Patents for inventions, designs for industrial use, trademarks for marketing products, and Copy Rights in literary / artistic
works are collectively known as Intellectual Property Rights.
The laws that govern Intellectual property rights are similar to those that provide legal
protection to other forms of private property.
Patents form the most important part of intellectual property rights. Patent is a written document that gives the inventor exclusive rights for a limited time, excluding others from making, using, importing or selling his invention in the country. After the patent has expired, anyone can use the invention without the permission of the original inventor. There are different categories of patents – utility patents and design patents. In India and most other countries, the patent owner is the one who files the claim first with the authorities.
Patents have assumed great importance in all market based economies since they provide the necessary legal framework for newly developed products and processes. It is estimated that U.S. companies alone earned more than sixty billion dollars from patent royalties in the early nineties. This highlights the economic interest in the protection of patents by their owners.
All countries have their own patent laws matching with their specific needs. In order that a nation’s requirements do not come into conflict with those of other nations,
international efforts have been made to hamonize them through the agency of TRIPS (Trade Related and associated aspects of Intellectual Property Rights).
It is estimated that about thirty five million patents have been granted throughout the world so far. All patents are classified as per International norms. Many countries have even made arrangements to make the patent details available online via the internet.
Copy Rights have been in existence, as an implied right, since printing began.
Trade Marks have assumed great commercial significance, and are widely used to protect the trading interest of products which are not amenable for patent protection through any other method.