio
goods or thei
Copyrights of works of the countries mentioned in the eye or the trade source from which the Pas on

International Copyright Order are protected in India, as if come, or the trade hands through which they
such works are Indian works. way to the market. brvugt
of tradenark
MarksAt
The term of copyright in a work shallnot exceed that limit In India, the first legislation in respect
Merchandise
which is enjoyed by it in its country of origin. Acquisition of on the statute book was the Indian Trademarks whit
copyright is automatic and it does not require any formality. 1889. This act was followed by the adopted
Copyright comes into existence as soon as a work is created Accordingly, the Trademarks Act, 1999 was
and no formality is required to be completed for acquiring came into force on 15th September, 2005.
 2Patent
A
patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, leatures, such as the shape of an article, or two dimnensional
features, such as patterns, lines or colour"
whihlsaproduct or process that provides, in general, a
newway off doing something, or offers a new technical Industrial designs refer to the creative activity which resules
problem. This right is in the ornamental or formal appearance of a product and
xNution too a conferred by Patent
otice. It is arightfor an inventor to exploit his invention "design right' refers to a novel or original design that is
subjecttothe provisions of Patents Act, 1970 for alimited accorded to the proprietor of a validiy registered design.
periodoftime. Industrial designs are arn element of intellectual property.
Theobjectof.Patent law is to encourage scierntific research, In principle, the owner of a registered industrial design or of
new technology and industrial progress. The price of the a design patent has the right to prevent thrid parties from
grantofmonopolyis the disclosure of the invention at the making, slling or importing articles bearing or embodying a
which after the expiry of the fixed period (i.e.
office, design which is a copy, or substantially a copy of the
L Patent t
protected design, when such acts are undertaken for
years)ofthe monopoly, passes into the ppublic domain.
4 20 commercial purposes. Such rights are perpetual.
Theefundamental principle of patent law is that a patent is Under the TRIPS Agreement, minimum standards of
granted onlyfor. an invention which must have novelty and
protection of industrial designs have been provided. As a
utility. It is. essential for the validity of apatent that it must developing country, India has already amended its national
e the inventor's own disCOvery as opposed to mere
legislation to provide for these minimalstandards.
verification of what was already known before the date of The existing legislation on industrial designs in India is
dthe patent. Apatentable invention, apart from being anew contained in the New Designs Act, 2000 and this Act serves
. manufacture, must also be useful.
its purpose well in the rapid changes in technology and
Protection of Inventions Act was adopted in 1883. These international developments.
acts were consolidated in 1888 as the Inventions and India has also achieved a mature status in the 'field' of
Design Act. The 'Patents Bill' was introduced in the Lok industrial designs and in view of globalisation of the
Sabha on 21st September, 1965, which however lapsed. In economy, the presernt legislation is aligned with the changed
1967,again an amended bill was introduced, which was technical and commercial scenario and made to confom to
referred to as Joint Parliamentary Committee and on the international trends in design administration.
Einal recomnmendation of the committee, the Patents Act,
1970 was passed. The Act came into force on 20th April, 4.Geographical Indications
1972. A Geographical Indication (GI) is a sign used on products
Some important facts related to patent are that have a specific geographical origin and possessess
E Evergreening of Patent is not Allowed In order to be qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. In order
patentable, an improvement on something known to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as
before or a combination of different matters already originating in a given place.
known, should be something more than a mere In addition, the qualities, characteristics or reputation of the
Workshop improvement, and must independently satisfy product should be essentially due to the place of origin.
the test of invention or an inventive step. Since, the qualities depend on the geographical place of
must produce a new result, or a new article or a better production, there is a clear link between the product and its
u cheaper article than before. The new subject matter original place of production.
must involve 'invention' over what-is-old. A geographical indication right enables those who have the
" k
Allows Licensing This strikes balance right to use the indication toprevent its use by a third party
between twoCompulsory
objectives, i.e. rewarding patentees for whose product does not conform to the applicable standards.
innovation and to make sure that patented products, For example, in the jurisdictions in which the Darjeeling
inparticularly pharmaceutical ones, are available to public geographical indication is protected, producers of Darjeeling
afforddevel
able opripincges.
and underdeveloped countries at tea can exclude the use of the termn Darjeeling' for tea not
grown in their tea gardens or not produced according to the
standards set out in thecode of practice for the geographical
.Indust
per riWIPO,
al Desi"ingn a legal sense, an industrial design
indication.

Constinidusttutesritheal ornamental or aesthetic aspect of an article.

may consist of three dimensional
However, a protected geographical indication does
enable the holder to prevent someone from not
mnaking a
design product using the same techniques as those set out in the
 standards for that indication. Protection for a geographical The property in any article or reason of his own
indication isusually obtained by acquiring a right over the labour is never denied him; the labour of his mind is mechanical
sign that constitutes the indication. less worth of the protection of the law. Aperson has noa
natural right to the fruits of his labour. and that this
5. Trade Secret should
be recognised as his property, whether in tangibl.
Broadly speaking, any confidential business infonmation intangible term.
which provides an enterprise a competitive edge, may be
considered as a trade secret. Trade secrets encompass John Locke Theses
manufacturing or industrial secrets and commercial secrets. John Locke was an English philosopher and physician, widely
The unauthorised use of such information by persons other regarded as one of the most influential of Enlighitenment thinkers
than the holder is regarded as an unfair practice and a and commonly known as the 'Father of Liberalisrr'.
violation of the trade secret. John Locke has two theses

Depending on the legal system, the protection of trade Everyone has property right in the labour of his own body,The
labour of his body and the work of his hands are properly his
secrets forms part of the general concept of protection The appropriation of an unowned object (ideas or theories)
against unfair competition or is based on specific provisions arises out of application of human labour to that object.
or case law on the protection of confidential information. Mixing one's own labour with unowned thing confers upon a
The subject matter of trade secrets is usually defined in property right in the whole thing. However, after appopriation,
broad terms and includes sales methods, distribution there must remain objects of similar quality in sufficient quanty
methods, consumer profiles, advertising strategies, lists of for others i.e. 'Enough and as good left for other'.
suppliers and clients, and manufacturing processes.
The final determination of what information constitutes a Utilitarian Theory
trade secret, will depend on the circumstances of, each Utilitarian is institution socially beneficial. Act
individual case, and unfair practices in respect of secret utilitarianism is a utilitarian theory of ethics which states
information include industrial or commercial espionage,
breach of contract and breach of confidence. that a person's act is morally right, if and only if, it produces
the best possible results in that specific situation.
Theories of Intellectual Act utilitarianism is based on the principle of utility,
which is the basis of all utilitarian theories and is best
Property summed up in Bentham's well-known phrase, 'the greatest
happiness for the greatest number'. It states that we
There are four main justifications offered for Intellectual
Property Rights (IPRs), which includes natural rights have intellectual property systems because it has the effect
theory, utilitarian theory, ethic and reward theory, on the betterment of the society. Its correctness is to be
personality-based or personhood theory. assessed in the economic success of the countries.
This theory is advocated by economists such as Bentham
The NaturalRights Theory and Mill and assume that the objective of any policy should
It is the theory of bulk of right that is vestedonly on human be the attainment of the greatest good for the greatest
being. In another sense, natural law is a doctrine of rights number. However, utilitarian arguments can be cut tor or
which are fundamental element to survive as human being against the claims of intellectual property rights.
onthis universe. Specially, great contribution of natural law The utility gains from increased incentives for innovation
is human rights which exist in this days, in very powerful must be weighed against the losses incurred from
ways. monopolisation and their diminished diffusion. Thus, the
The natural rights theory considers that everyone has a problem arises, as the benefits gained cannot be measured
natural property right on his ideas. Aperson has a right to against the losses suffered.
own the creation of his mind in the same manner he owns Such kind of theories have never been successtul as we
Creation of his labour. When a person is deprived of what he would expect them to be. There is an objection from
has created, there is a violation of IP. economists. When intellectual property is given exclusive
The problem is that natural right theory doesn't cope with rights, according to them, it is a creation of a monopoly
the temporal limitationof intellectual property rights. It is right. Monopoly is contradistinguished with a perfectly
true that temporal limitation is applicable to iintellectual competitive market. If monopoly is unrestricted, it will
property. Intellectual property is most of the time limited in result in market crush.
time as to the protection accorded by law.
 Itheneverthelaw gives an exclusive right to the innovator, deserving of protection, since in asense they are a part ot
holder is not enabled to conttol the
Jherear s0 many ways of resolving a problem. Thatproblem.
means that physical person
intellectual propety law which prohibits Hegel, who is the main souce of this theorv, claims hat
innovatoIN from innovating a Intellectual rightspermit and protect the developing of the
solution to the sne personality, which ctends to the maerial things In the
mem.
sane way, the copier is considered as a thicf who offers to
The Ethic and Reward Theory the public, someone else's spirit
Iheerewandtheory advocates rewardingindividuals not only However, such a justification is deficient in the sense that
the personality is neither linked nor affected by the
ÁNtheir own labour, but also for the societal benefit of their
outcome of the reati because it is noA Costitutive by
tort. This theory justifies the cxclusive rights of
ntellectual property with some moral and ethical aspect. itself of the human person. Indeed, when the creation is
done, the work is independent from its creator but
Indeed, the ethic requires a fair and proportional dependent on the public. As a matter of fxt, the work
contribution,for the effort that the creator has made for the obtains substance only because the others decicded to attach
! oal utility. The exclusive rights are an expression of importance to it.
gratitude to an author for doing more than society expects The personality theory is described by Fisher as justifyirng
a feels that they are obliged to do. the property rights "when and only when they wouid
However, since rewards are given to people who did promote human flourishing by protecting or fostering
omething disagreeable and grievous for the benefit of the fundamental human needs or interests". Such needs or
whole society, we could question whether creators and interests include privacy, individual self realisation, identity
inventors truly deserve it. By admitting that they do, it is and benevolence. These needs have been identified by
obvious that they definitively do not deserve it twice. Fisher himself.
Some consider that the inventor is already remunerated In all of the theories, the nature and characteristics of
considering that if the invention is really in advance, the economic efficiency and social justice are greatiy apart when
time between the apparition of his invention and the first the issue is attribution of rights. As the name indicates,
copies will give him enough profit to reward him. In this economic efficiency implies an allocation of rights which
2Se, it is evident that the exclusive right is far more complies with basic economic principles, namely the
excessive. maximisation of welfare.

The Personhood Theory Need of Intellectual Property Rights

The fundamental premise of the personhood or personality Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) have become important
theory is that, for a person to be able to develop fully, and in the face of changing trade environment such as global
Sive towards self-actualisation, it is required that he has competition, high innovation risks, short product ycde,
tontrol over some elements of the external world. Property need for rapid changes in technology, high investments in
gits, in this light, are a form of the necessary assurances of Research and Development (R&D) and highly skilled
human resources, etc.
control. According to this theory, the personality of
eryone builds itself in work and creation. With the opening of trade in goods and services, there is an
This theory was propounded by Kant and Hegel. possibility of infringement leading to inadequate retun to
tording to them, if one's artistic expressions ae the creators of knowledge. IPR ensures that R&D costs
: and other costs associated with introduction of new
nonymous with one personality, then they are deserving
protection just as much as the physical person is products are recovered and enough profits are generated in
the market.
 Nationals of non-contracting States are also entitled to
national treatment under the convention, if they anr
International Conventions domiciled or have a real and effective industrial
commercialestablishment in a contracting State.
Pertaining to Intellectual The provisions of the Paris Convention may be sub-divided
Property and international dimension, For
into four maincategories
" A first category contains rules of substantive law which
national
IP has both
laws and rules of a guarantee a basic right known as the right to national
cxample. patents are governed by national
convention on patents treatment in each of the member countries.
given country, while international measures for
ensure minimum rights and provide certain " Asecondcategory establishes another basicright known
enforcement of rights by the contracting States. as the right of priority.
The need for a svstem to protect IP
internationally arose . Athird category defines a certain number of common
International nules in the field of substantive law which contain either
when foreign exhibitors refused to attend an
exhibition of inventions in Vienna in 1873, because they rules establishing rights and obligations of natural
were afraid that their ideas would be stolen and
exploited persons and legalentities, or rules requiring or permitting
commercially in other countries. the member countries to enact legislation following those
for the rules.
This led to the creation of the Paris convention
protection of Industrial Property of 1883 which was the " A fourth category deals with the administratíve
first major international treaty. framework which has been set up to implement the
Convention, and includes the final clauses of the
In 1886, copyright entered the international arena with the Convention.
Berne convention for the protections of literary and artistic
works. Both these conventions set up international bureaux Berne Convention for the Protection
tocarry out administrative tasks.
In 1893, these two small bureaux united to form an of Literary and Artistic Works (1886)
international organisation called the United International The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and
Bureaux for Protection of Intellectual Property, best known Artistic Works, usually known as the Berne Convention, is
by its, french acronym, BIRPI which was the predesssor of an international agreement governing copyright, which was
WIPO. first accepted in Berne, Switzerland, in 1886. The Berne
WTO agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Convention deals with the protection of works and the
Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), came into force in rights of their authors. The provisions of the Berne
Convention may be sub-divided into three main categories
1995, which brought with new era in the multilateral
protection and enforcement of IP rights. " Protection for every production in the literary, scientific
Some important conventions pertaining to IP are as follows and artistic domain in any form.
The right to translate, make adaptations and
Paris Convention for the Protection arrangements, perform in public, communicate to the
of Industrial Property (1883) public, broadcast and make reproduction.
According to the Berne Convention, all works, except
The Paris Convention, adopted in 1883, applies to cinematography and photography, are copyrighted for a
industrial property in the widest sense, including patents, author,
minimum term of 50 years after the death of an
trademarks, industrial designs, utility models, service
but longer terms may be provided to related parties.
marks, trade names, geographical indications and the
repression of unfair competition. This international Declaration relating to Article ll and llof
agreement was the first major step taken to help creators Appendix to Paris Act (1971)
ensure that their intellectual works were protected in other On March 28, 2018, the World Intellectual Property
countries. Organisation has notified a declaration referring to the
This convention created the provision of national deposit by the Government of the Republic of India, on
treatment. Under the provisions on national
treatment, the October 7,1974, of its instrument of ratification on the
convention provides that, as regards the
protection of Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistie
must grant the Works (1886), as revised at Paris on July 24, 1971 and to
industrial property, each contractingState
same protection to nationals of other
contracting States, its subsequent deposits, on February l, 1984 and June
that it grants to its own nationals. 1984 of declarations according to which the Government Of
 theRepublicofIndia availedl itself ofthe faculies provided
Arthe Article Il and I|| of the Appendix to the Berne " The minimumterm of copyright in member nations must
Cventionduring the 10 years period that be the life of the author plus 25 years, except for
arober10,2024.
will expire on photographic worksand worksof applicd art, which have
a10 year term.
Thesaiddeclaration shall enter into force, with respect to
" All adhering nations are required to grant an exclusive
territory offthe Republic of India, on March 28, 2018.
the
TheArticleIl of the Appendix would enable the Republic of
right of translation for a 7 year-period, subjet to a
Idiato.substitutefor the exclusive right of translation of a compulsory license under certain circumstances or the
balance of the term of copyright.
Work,which has been published in printed or analogous
kumssof reproduction, granted by the competent
authority, WIPO Convention, 1967
oniyfor the purpose of teaching, scholarship or research. The WIPO Convention is the multilateral treaty that
The ArticleIII of the Appendix would enable the Republic established the World Intellectual Property Orgarnrisation
f India to substitute for the exclusive right of reproduction
(WIPO). The Convention was signed at Stockholm,
ofa work, which has been published either in printed or Sweden,on 14th July, 1967 and entered into force on 26th
analogousforms of reproduction, or in audio-visual form of
April, 1970.
lvfully made audio-visual fixations, to publish an edition
ahich has not been distributed/on sale for a period of 6 The origin of WIPO go back to 1883 and 1886, when the
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Propertv
nonths, except when either the translation is not published and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and
by the owner of the right of translation or with his Artistic Works, respectively, were concluded. Both
authorisation, or when the translation is not in alanguage conventions provided for the establishment of an
general in use in India. International Bureau'.
India has been the Member of Berne Convention since The two bureaus were united in 1893 and, in 1970, were
28th April, 1928 and has been submitting the declaration replaced by the World Intellectual Property Organisation,
8per Article II and IIIof the Appendix from time to time.
by virtue of the WIPO Convention.
| The present notification is in continuation of India's earlier WIPO's two main objectives are
position.
" to promote the protection of intellectual property
worldwide and
Universal Copyright " to administrative cooperation among the
Convention, 1952 ensure

intellectual property Unions established by the treaties

The Universal Copyright Convention (UCC) was adopted that WIPO administers.
d in 1952 in Geneva, Switzerland. It was developed by India became a member of WIPO in 1975. It is currently a
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural member of the following agreements administered by
Urganisation (UNESCO) as an alternative to the Berne WIPO- Berne Convention (1928), Phonograms Convention
Convention. (1975), Nairobi Treaty (1983), Paris Convention (1998),
Wle countries may continue to become members of the PCT (1998), Budapest Treaty (2001), Madrid Agreement
UCC, the UCC has lost some significance because most
sates are members of the World Trade,Organisation and Concerning the International Registration of Marks and
Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement (2013).
Conform to regulations under TRIPS agreement. India has continued its constructive
Main features of UCC are as
follows engagement
WIPO and participated actively in the meetings ofwith
" No the
signatory nation should accord its domestic authors
nore favorable copyright treatment than the authors of WIPO Standing Committees on Intellectual Property and
Development, Patents, Copyright and
ognatory
reither nations, though no minimum protection Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Related Rights,
A domestic or foreign authors is stipulated. Geographical
Indications, the Inter-Governmental Committee
formaland copyright
work notice must appear in all copies of a
consist of the symbol ©, the name of the
Traditional Knowledge, Folklore and Genetic Resoures, On

the Advisory Committee on

copyrigh owner, and the year of first publication, a Working Group and other Enforcement, the PCT
bodies dealing with
siprovignatdoedry suchnation,formalities
and may require further formalities,
do not favour domestic over organisational issues.
loreignworks.
 TRIPS was negotiated at the end of the Uruguay Round
Patent Cooperation Treaty, 1970 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trd
The Patent is:
Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an intemational (GATT) between 1989and 1990and administered by che
patent law treaty, conchuded in 1970, It provides a unified WTO.
procedure for filing patent applicat lons to protect force on Ist January, 1993. Thi
This agreement came Into minimum
inventions in each of its contracting States. aygreement sets down the standard for many forms
The PCT ocuses on bringing the world within reach, on of intellectual property regulations. The agreement is, il
multilateral
streamlining the process of fulfilling diverse formality date, the most comprehensive agreement of a
requirements, to postpone the major costs associated with nature on IP.
international patent protection, to provide a strong basis Following areas of 1ntellectual Property covered under the
tor patenting decisions and is used by the world's major agreement are
Corporations, research institutions and universities in Copyrights and related rights (like the rights and of
seeking international patent protection. performers, producers of sound recordings
The procedure under the PCT has the following advantages broadcasting organisations)
for the applicant " Trademarks (also service marks)
" Presentation of asingle 'international' patent application Geographical indications (including appellations of
in compliance with the formal requirements of the PCT, origin)
made in one language and the payment of a single " Industrial designs
amount of fees.
" Patents (including protection of new variety of plants)
" Intermational Search where an International Searching Layout-designs of integrated circuits
Authority (ISA) analyses the invention and provides an " Undisclosed information (Trade secrets and Test
data)
opinion on the potential patentability. The agreement is a seven-part document containing
" International publication in which the content of the complex provisions with respect to Intellectual Property
intermational application is disclosed internationally, rights. Following isa brief description of the structure of the
immediately after expiry of the period of 18 months from Agreement
the earliest filing date (priority date). Part I The general provisions and the basic principles of
. The office in charge of the 'International Preliminary National Treatment and Most Favoured Nation are covered
.Examining' may perform at the request of the applicant, under this part. (Article l to Article 8)
an additional patentability analysis, usually on a Part II The standards concerning availability, scope and use
amended version of the application. of Intellectual Property Rights is covered under this part.
After the international phase is finalised, the application (Article 9 to Article 40)
enters into the national phase, requesting the granting Part III This part deals with the enforcement of IPRs.
of the patent' in the National Patent Offices of the (Article 4l to Article 6l)
countries seeking protectiorn. The granting of patents Part IV This part addresses the provisions for acquiring and
remains a matter of national patent offices. maintaining IPR. (Article 62)
India approved the PCT and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Part V This part deals with prevention and settlement of
deposited the required instrument with the Director disputes arising out of the provisions of the Agreement.
General of WIPO on September 7, 1998 and PCT became (Article 63 to Article 64)
'Applicable' to India from December 7, 1998.
Part VI This part is concerned with transitionalagreements.
TRIPS (Trade Related (Article 65 to Article 67)
Intellectual Property Rights) Part VII This part of the Agreement concens various
institutional agreements. (Article 68 to Article 73)
Agreement, 1994
One of the most important agreements of WTO is the Featuresof Agreement
TRIPS Agreement. The Agreement on Trade Related " Standards In respect of each of the IP areas covered
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is an by the agreement, all member nations are obliged to
international legal agreement between all the member provide a minimum set of standards for the protection of
nations of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). IPRS.