Intellectual Property System in India :

As discussed above, historically the first system of protection of intellectual property came in the form of (Venetian Ordinance) in 1485. This was followed by Statute of Monopolies in England in 1623, which extended patent rights for Technology Inventions. In the United States, patent laws were introduced in 1760. Most European countries developed their Patent Laws between 1880 to 1889. In India Patent Act was introduced in the year 1856 which remained in force for over 50 years, which was subsequently modified and amended and was called “The Indian Patents and Designs Act, 1911”. After Independence a comprehensive bill on patent rights was enacted in the year 1970 and was called “The Patents Act, 1970”.

Specific statutes protected only certain type of Intellectual output; till recently only four forms were protected. The protection was in the form of grant of copyrights, patents, designs and trademarks. In India, copyrights were regulated under the Copyright Act, 1957; patents under Patents Act, 1970; trade marks under Trade and Merchandise Marks Act 1958; and designs under Designs Act, 1911.

With the establishment of WTO and India being signatory to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), several new legislations were passed for the protection of intellectual property rights to meet the international obligations. These included: Trade Marks, called the Trade Mark Act, 1999; Designs Act, 1911 was replaced by the Designs Act, 2000; the Copyright Act, 1957 amended a number of times, the latest is called Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012; and the latest amendments made to the Patents Act, 1970 in 2005. Besides, new legislations on geographical indications and plant varieties were also enacted. These are called Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, and Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001 respectively.

Over the past fifteen years, intellectual property rights have grown to a stature from where it plays a major role in the development of global economy. In 1990s, many countries unilaterally strengthened their laws and regulations in this area, and many others were poised to do likewise. At the multilateral level, the successful conclusion of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in the World Trade Organization elevates the protection and enforcement of IPRs to the level of solemn international commitment. It is strongly felt that under the global competitive environment, stronger IPR protection increases incentives for innovation and raises returns to international technology transfer.