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This blog is written by Keerthana R Reddy, who is a second-year law student at Christ Academy Institute of Law
Introduction
Intellectual property (IP) is the legal domain that includes mental creations like inventions, literary masterpieces, and artistic works, among others. The creator of these works of art is granted a bundle of unique rights known as intellectual property rights, which allow him to exploit his inventions for an extended length of time without worrying about being copied. Since they forbid anyone from interfering with previously generated material, intellectual property rights are known as negative rights.
Classification of Intellectual Property Rights
IPRs are categorized as follows based on the kind of innovation and creativity of the human intellect and their application:
Copyright: Authors are granted the exclusive or monopolistic right to their literary, dramatic, and creative creations. It is the copyright holder’s right that forbid others from duplicating or replicating his work.
Patent: It is a person’s exclusive right to use their innovation for a set amount of time, awarded by the patent office. Only novel, creative ideas that have the potential for industrial use are eligible for patent protection.
Trademarks: A trademark can be a device, brand, label, name, signature, word, alphabet, shape of goods, packaging, or combination of colors. It serves two purposes: first, it safeguards the public from misunderstanding by clearly identifying the product’s source or origin about other comparable products; second, it safeguards the trade and business of the trademark owner as well as any goodwill associated with it.
Geographic Indication (GI): They promote the products of producers in a specific area and identify the particular territory from which the goods come; it can also be a region or locality within that territory. It indicates to consumers that given quality, reputation, or other characteristics of these goods are fundamentally attributable to their geographic origin.
Industrial Designs: Design refers to the characteristics of any object applied by an industrial process. Since industrial design makes an object more appealing and increases its commercial value, it must be protected by law. Legal protection against imitation is necessary for a design’s creative originality. To achieve this, India passed the Design Act, 2000, which permits the registration of designs and offers the owner of the design remedies against proliferation.
Trade Secrets: A trade, business, or profession’s trade secrets are its exclusive knowledge and techniques. Any knowledge that may be utilized to run a business and provide it with financial benefits over rivals is considered a trade secret. Unauthorized use of such data is protected without registration and is considered an unfair practice and amounts to a breach of trade secrets.
Semiconductor Integrated Circuit of Layout Designs (SICLD): Because of integrated circuits, modern electronic devices are all incredibly small. These circuit designs are the result of significant investments and labor from highly skilled professionals, and they are products of human creativity. The registered owner of this layout design has the right to use it, and commercially exploit it. Remedies for any infringements can be sought because of the SICLD Act of 2000.
Protection of Biological Diversity: The preamble of the Biological Diversity Act specifically addresses traditional knowledge. The people who are claiming benefits include those who create, maintain, and conserve knowledge and information about the uses of biological resources.
Constitution of India and Intellectual Property RightsAlthough intellectual property rights are protected by the Indian Constitution, they are neither specifically mentioned in any of the essential rights clauses nor specifically excluded from their scope by any constitutional provision. Article 19 (1) (f) of the Constitution declared the right to property to be basic at its inception. However, in 1978, the 44th Constitutional Amendment included Article 300A, reducing it to a simple constitutional right.
The Constitution makes no mention of intellectual property rights specifically. A hint on intellectual property rights can be found in List 1 Entry 49 of the Indian Constitution's 7th Schedule. Because it states, among other things, “Patents, inventions, and designs; copyright; trade-marks and merchandise marks”, Entry 49 expressly recognizes intellectual property rights. Geographical indications, biodiversity, and traditional knowledge are not expressly acknowledged in Entry 49. However since IPRs are not listed in List I or List III, it can be presumed that such IPRs would likewise be included in Entry 49. Additionally, Article 248 gives the parliament the only authority to enact laws on any subject that isn’t on the State List or Concurrent List.
The preamble of the Indian constitution identifies economic liberty as one of the most significant liberties and allows for a diverse economy. The Indian Constitution guarantees citizens’ property rights by stating that “no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law.”
In K.T. Plantation Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Karnataka, the Supreme Court decided that the definition of “property” in Article 300A is not restricted to merely land. It comprises intangibles like copyrights and other intellectual property as well as all possible legal interests. Thus, it might be argued that intellectual property rights are encompassed under the concept of “property” in Article 300A, through court interpretations. Intellectual property rights are shielded from legal infringement since they constitute a fundamental right. The Indian Constitution provides protections against unjustifiable deprivation of property under Article 300A.
To implement treaties, international agreements, conventions, and agreements with other countries, the parliament is empowered under Article 253 to create laws for the entirety of India or any part of it. Understanding the implementation of international treaties and accords relevant to intellectual property rights requires reading this article.
Intellectual Property Rights as Fundamental Rights
Both citizens and non-citizens are guaranteed fundamental rights by the Constitution of India. Intellectual property rights are not included in any of the fundamental rights. Intellectual property rights can be protected under fundamental rights such as the right to life, since certain patented technologies and pharmaceuticals can save lives.
Patents and Fundamental Rights
The Indian judiciary has strengthened the defense of fundamental rights, especially the Article 21 right to life. Anybody may report a violation of these fundamental rights under Articles 32 and 226. Article 19 (1) (g) guarantees Indian people the freedom to practice any trade, business, or profession. However, the government has imposed fair constraints on this. If a citizen is granted a patent through the correct channels, they are entitled to protection under the Patent Act. The patent holder is the only one with the power to forbid anyone from making, using, importing, or selling the patented product in India.
Copyright and Fundamental Rights
Article 19 Freedom of speech and expression includes the right to freely express one’s ideas, opinions, and views through writing, printing, representation, photographs, and other media. A robust democracy is built on this right. Freedom of speech and expression includes the capability to write and publish a book. The Supreme Court ruled that geographic limitations cannot be placed on the fundamental right of speech and expression.
A person was arrested in State of Maharashtra v. Prabhakar Pandurang under preventive detention. He wrote a book while in prison and asked the authorities for permission to publish it, but they turned him down. The Supreme Court ruled that while he had the right to write and publish the book, it constituted an infringement on his freedom under Article 21. As a result, if someone has written a book, they are entitled to copyright and are protected by both the Copyright Act and the Fundamental Rights. However, Article 19(2) of the Constitution limits this right to reasonable limitations.
Trademark and Fundamental Rights
The freedom to engage in any profession and to run any kind of business, trade, or occupation is guaranteed under Article 19 (1) (g). The right is subject to reasonable limitations as stated in Article 19(6) and is not absolute. The holder of a registered trademark has the right to protection under the Trademark Act and the fundamental right outlined in Article 19 (1) (g) in the event of trademark infringement. Comparably, under Article 19 (1) (a), the public has the right to know about a business's trademark or product.
Geographical Indications and Fundamental Rights
Article 19 (1) (g) protects manufacturers who assert that their goods originate from a specific region, and it also grants customers the right to know whether or not a product possesses the characteristics of a specific origin. The Geographical Indicators of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 and fundamental rights thus protect geographical indicators.
Traditional Knowledge
To safeguard their traditional knowledge and provide them with economic empowerment, the Biodiversity Act was passed. The Indian Constitution protects the rights of indigenous people, and the Biodiversity Act protects their traditional knowledge as well.
Conclusion
The Indian Constitution does not contain any explicit provisions about intellectual property rights. Intellectual property rights are not directly protected by the Constitution whether as a fundamental right or as a constitutional right. Nevertheless, the Constitution has a few clauses on intellectual property rights. However, in the contemporary era, the Indian judiciary has included intellectual property rights in the list of basic rights. Certain drugs and medications with copyright are included in the category of goods covered by the fundamental right to life, which also encompasses the right to health. Likewise, a writer’s copyright for writing and publishing a book is part of their basic right to life and freedom.
It could be assumed that although intellectual property rights aren’t stated as basic rights in Part III of the Constitution, courts may interpret them to be so. The Constitution’s Section 300A may protect intellectual property rights. Through this analysis of constitutional imperatives, the significant role of intellectual property protection in promoting modernization and economic advancement is emphasized.
REFERENCES:
Copyright Act 1957
Trademark Act
Patent Act, 1970
Geographical Indication Act
Design Act
The Constituion of India, 1950
Romesh Thaper v. State of Madras AIR [1950] SC 124
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