IP Rights Registration

A trademark is a unique mark or sign that represents a business, and it is used to distinctively identify a company from another and build its credibility among consumers. If one does not register its trademark, brand name, logo, punchline etc., then an imitator cannot be stopped from confusing the public by using the same or similarly deceptive name or mark, which may result in financial and economic loss to the business in the long-term. We always advise our clients to recognise all the IP Rights in form of trademark and register every Mark, Brand Name, Label, Product Name, Logo, Punchline and the Domain Names as the trademark in India for an effective remedy in case of misuse by any other person.

The law of trademark passed by the Indian government is applicable and have force only within the Territory of India, thus, the trademark registered in India shall have effect only within India, in order to obtain protection of trademark in other foreign countries the same need to be registered under law of that country. Every country has its own trademark law prescribing regulations for registration of trademark in that country. In other words, if a person wishes to obtain trademark registration in any particular country then a separate application has to be moved in all such foreign countries. In the year, 2013 Indian government acceded to the Madrid convention which prescribes a methodology of filing international application to the contracting parties from India through the office of the Registrar of Trademark.

Copyright is a bundle of rights provided to an author of the work. All Literary, Musical, Dramatic, Artistic, Cinematographic Films and Sound Recordings are protected under copyright. Copyright comes into existence as soon as work is created, but it is always advisable to get a copyright registration to protect one's original piece of creative work. The copyright registration is not mandatory under the Act, however, for all practical purposes, the registration of your original creative work is strongly recommended. The rights granted under copyright law is the right of reproduction and communication to the public, translation, and adoption of work including both economic rights and the moral rights. The intent of the IPR in copyright is to protect the original work irrespective of its quality or artistic merit. Section 13 of The Copyright Act, 1957 provides that copyright subsists only in an original work. The period of validity of a copyright is in general 60 years from its first publication, or delivery or broadcast to the public. .

Registration of patent in India is a serious work which needs years of experience and sound technical knowledge of the subject matter. To register a patent an application is filed for the invention which is new, novel and which has not been disclosed anywhere prior to filing the application of patent before the office of the controller of patents in India. In India invention of new goods or industrial process can be filed. The main eligibility for an invention for grant of the patent is the existence of inventive steps, and which is non-obvious. The industrial applicability is another important feature and finally, the invention must be commercially beneficial, in other words, the claims of Invention must indicate effective value. .

A patent can be registered internationally by following a PCT route or by convention route/direct filing. The PCT route helps an applicant to file patent application for the same invention in many countries simultaneously. Provided, the designated countries are member of the Paris convention. The PCT international application can be filed with the International Bureau under WIPO as the receiving office or can be filed with the Indian patent office as a receiving office. Requisite fee along with application should be submitted. An international filing date is accorded to an applicant by the receiving office having the same effect as having being filed in designated countries chosen by an applicant. The patent application is filed in triplicate with the Indian Patent office. The first being the “record copy” which is sent to International Bureau, the second being the “search copy” which is sent to the International Searching Authority. The third being the “home copy” which is kept by the receiving office. As per section 39 of the Indian Patent Act, 1970, prior permission from the Indian government has to be taken by a resident of India, to file an international application under PCT or the same application has to be filed in India, at least six weeks before filing of the international application. The provision of this section is there to check, if any information related to the defense purposes is being leaked to other countries. PCT route is beneficial for an applicant willing to file patent application in many countries, as it saves money and time of an applicant. A patent application can be filed in 143 member countries via the PCT international filing route. The international patent application under PCT once filed, is searched by the searching authorities and examined by the examination authorities. ISR (International search report) and IPER (International preliminary examination report) are issued, which provides an applicant an idea about the novelty and patentability scope of the invention. Based on these reports, an applicant can decide whether to proceed further with the national phase filing or not. National phase of the PCT application requires further national filing fee to be paid. Moreover, the applicant has to bear the cost of prosecuting the application in the desired countries, which would be futile if the invention is not patentable. .

The registration and protection of industrial designs in India is administered by the Designs Act, 2000 and corresponding Designs Rules , 2001 which came into force on 11th May 2001 repealing the earlier Act of 1911. The Design Rules, 2001 was further amended by Designs (Amendment) Rules 2008 and Designs (Amendment) Rules 2014. The last amendment in Designs Rules came in to force from 30th December, 2014, which incorporates a new category of applicant as small entity in addition to natural person and other than small entity. The industrial design recognizes the creation new and original features of new shape, configuration, surface pattern, ornamentation and composition of lines or colors applied to articles which in the finished state appeal to and are judged solely by the eye. .