Intellectual Property
In order to foster innovation and creativity, Intellectual property has become the need of the hour.
Intellectual Property is a general term used for intangible assets owned and legally protected by a company from outside use or implementation without consent. Rising from its ability to provide an individual or a company with competitive advantages, defining IP as an asset aims to provide it the same protective rights as physical property.
Without protection of ideas, businesses and individuals would not reap the full benefits of their inventions and would focus less on research and development.
Under the Make in India initiative, India has taken strong steps in strengthening the patent system in the country. The Government is trying to develop a patent regime that is conducive to technological advances and is in line with its global commitments.
A trademark is used or proposed to be used to distinguish the goods or services of one person from those of others in the course of trade. Though the registration of trademark is not compulsory, registration is a prima facie proof of the title and it gives the registered proprietor an exclusive right to use the trademark and take legal action in case of infringement.
Copyright is a legal right created by the law of a country that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights for its use and distribution. This is usually only for a limited time. The exclusive rights are not absolute but limited by including fair use. A major limitation on copyright is that copyright protects only the original expression of ideas, and not the underlying ideas themselves
A patent is an exclusive right granted to an individual or enterprise by the government that excludes others from making, using, selling or importing the patented product or process without prior approval. A patent in India is granted for 20 years. A patentable invention can be any art, process, method or manner of manufacture; machine, apparatus or other articles; substances produced by manufacturing; computer software with technical application to industry or used with hardware; and product patent for food, chemicals, medicines and drugs.