Trade Related

Aspects
of
Intellectual
Property Rights
(TRIPS)

Foreword
A crucial outcome of the Uruguay
Round negotiation was coming into
effect of a new international instrument
on Intellectual Property Rights called
the Agreement on Trade-Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
The TRIPS Agreement, as it is more
popularly known, addresses a wide range of Intellectual Property
Rights which includes traditional subject matters like patents,
copyrights, trademarks and industrial designs as well as new subjects
like geographical indications and trade secrets. The subject of this
Agreement is of great importance and is witnessing considerable new
developments and challenges. At the multilateral level, negotiations
are under way in WTO to refine and expand certain areas of TRIPS
agreement whereas in several Free Trade Agreements, there is already
a process underway to introduce new provisions, which can be more
than what the TRIPS provides for, hence are said to be TRIPS-plus. This
presents new challenges and opportunities for developing countries
like India. As a growing economy, India has considerable stake in
knowledge-based industries which can translate into protecting
intellectual property in order to encourage research and innovation.
At the same time, it needs to be vigilant that the bar of intellectual
property protection is not raised so high as to adversely affect the
vitality of some of its key manufacturing sectors like pharmaceuticals.
This volume of FAQs on TRIPS gives a bird's eye view of the various
provisions of the complex subject matter of TRIPS with special
emphasis on India in order to introduce the subject to lay readers in a
simplified and easy to understand manner. I hope readers will find this
publication useful.

New Delhi
Dated: 16.11.2010

K. T. Chacko
Director, IIFT

Acknowledgements
Dr. Manisha Shridhar, IAS , International Professional,
Intellectual Property Rights and Trade Unit, SEARO, WHO has
prepared the FAQ.
Professor Shashank Priya, Centre for WTO Studies, coordinated
the preparation and publication of the FAQ.
Shri T. C. James, former Director in Department of Industrial
Policy and Promotion and currently working as Director, National
Intellectual Property Organisation, Shri Atul Kaushik former
Director in Department of Commerce and currently working as
Director, CUTS GRC and Adviser (Projects), CUTS International and
Professor Madhukar Sinha, Centre for WTO Studies gave
valuable suggestions to improve the contents and design of FAQ.

This set of FAQs on World Trade Organisation (WTO)

Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights (TRIPS) issues has been prepared in two parts: firstly,
the international context which deals with the genesis of the
Agreement, its different components, relations with other
international organizations and future developments. The
second part in the national context discusses TRIPS issues in
Indian scenario.

PART A: International Context

I. Introduction to TRIPS
Q1.

What is TRIPS?

A1.

The Agreement on Trade related Aspects of Intellectual

Property Rights of the WTO is commonly known as the
TRIPS Agreement or simply TRIPS. TRIPS is one of the
main agreements comprising the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) Agreement. This Agreement was
negotiated as part of the eighth round of multilateral
trade negotiations in the period 1986-94 under General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) commonly
referred to as the Uruguay Round extending from 1986
to 1994. It appears as Annex 1 C of the Marrakesh
Agreement which is the name for the main WTO
Agreement. The Uruguay Round introduced intellectual
property rights into the multilateral trading system for
the first time through a set of comprehensive disciplines.
The TRIPS Agreement is part of the single undertaking
resulting from the Uruguay Round negotiations. This
implies that the TRIPS Agreement applies to all WTO
members, mandatorily. It also means that the provisions

Frequently Asked Questions

of the agreement are subject to WTO dispute settlement

mechanism which is contained in the Dispute Settlement
Understanding (the Understanding on Rules and
Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes). The
TRIPS Agreement is one of the most important
agreements of the WTO.
Q2.

Why was TRIPS included in WTO?

A2.

The precursor to the WTO was the General Agreement

on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which sought to address
issues related to international trade in goods. The
operation of the GATT over the years resulted in
lowering of tariffs in general in international trade. As a
result, increasingly, other domestic policies of nations
came into focus of the trading nations. The developed
countries, including the United States started facing
increasing competition in manufactured exports from
Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs) of Asia.
For intellectual property issues in general, the
negotiators were required to clarify GATT provisions
and elaborate as appropriate new rules and disciplines
in order to reduce distortions and impediments to
international trade. As technology became more
important in goods and commodities, having higher
proportion of invention and design (intellectual
creativity) in their value, IPR became important in
international trade. As a result, in the Uruguay Round
negotiations, the intellectual property rights dominated
the discussions.

Q.3.

What are Intellectual property rights (IPRs) and how

do they grant protection to the owner of an IPR?

A3.

Intellectual property rights or IPRs are rights given to

people over the creations of their minds. These rights are

Frequently Asked Questions

given by society through the State as an incentive to

produce and disseminate ideas and expressions that will
benefit society as a whole. Unlike Fundamental Rights of
citizens which are guaranteed by the Constitution of a
country, IPRs are statutory rights enacted by the lawmaking authority in a country.
Conventionally, many forms of IPRs are recognised.
They are traditionally classified into two main
categories:

Copyright and related rights: i.e., rights granted to

authors of literary and artistic works, and the rights
of performers, producers of phonograms and
broadcasting organizations. The main purpose of
protection of copyright and related rights is to
encourage and reward creative work. The
distinguishing feature of this category of rights is that
they protect only the tangible expression of an idea
and not the idea itself. Further, these rights generally
come into existence the moment a work is created
and need not be registered with any central
authority.

Industrial property: This category includes: (1) the

protection of distinctive signs such as trademarks
and geographical indications, and (2) industrial
property protected primarily to stimulate
innovation, design and the creation of technology
which are protected through laws on protection of
inventions (patents), industrial designs and trade
secrets.

IPRs grant protection to the owner as they give the

creator an exclusive right over the use of his/her
intellectual creations generally for a limited period of
time. However, in the case of certain categories of IPRs,
Frequently Asked Questions

the rights e.g. trade secrets and geographical indications

can exist indefinitely so long as the right holder takes
steps to protect his right. In the case of certain other time
limited IPRs, it is possible to renew the rights
periodically either for an indefinitely long period as in
the case of trademarks or for a pre-specified maximum
limit as in the case of industrial designs.
Q4.

Which IPRs are covered under TRIPS?

A4.

The IPRs covered by the TRIPS Agreement are:

Copyright and related rights (i.e. the rights of

performers, producers of sound recordings and
broadcasting organizations)

Trademarks, including service marks

Geographical indications including appellations of

origin

Industrial designs

Patents including the protection of new varieties of

plants

Layout-designs (topographies) of integrated circuits

Undisclosed information, including trade secrets and

test data

II. Link between TRIPS, WTO and WIPO

Q5.

What is the link between TRIPS, WTO and WIPO?

A6.

Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) at a multilateral level

have their genesis in the Paris Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Property in 1883 which protected
industrial property i.e. Patents and trademarks and the

Frequently Asked Questions

Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and

Artistic Works in 1886 for copyrights and related rights.
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) which
began its work in 1967 taking over from the Bureau for
the Protection of Intellectual Property that had been
working since 1893, is the international agency under the
United Nations that administers the work of these
conventions. The WIPO administers many other
international conventions on IPRs also.
While the IPR Conventions and treaties create the
international standards in protection of IPRs which are to
be followed by the member countries, substantive trade
related disciplines on IPRs under these international
conventions have been adopted by reference into the
WTO through the TRIPS Agreement. This means that the
Agreement provides rules for trade and investment in
ideas and creativity by incorporating standards laid
down in certain exact provisions of the major IPR
conventions. The WTO provides that intellectual
property should be protected when trade is involved.
Thus, through the TRIPS, the WTO makes it mandatory
for all its member countries to follow basic minimum
standards of IPR provided for under TRIPS and bring
about a degree of harmonization of domestic laws in this
field.

III. Doha Declaration on Public Health

Q6.

What is the importance of the Doha Declaration on

Public Health, why was this necessary?

A6.

The framework of stringent intellectual property rights

established by the TRIPS Agreement enables
pharmaceutical manufacturers to charge prices above

Frequently Asked Questions

marginal cost of production. This affects the ability of

governments to monitor and protect public health
because of their obligations to protect IPRs of the
manufacturers. This means that Governments may find
their capacity to ensure affordable access to medications
restricted.
In 2001, in response to concerns of developing countries
regarding limited or no access to medicines at affordable
prices, the WTO members agreed to issue the Doha
Declaration to clarify the TRIPS Agreement in the
context of Public Health. The declaration states that the
TRIPS Agreement would not prevent members from
taking steps to protect public health and makes clear that
each member has the right to create certain exceptions to
its IPR laws to enable it to grant compulsory licenses for
manufacture of essential goods such as life-saving drugs
even if the consent of the holder of the IPR is not
forthcoming. Each member would be required to
determine the grounds on which such compulsory
licenses can be granted and shall have the right to
determine what constitutes a national emergency. Based
on a decision taken by the WTO in 2003, Member states
may also grant a compulsory license for limited export
and import of medicines where the receiving country
lacks manufacturing capacity.
Q7.

What are the challenges of the Doha Declaration?

A7.

Even though the Doha Declaration on TRIPS Agreement

and Public Health [hereinafter Doha Declaration] and
the Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha
Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health
[hereinafter 2003 Decision] recognize the "gravity" of
public health problems and reflect concerns regarding

Frequently Asked Questions

implications of the TRIPS Agreement, these documents

left a number of technical and legal problems
unresolved. For example, since the term 'epidemics' in
the Doha Declaration has been left undefined, and even
though the Doha Declaration acknowledges each
Members' right to determine what constitutes a national
emergency or a circumstance of extreme emergency,
governments may still face challenges from
pharmaceutical manufacturers on whether they can
issue compulsory licenses over certain medications. This
means that medications for chronic diseases such as
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other epidemics
may be interpreted as a restriction on this right since the
existence of a chronic disease may not qualify as a
"national emergency". There are also concerns that the
administrative burden associated with the procedural
arrangements required by the Declaration for notifying
the WTO of the mechanism to provide drugs and
medicines to countries not having local manufacturing
capacity under the 2003 Decision will be costly and
cumbersome particularly for developing countries.

IV. TRIPS plus provisions in FTAs

Q8.

What are TRIPS plus provisions?

A8.

IPRs are territorial rights and can be acquired in the

territory of the country having an IPR law. That is, IPR
acquired in one country cannot be enforced in another
country. The TRIPS Agreement lays down only certain
minimum standards of protection and enforcement of
IPRs by its Members through enactment of such national
laws and regulations. The TRIPS Agreement, however,
allows Members to have higher levels of protection than
the minimum standards laid down in it, thus leaving the

Frequently Asked Questions

flexibility to Members to have 'TRIPS plus' laws and

regulations. The developed countries are moving
toward higher, enhanced standards of IPR protection to
evolve TRIPS-plus regime. These higher standards are
now making an appearance in various free trade
agreements (FTA) that these countries are negotiating
and entering into with their trading partners. Since these
provisions go beyond minimum standards established
under TRIPS, they may take away the flexibilities (for
example the ability to issue compulsory licenses for
medicines required in public health emergencies) that
exist in the TRIPS Agreement. These negotiate rules and
commitments in bilateral, sub regional and regional
agreements that go beyond the multilateral level in
WTO.
Q9.

Why TRIPS plus provisions are important in FTAs and

what are the consequences of this inclusion?

A9.

By entering into FTAs with the developed countries,

developing countries see some advantages in tariff
reductions on agricultural, clothing and other products.
In return, developed countries seek better market access
and investment opportunities for products and services
of their interest. In addition, developed countries also
seek to raise the minimum levels of protection for IPRs as
they have a comparative advantage in technology
products and services. At the same time, developing
countries find it difficult to put forward the issues of their
concern through the FTA negotiations including the
harmonisation of TRIPS and CBD, access to medicines,
and protection against the bio-piracy of their biological
genetic resources, farmers' rights and associated
traditional knowledge, ability of their farmers to
continue their subsistence and livelihood related

Frequently Asked Questions

farming practices and getting the same level of

protection for their geographical indications as for wines
and spirits of developed countries. As a consequence,
FTAs create an imbalanced set of rights and obligations
in favour of developed countries by ratcheting up the
levels of IPR protection.
While it can be argued that there is no bar on developing
countries in walking away from unequal agreements, it
can also be argued that owing to unequal negotiating
strengths, many bilateral agreements do turn out to be
unequal. If the immediate need to benefit from reduced
tariffs, etc. is high then a developing country can be
guided into making concessions in areas of longer term
impact such as IPRs.

V. Further negotiations under TRIPS

Q10.

What are the future issues under consideration relating

to TRIPS?

A10.

Some of the issues that are under debate relating to

TRIPS are:

The effectiveness of the 2003 waiver in the 2001

Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health. The
waiver in Doha Declaration removes a requirement
that generics produced under compulsory license
should be mainly for the domestic market. This
would hinder their export to countries that cannot
make the medicines. The TRIPS Agreement has been
amended in 2005 to include these provisions in it, but
the amendment has not come into force as most
Members have not ratified it so far. In addition, the
mechanism established in the 2003 waiver for
providing affordable medicines to poor countries

Frequently Asked Questions

does not seem to have worked as only one case of its

use exists (where Rwanda obtained medicines from
Canada), and that too has not been very successful.
WTO members are reviewing this provision.

10

The TRIPS Agreement has a built in review of the

provisions relating to patenting of life forms. The
current provision obliges members not to exclude
from their patent regime microorganisms and nonbiological and microbiological processes. It also
obliges Members to protect plant varieties either
through patents or through a sui generis system (of its
own kind) or a combination thereof. This review has
not been concluded even though it started in 1999.

Protection of the innovations of indigenous and local

farming communities and the continuation of the
traditional farming practices including the right to
save, exchange seeds, and sell their harvest

Protection of the rights of indigenous communities

and prevent any private monopolistic intellectual
property claims over their traditional knowledge.

Grant of the same level of protection of geographical

indications in other products as is granted to wines
and spirits.

Frequently Asked Questions

PART B: Indian Context

I. Indian obligations under TRIPS
Q.1

What is the impact of TRIPS on relevant Indian

legislation?

A1.

To meet international obligations under the TRIPS,

various existing domestic IPR laws have been amended
from time to time.
For example, in the area of patents, the Indian Patent Act
1970 was amended in order to make it conform to TRIPS.
The first amendment to the Patent Act 1970 was effected
through the Patents (Amendment) Act, 1999 that was
brought into force retrospectively from 1st January,
1995. The amended Act provided for filing of
applications for product patents in the areas of drugs,
pharmaceuticals and agro chemicals even though such
patents were not allowed. However, provision was
made that such applications were to be examined only
after 31-12-2004. This was necessitated in view of the
transitional arrangements allowed under the TRIPS
Agreement. Under the transitional arrangements, a
grace period was allowed to developing country
members to make their laws TRIPS-compatible
provided they met certain conditions. One such
st
condition was that to avail of 10 year grace period (till 1
January 2005) under TRIPS, a 'mail-box' of applications
would have to be created in which all product-patent
application would be placed for subsequent
examination on merits from January 2005. In the
intervening period, the applicants were to be allowed
Exclusive Marketing Rights (EMR) to sell or distribute

Frequently Asked Questions

11

these products in India, subject to fulfilment of certain

conditions.
The second amendment to the 1970 Act was made
through the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2002. This Act
came into force on 20 May 2003 with the introduction of
new Patent Rules, 2003 by replacing the earlier Patents
Rules, 1972. With these amendments, India met all its
obligations relating to patent protection that it was
required to meet by the year 2000 under the TRIPS
Agreement. It also brought the Patents Act in conformity
with the requirements of the Patent Cooperation Treaty
of WIPO as modified until 2001. The third amendment to
the Patents Act 1970 was introduced through the Patents
(Amendment) Ordinance, 2004 with effect from 1st
January, 2005. This Ordinance was later replaced by the
Patents (Amendment) Act 2005 (Act 15 of 2005) on 4th
April, 2005 which was brought into force from 1-1-2005.
This amendment obliged India to grant product patents
to drugs and medicines and food and chemical products.
This final amendment brought India in full compliance
with its TRIPS obligations.
Similarly, in the case of trademarks, the governing law in
India now is Trade Marks Act, 1999 brought into force
with effect from September 15, 2003 to bring it in
compliance with TRIPS by repealing the Trade and
Merchandise Marks Act, 1958.
The Copyright Act, 1957 today is compliant with most
international conventions and treaties in the field of
copyrights. India is a member of the Berne Convention of
1886 (as modified at Paris in 1971), the Universal
Copyright Convention of 1951 and TRIPS. Though India
is not a member of the Rome Convention of 1961, the
Copyright Act, 1957 is fully compliant with the
12

Frequently Asked Questions

provisions of this Convention. Two new treaties,

collectively termed as Internet Treaties, were negotiated
in 1996 under the auspices of the World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO). These treaties are the
'WIPO Copyrights Treaty (WCT)' and the 'WIPO
Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT)'. These
treaties were negotiated essentially to provide for
protection of the rights of copyright holders, performers
and producers of phonograms in the Internet and digital
era. India is not a member of these treaties. However, the
current set of amendments placed by the Government
before the Parliament seeks to bring the law in
conformity with these treaties as well.
Q.2

What are the criteria for grant of a patent?

A2.

Patents provide property rights to inventions. An

'invention' may be defined as a novel idea which permits
in practice the solution of a specific problem in a field of
technology. Patents are available for any invention,
whether products or processes, in all fields of
technology, provided that they are new, involve an
inventive step and are capable of industrial application.
Thus, the TRIPS Agreement stipulates that countries
shall grant patents for inventions in all fields of
technology and for both:
Products, and
Processes, including those used in manufacturing
products.

Q.3

Is there any special or unique provision on Patents in

the Indian law?

A3.

The Patent Act has a set of exceptions stated in Section 3

by which certain things cannot be protected by the law.

Frequently Asked Questions

13

One very unique provision is embodied in Section 3,

clause (d). This provision prevents patenting of minor
improvements in chemical and pharmaceutical entities
unless the invention results in the enhancement of
known efficacy of that substance. This prevents
patenting of mere discovery of any new property or new
use for a known substance or of the mere use of a known
process, machine or apparatus. This provision is a
safeguard for public health purposes and sets a higher
threshold which has been interpreted as therapeutic
efficacy for the grant of a patent on pharmaceuticals.
Q.4

How is a patent granted? Which office deals with

patents?

A4.

A patent is granted by a national patent office or by a

regional office that does the work for a number of
countries, such as the European Patent Office and the
African Regional Industrial Property Organization.
Under such regional systems, an applicant requests
protection for the invention in one or more countries,
and each country decides as to whether to offer patent
protection within its borders. The WIPO-administered
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) provides for the filing
of a single international patent application which has the
same effect as national applications filed in the
designated countries.
In India, the Controller General of Patents, Designs and
Trademarks is responsible for the administration of the
Patents Act, 1970 through the Patent Offices located at
Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.

14

Frequently Asked Questions

II. Trademark
Q5.

What is a trademark, how is trademark important and

what is the period of protection provided by a
trademark?

A5.

A trademark is a sign or mark that is used to distinguish

the goods or services of one enterprise from those of
another enterprise. It can be any distinctive word, letter,
numeral, drawing, picture, shape, colour, sound, smell,
logotypes, or any combination of these that may be used
for distinguishing goods and services, of any given
business. A trademark is used extensively by an
enterprise to reach customers by enabling customers to
identify and locate the product. A trademark is issued by
a national office and is granted for a period of 10 years
and may be renewed indefinitely.

Q6.

What is the criteria for grant of a trademark?

A6.

The criteria for the grant of a trademark are:

The selected mark should be capable of being
represented graphically (that is in the paper form).
It should be capable of distinguishing the goods or
services of one undertaking from those of others.
It should be used or proposed to be used in relation to
goods or services for the purpose of indicating a
connection in the course of trade between the goods
or services and some person that has the right to use
the mark.

Q7.

Under what conditions is a trademark granted in India?

A7.

Under the Indian Trademarks Act, 1999, the following

conditions have been included for the grant of a

Frequently Asked Questions

15

trademark:
Definition of trademark has been enlarged to include
shape of goods, packaging and combination of colors
which can be adopted as a trade mark.
Registration of Service Marks allowed in addition to
Trademarks for goods.
Single Registration of trademark; no separate
application necessary for each category/class of
goods or services, a single application would do;
however filing fee will be charged separately for each
class of goods/services.
Enhanced punishment for the offences relating to
trademark on par with the Copyright Act, 1957 to
prevent the sale of spurious goods.
Term of registration of trademark is ten years, subject
to renewal thereafter.
Registration of Collective Marks owned by
associations allowed.
Some offences relating to trademark made
cognizable.
Extension of application of convention countries in
India
Q8.

How to choose a trademark?

A8.

To choose a trademark it is advisable to:

16

Undertake a comprehensive search that includes

both market study as well as a study of data base of
the country one chooses to trade in.

Avoid marks which are:

Frequently Asked Questions

m
descriptive
m
have reference to character and quality of goods
m
may serve in a trade to designate the intended
purpose
m
which can only be considered for registration on
acquiring a distinctive character as a result of the
use
m
is a well known mark by virtue of extensive
publicity
m
is of such a nature as to deceive the public or cause
confusion
m
likely to hurt the religious susceptibilities of any
class or citizens
m
containing scandalous or obscene matter
m
Marks prohibited under law; e.g Emblems and
Names (Prevention of improper use) Act, 1950 or
direction of the Central Government listing the
non registrabale marks.

III. Design
Q9.

What is a design?

A9.

Design is another intellectual property right and refers to

external features of shape, configuration, pattern,
ornamentation or composition of lines or colours applied
to any article, whether in two or three dimensional (or
both) forms. Design does not include any mode or
principle of construction or anything which is mere
mechanical device. It also does not include any trade
mark or any artistic work.

Frequently Asked Questions

17

Q10.

How is design defined in India?

A10.

The IPR of Design is covered by the Designs Act, 2000.

This means only the features of shape, configuration,
pattern, ornament or composition of lines or colours
applied to any article whether in two dimensional or
three dimensional or in both forms, by any industrial
process or means, whether manual, mechanical or
chemical, separate or combined, which in the finished
article appeal to and are judged solely by the eye; but
does not include any mode or principle of construction or
anything which is in substance a mere mechanical
device, and does not include any trade mark as defined
in clause (v) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Trade
and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 or property mark as
defined in section 479 of the Indian Penal Code or any
artistic work as defined in clause (c) of section 2 of the
Copyright Act, 1957 43 of 1958.

Q11.

What are the important aspects in Indian Design Act

2000?

A11.

The important aspects in Indian Design Act 2000 are:

identification of non-registerable designs
introducing a classification system (Locarno
classification)
elimination of secrecy period of two years for a
registered design
provision of public inspection after notification
introduction of rights of registered proprietor of
design
initial term of protection is 10 years followed by
another 5 years on request
provision of restoration of lapsed design.

18

Frequently Asked Questions

Q12.

Why is design registration important for business?

A12.

Design registration is important for business for the

following reasons:
To protect any new/ original shape, configuration,
surface pattern, combination of lines or colours and
prevent the imitation of the innovator's design and
prevent the commercial exploitation of the
innovator's design by the third party without the
proprietor's consent
To obtain bonafide reward by commercial
exploitation of the design by the creator as well as by
assignment of the same to other parties
To enable consumer to identify products

Q13.

How does design registration confer intellectual

property protection?

A13.

The benefits of design registration as IP are that the

registration of a design confers upon the registered
proprietor the exclusive right to apply a design to the
article in the class in which the design has been
registered. A registered proprietor of the design is
entitled to protection of his intellectual property. He can
sue for infringement, if his right is infringed by any
person. He can license or sell his design as legal property
for a consideration or royalty.

IV. Copyright
Q14.

What is copyright? How is copyright protected in

India?

A14.

Copyright is a right given by law to the creators of

literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and the

Frequently Asked Questions

19

producers of cinematographic films and sound

recordings on their creations and productions. It is one of
the intellectual property rights designed to encourage
creativity. Copyrights are intended to safeguard, protect
and reward the rights of creators of artistic works in their
respective creations. Writers, artists, designers,
dramatists, musicians, architects, producers of sound
recordings, cinematographers, computer software
developers etc. are empowered through copyright.
TRIPS provides that the rights of authors of literary and
artistic works (such as books and other writings, musical
compositions, paintings, sculpture, computer programs
and films) are protected by copyright, for a minimum
period of life of the author plus 50 years after his/her
death.
The interesting aspect of copyright protection is that it
need not be registered with any authority to be protected
under law. Secondly, it protects only the tangible
expression of an idea and not an idea itself. This has led to
many a litigation to settle the idea-expression
dichotomy.
The Indian Copyright Act, 1957 protects original literary,
dramatic, musical and artistic works and cinematograph
films and sound recordings from unauthorized uses.
Unlike the case with patents, copyright protects the
expressions and not the ideas. There is no copyright
protection for ideas, procedures, methods of operation or
mathematical concepts as such. In India, the duration of
copyright for authors is life of the author plus 60 years
after his/her death and for cinematograph films and
sound recordings 60 years from the year of production.
After the death of the owner, the rights pass on to his/her
legal heirs.

20

Frequently Asked Questions

Q15.

Do we need to register a copyright?

A15.

No. Acquisition of copyright is automatic and it does not

require any formality of registration. Copyright comes
into existence as soon as a work is created. The office in
charge of copyright registration is Copyright Office, 4th
Floor, Jeevan Deep Building, Parliament Street, New
Delhi 110001.

Q16.

If copyright registration is not necessary for the law to

protect copyright in works then why do India and
many other countries have a process of registration?

A16.

Registration of a work with the copyright registry in the

country provides evidence of the existence of a work on a
given date. Secondly, the process of registration also
creates a prima facie evidence about the facts about the
work stated in the application for registration. These are
of help in settling legal disputes regarding ownership
and infringement, even though they are not direct
evidence of ownership by themselves.

V. Geographical Indications
Q17.

What are Geographical Indications?

A17.

Geographical Indications of goods are indications which

identify a good as originating in the territory of a country
or a region or locality in that territory. Typically, such a
name conveys an assurance of quality and
distinctiveness which is essentially attributable to the
fact of its origin in that defined geographical locality,
region or country. They are covered under Articles 22 to
24 of the TRIPS Agreement. In contrast to other IPRs, a
Geographical Indication is owned by members of a
community who produce the good in question.

Frequently Asked Questions

21

India enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods

(Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 which has come
into force with effect from 15th September 2003. The Act
is administered by the Controller General of Patents,
Designs and Trade Marks who is the Registrar of
Geographical Indications. The Geographical Indications
Registry is located at Chennai. A geographical indication
is registered for a period of 10 years in the Geographical
Indications Registry but is renewable from time to time.
Q18. How is Geographical Indications distinct from
appellation of origin?
A18.

A geographical indication is a sign used on goods that

have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities
or a reputation that are due to that place of origin.
Geographical indications may be not only place names
but also other names and indicators used to refer to a
product. .
On the other hand, an appellation of origin is a special
kind of geographical indication, used on products that
have a specific quality that is exclusively or essentially
due to the geographical environment in which the
products are produced. Agricultural products typically
have qualities that derive from their place of production
and are influenced by specific local factors, such as
climate and soil.
Thus, the concept of appellations of origin is subsumed
in that of geographical indication.

VI. Plant Variety Protection

Q19.

22

What is a plant variety protection? How is plant variety

protection important? How is it defined in Indian law
Frequently Asked Questions

and what is the period of protection provided by plant

variety protection?
A19.

India is one of the countries in the world to have passed

sui generis legislation (the Latin term sui generis means
'of its own kind') granting rights to both breeders and
farmers under the Protection of Plant Varieties and
Farmers Rights Act, 2001. The law attempts to
incorporate the interests of various stakeholders,
including private sector breeders, public sector
institutions, non-governmental organizations and
farmers, within the property rights framework. Where a
country excludes plant and animal inventions and plant
varieties from patentability, it is expected to protect them
under an effective sui generis system as mandated by
TRIPS.
It is generally considered that this provision aims at
encouraging countries to use the sui generis system
provided by the UPOV (Convention on the Protection of
New Varieties of Plants). India's Act allows four types of
varieties to be registered reflecting the interests of actors:
new variety (criteria of new, distinctiveness, uniformity
and stability), extant variety (distinctiveness,
uniformity, stability), essentially derived variety
(essentially derived from such initial variety when it is
predominantly derived from such initial variety, is
clearly distinguishable from such initial variety; and
conforms to such initial variety in the expression of the
essential characteristics) and farmers variety (has been
traditionally cultivated and evolved by the farmers in
their fields or is a wild relative or land race of a variety
about which the farmers possess the common
knowledge).

Frequently Asked Questions

23

Q19.
A19.

Which Indian office deals with plant variety

protection?
In India the Plant Varieties and Farmer's Rights
Protection Authority is established under Plant Varieties
and Farmers Rights Act, 2001 to promote the
development of new varieties of plants and to protect the
rights of the farmers and breeders. A National Register of
Plant Varieties maintains the addresses of breeders and
plant varieties. The maximum protection for trees and
vines is 18 years and for extant variety it is 15 years.
Farmer's rights are protected when their material is used
as donors of genes in varieties registrable under the Act.
The farmers are entitled to recognition and reward from
the National Gene Fund. The farmer may claim
compensation from a breeder if a variety does not meet
the expected performance.

VII. Trade Secrets

Q20.

What is a trade secret? How is it protected?

A20.

A trade secret is an IPR that is with the holder indefinitely

or rather as long as he can keep his secret as a trade secret.
To enable an enterprise to keep something as a trade
secret, the holder must ensure secrecy agreements with
the employees in the business. These can be built into the
service contract agreements.
For information to be treated as a trade secret, it is
necessary that there should be commercial value
associated with the information, that this commercial
value would be lost, damaging the commercial interests
of the holder of the trade secret and that the holder had
taken reasonable care to protect the secret so that its loss
would be possible only through an illegal access.

24

Frequently Asked Questions

Q21.

What does the TRIPS Agreement say about trade

secrets or undisclosed information?

A21.

Undisclosed information, or trade secrets have been

provided protection by the TRIPS agreement for the first
time in public international law. This explicitly requires
undisclosed information- trade secrets or know-how to
benefit from protection. The protection is applied to
information that is secret, has commercial value because
it is secret, and has been subject to reasonable steps to
keep it secret. The Agreement does not demand that
undisclosed information should be treated as a form of
property, but it does stipulate that a person lawfully in
control of such information must have the possibility of
preventing it from being disclosed to, acquired by, or
used by others without his or her consent in a manner
contrary to honest commercial practices.

VIII. New negotiations and areas

Q22.

What are the challenges in negotiations on various

IPRs under TRIPS for India?

A22.

On almost all the IPRs discussed, negotiations are afoot

in various international fora. There is current debate on
patenting of life forms, whether access to medicines
through Doha declaration has been achieved, etc. Other
issues of concern are biodiversity and its link with sui
generic systems of plant protection and technology
transfer. There is also debate on whether to extend
enhanced protection for geographical indications
beyond wines and spirits. Internet access and sharing of
electronic files has questioned some of the established
rules in copyright. On all these issues India needs to
examine world trends and proactively develop informed
policy interventions.

Frequently Asked Questions

25

Q23.

What are the challenges in enforcement of IPRs ?

A23.

Enforcement of IPRs has always been a challenge. In the

case of industrial property, the onus is on the holder of
the IPR to check for infringement. In case of copyright
and related rights, there are numerous associations e.g.
Business Software Alliance and other Alliance of State
Broadcasters Associations (NASBA), International
Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) that promote the
cause of copyright holders. Currently there is enhanced
interest as some countries are negotiating an Anticounterfeit Trade Agreement (ACTA) for enforcement of
copyright and trademark protection. This is seen by
many developing countries as having the potential to
bring stringent enforcement of IPR and negotiating
TRIPS plus provisions.

26

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

27

Type of IPRs
Patents

Trademarks

Copyright and related

rights

Integrated circuits
Plant Breeders rights

Trade secrets

Subject matter

New, non-obvious, inventions

Signs or symbols to identify

goods and services

Original works of authorship;

artistic performances,
cinematograph films,
broadcasting and phonograms
production

Original layout designs

New, stable, homogeneous,

distinguishable varieties

Secret business information

All industries

Agriculture and food industry

Microelectronics industry

Publishing, Printing, entertainment

(audio, video motion pictures) software,
broadcasting

All industries/business enterprises

Chemicals, pharmaceutical products,

plastics, engines, turbines, electronics,
control and scientific equipments,
mechanical instruments.

Main fields

Table: Subject matter and main fields of application of IPRs

28

Frequently Asked Questions

Type of IPRs
Industrial designs

Geographical
indications

Subject matter

Ornamental designs

Geographical origin of goods

and services

Wines, spirits, cheese, other food products

and products bearing name of a place e.g.
Darjeeling tea, handicrafts, handlooms.

Clothing, automobiles, electronics,

consumer products, etc.

Main fields

Other Publications of the

Centre for WTO Studies
FAQ on WTO Negotiations in Agriculture
?
FAQ on WTO Negotiations in Non Agriculture Market Access
?
(NAMA)
FAQ on WTO Negotiations in Services
?
FAQ on Geographical Indications
?
FAQ on WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing
?
Measures
FAQ on WTO Agreement on Safeguards
?
FAQ on WTO Compatibility of Border Trade Measures for
?
Environmental Protection
FAQ on Transfer of Technology in Environmentally Sound
?
Technologies
Review of Trade Policies of India's Major Trading Partners
?
Discussion Paper 1: Indias Duty Free Tariff Preference Scheme:
?
Case Study for Select LDCs
Discussion Paper 2: Cotton Production, Exports and Price: A
?
Comparative Analysis of India and USA
Discussion Paper 3: Study on Identification of Select Textile and
?
Wool and Woollen Products Having Export Potential to Chile,
Colombia and Peru
Discussion Paper 4: Trade Facilitation in WTO and Beyond
?
Discussion Paper 5: Agriculture under WTO Regime: Cross
?
Country Analysis of Select Issues
Discussion Paper 6: WTO Negotiations on Market Access on
?
Environmental Goods: Identification of Existing NTMs on
Proposed Items
Discussion Paper 7: Implications of Fishery Sector Subsidies: A
?
Review of Issues in Light of WTO Negotiations

Bimonthly newsmagazine titled 'India, WTO and Trade Issues'

?
All the above publications are available on the website of the Centre for
WTO Studies, http://wtocentre.iift.ac.in