The Intellectual Property

The term ‘Intellectual Property’ has become to be internationally recognized as covering patents, industrial designs, copyright trademarks, known how and confidential information. Patents, designs and trade marks used to be considered as different kinds of industrial property. But when copy right and confidential information were included the term’ intellectual property’, though a little high sounding, is more appropriate description for this class of property. Although the creation of a trade mark has very little to do with intellectual creativity, it cannot be doubted that patents, designs and copyright are the products of intellectual effort sand creative activity in the field of applied arts or technology and fine arts.

Basic concepts of intellectual property law:-

The law relating to intellectual property is based on certain basic concepts. Thus patent law centres round the concepts of novelty, or lack of anticipation and inventive step or lack of obviousness. Design law is based on novelty or originality of the design not previously published in India or any other country. The substantive law of trade marks is based on the concepts of distinctiveness and similarity of marks and similarity of goods. Copyright is base don the concepts of originality and reproduction of the work in any material form.

Intellectual property includes Patents, Designs, Trade Marks, Copyright, Confidential information and Industrial know-how. Patents relate to novel products or processes of manufacturing a product. Design relates to the non-functional appearance of a product, which appears solely to the eye. Trade Mark consists of word, name, device or get-up used in relation to particular goods to indicate the source of manufacture or trade origin of the goods. Copyright relates to original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, cinematography films and sound recordings.

The statute law relating to intellectual property in India is undergoing changes so as to bring...