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By Balajanki And Dolly Chouhan

Intellectual property rights are the statutory rights resulting from creations of mind in the field of literature, inventions, science, architecture etc. They allow creators, or owners, of patents, trademarks or copyrighted works to benefit from their own work or investment in a creation. They were first recognized in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883) and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1886). This is also the reason WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) was developed. IPRs protect the investment in innovation by granting the inventor a temporary monopoly over the use of invention so that it will prevent rapid imitation that would cut into the investor’s profit. IPR is usually of 2 types: copyright, patent and trademark

Patent: A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention – a product or process that provides a new way of doing something, or that offers a new technical solution to a problem. Patents provide incentives to individuals by recognizing their creativity and offering the possibility of material reward for their marketable inventions. These incentives encourage innovation, which in turn enhances the quality of human life. A patent owner has the right to decide who may – or may not – use the patented invention for the period during which it is protected. Section 3(k) of The Patents Act, 1970, prohibits a mathematical or business method or a computer program per se or algorithms from being patented as they are not inventions. In India, only when the software is attached to hardware can it be patented, making it difficult for all software’s to be patented. However, it is pertinent that we make a distinction between a computer program and software to encourage innovations in the IT sector.

Trademark: A trademark is a distinctive sign that identifies certain goods or services produced or provided by an individual or a company. Trademarks may be one or a combination of words, letters and numerals Trademark protection ensures that the owners of marks have the exclusive right to use them to identify goods or services or to authorize others to use them in return for payment. In a larger sense, trademarks promote initiative and enterprise worldwide by rewarding their owners with recognition and financial profit.

Copyright: It covers literary works (such as novels, poems and plays), films, music, artistic works. Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings, and broadcasters in their radio and television programs. The right holder(s) of work can authorize or prohibit: its reproduction in all forms, including print form and sound recording; its public performance and communication to the public; it's broadcasting; its translation into other languages; and its adaptation, such as from a novel to a screenplay for a film. Section 2(o) of the Copyright Act, includes a computer program in literary work. Further, under Section 13 it is stated that copyright subsists in a literary work, and thus, it would subsist in a computer program too. Article 10 of the TRIPs also talks about computer programs. Computer programs have a source code and an object code which are copyrightable under the Indian Copyright Act.

Information technology is studied and used to store, retrieve and send information. It also includes the design, development, implementation, management etc. of computer software and hardware. we can say that IT and IPR go hand in hand because of various reasons one of them being that software is also the intellect property of someone so is particular hardware etc. and therefore they are protected by IPR such as trademarks, copyrights and patents and if IT does not exist, filing maintaining and handling IPR becomes extremely difficult.

The technology is expanding and undergoing innovating every passing day as people strive to make new innovations and improve the existing technology. With the rapid growth there came a lot of Threats and dangers to people with the rights to these works as a lot of Cyber Violation is taking place such as Software Piracy, Unauthorized Reproduction, as well as Theft of Data. Keeping in mind all these types of crimes and to prevent this kind of unauthorized activities Intellectual property laws have been formed as they play a vital role in preventing and punishing this kind of theft/forgery.

It is important to preserve intellectual property because human sanity relies on its capability to grow and invent every day and so the legal innovations and protection provide an incentive to people to innovate something new every day. Additionally, it also spurs economic growth, creates new jobs and industries, and enhances the quality and enjoyment of life. It also, The intellectual property system helps strike a balance between the interests of innovators and the public interest by providing an equitable and efficient system which helps all countries to realize intellectual property’s potential as a catalyst for economic development and social and cultural well-being.

In today’s dynamic marketplace, a technology company’s success is highly dependent upon its innovations and competitive advantage, both of which are closely tied to the development and protection of trade secrets. Today’s ideas will become tomorrow’s revolutionary technology.

WEBLIOGRAPHY

• What is Intellectual Property? Retrieved from http://www.tezu.ernet.in/tuipr_cell/notice/Intellectual%20propery%20rights.pdf

• Getting a Patent on Your Innovation. (2011, November 14). Retrieved from https://www.ssrana.in/articles/getting-a-patent-on-your-innovation-legalera/

• The role of Intellectual property rights in technology transfer and economic growth: theory and evidence. Retrieved from https://www.unido.org/sites/default/files/2009-04/Role_of_intellectual_property_rights_in_technology_transfer_and_economic_growth_0.pdf

The global dimensions of intellectual property rights in science and technology. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/read/2054/chapter/3