26 April: World Intellectual Property Day

• 26 Apr 2022

World Intellectual Property Day is observed annually on April 26.

• This year the theme of World Intellectual Property Day is “IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future”.
• The day is celebrated to raise awareness of the impact of how patents, copyright, trademarks and design affect our daily life. The role of intellectual property (IP) rights is used for encouraging, innovation and creativity in societies across the globe.

What is Intellectual Property?

• Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce.

How IP is protected?

• IP is protected in law by, for example, patents, copyright and trademarks, which enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create.

What are the types of Intellectual Property?

Intellectual property is an umbrella term used to describe creations of the human mind. For the purpose of intellectual property rights protection, IP can be categorised as the following:

• Trademarks: This refers to any symbols, logos signs, words and/ or sounds that are unique to a product or business.
• Copyrights: This is applicable to any published work such as books, art work, songs, web content and films, among others.
• Patents: Any new invention that holds the potential being put to commercial use is protected from infringement or duplication by a patent.
• Industrial Designs: These are features such as shape, pattern, ornament or composition applied to a product by an industrial process such as by chemical process or mechanical process.
• Geographical Indicators: A name or sign used on certain products that marks the identity of a particular geographical location or origin is termed as a geographical indicator.

Indian Laws to Protect Intellectual Property

In India, intellectual property rights are protected by a host of laws and rules issued by the government from time to time. Primarily, intellectual property rights are protected by the following legislation and rules:

• Trade Marks Act, 1999 and Trade Marks Rules of 2002 and 2017.
• The Patents Act, 1970 (as amended in 2005), 2003 Patent Rules and 2016 Patent Amendment Rules
• The Copyright Act, 1957.
• The Designs Act, 2000, and Designs Rules, 2001
• The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999
• The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout Design Act, 2000
• The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Right Act, 2001

Globally TRIPS is an important Agreement

• The Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement, which came into effect on 1 January 1995, is to date the most comprehensive multilateral agreement on intellectual property.