DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF IP AND CURRENT REGIME FOR PROTECTION
?There are different kinds of IPR-
?PATENT- It is governed by the Indian Patents Act of India. To obtain a patent on a product or process, it must fulfil 3 conditions:
?The term of a patent is 20 years in India.
?In a number of studies it has been found that exporting firms export larger quantities in countries with patent protection, but they do not seem to charge higher prices. This is evidence of the fact that firms value foreign patent protection for the legal security that it brings rather than for the possibility to set monopoly prices.
?COPYRIGHT- this is given to a creator of artistic, Dramatic, Literary or Musical work as per the provisions of the Copyright Act. It is a bundle of rights, such as economic, moral, licensing, assignment rights to the creator. The term extends to the life of the creator, and 60 years thereafter beginning on the first day in the year succeeding the year of death of the creator.
?TRADEMARK- Trademark is defined under Section 2 (zb) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 as, trade mark means a mark capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of others and may include shape of goods, their packaging and combination of colours; A mark can include a device, brand, heading, label, ticket, name, signature, word, letter, numeral, shape of goods, packaging or combination of colors or any such combinations.
?GEOPGRAPHICAL INDICATOR- A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that can attributed to that origin. This origin should be the essence of the characteristics of the product. The qualities being dependant on the geographical place of production, there is a clear link between the product and its original place of production. A number of treaties administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) provide for the protection of geographical indications, most notably the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of 1883, and the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and Their International Registration. In addition, Articles 22 to 24 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) deal with the international protection of geographical indications within the framwork of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
?The global competitive environment makes prominent the need for traditional and quality products with a strong cultural link, that provides producers of value added products with a strong link to a particular geographical origin. Thus, territorial origin becomes a strategic tool for differentiation in agricultural and food markets. The international rules for the regulation of origin-labeled products have become increasingly important in recent years. Due to the economics underlying geographical indications, both European policies and the literature emphasize the potential of geographical indications to improve rural livelihoods based on local resources and, thus, advance rural development.?
In the case of Darjeeling Tea, it was seen that the possibility of effectively benefiting from potentially increased income for producers through GI protection is strongly dependent on their capacity to implement effective enforcement. The study looked at the effect of legal protection on the demand for and price of Darjeeling tea. The results suggest that GI protection increased the price of Darjeeling tea in total by less than 1 per cent in real terms over the 1986-2002 period, which indicates a very modest price premium effect as a result of GI protection (although an improvement in quality was observed that may be linked to GI protection). It was partly explained by a possible gap between the legal protection that has been given to Darjeeling tea in India and the quality of the enforcement procedures. This dimension appears as particularly relevant from a developing country perspective. With the exception of wines, hardly any studies have been carried out to examine specifically whether a price premium is obtained when GI legislation is?introduced.
?The existing researches suggest that protection is not enough and that it must be coupled with strict enforcement and significant investments in promotion of the product if consumers are to attach value to the indication.
This regime is what acts the base for any trade, be it international or national, of intellectual property.
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