IPR: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND ITS FUTURE

Himalay Kushwaha
5 days ago
8 min read

Written by: Himalay Kushwaha ,LL.B, University Of Allahabad

INTRODUCTION

The evolution of humankind has always brought with it challenges as well as growth in daily life. For survival, humans began to establish authority and create systems of order through laws and rights. In ancient times, laws, rules, and rights existed as separate concepts. However, with the passage of time and continued evolution, these systems gradually improved. Today, in the era of the digital world, the pursuit of equality and justice has given rise to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Every human being has unique capabilities and a distinct mindset that enables them to create amazing things, whether in the form of inventions, ideas, or artistic expressions. To safeguard these creations, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) play a crucial role. IPR encompasses various types of rights designed to protect innovation and creativity. Just as fundamental rights or human rights are essential for safeguarding individual dignity and freedom, intellectual property rights are equally important to protect human intelligence, innovative ideas, research, and creative works.

IPR: CONCEPT & TYPES

You know, one of the first proper copyright rules actually came in Venice around 1545. At that time, the Venetian Council passed a law saying that no book or writing could be printed without the writer’s permission. Basically, it gave authors the right to control their own work something like the starting point of modern copyright law.

But if we look even earlier, we can see similar ideas in our Harappan Civilization (around 2500-1900 BCE). People back then used special marks, seals, and symbols on pottery, stamps, and other items. Now of course, it wasn’t “copyright” as we know it today, but these marks worked as a way to show ownership, authenticity, and identity something like an early version of trademarks or brand identity.

In today’s world, there are many types of Intellectual Property Rights, which we call IPR. Some of the main ones are:

Patents: When you invent something new with your own unique idea and want to safeguard it from others while keeping full ownership, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) give you the option to take a patent for your invention. This invention can be anything, a machine, a medicine, or a technology. Once you receive a patent, for about 20 years no one else can make, use, sell, or copy your invention without your permission. In return, you need to share the complete details of your invention in public records, so that after the patent period ends, others can learn from it and society as a whole can benefit.
Copyright: In today’s digital world, poets, writers, and creators like filmmakers, songwriters, or YouTube creators make their content and influence society through their creations. But many times their rights get violated. To protect them, copyright law comes into play. It ensures that the ownership of the content stays with the real creator. No one else can use it or earn money from it without the creator’s permission.
Trademark: Sometimes, when someone gives constant good service, it turns into a brand. Let me share a story. There was a person named Jagram who ran a shop called “Jagram Sweets.” He used to sell different kinds of sweets, biscuits, and snacks. His sweets were very tasty, and he himself was known for his good nature. Over time, his shop became so popular that people started calling his sweets the best in the whole city. Seeing this success, other sweet shops began copying him by using similar names like “Jagram Sweets.” The real Jagram felt frustrated and sought help from the law. Here, Intellectual Property (IP) law helped him, he got a trademark for his shop name, which meant no one else could misuse his name or reputation for their own profit. In simple words, trademark protects the brand value and identity of a business or name. For example: Rolls Royce, TATA, Haldiram, Coca-Cola, or Jio Hotstar.
Industrial Designs: To understand this, we just need to look around us at phones, cars, or any product that has its own unique shape or look. Here, what matters is how the product appears. For example, Apple phones have their own special design, and cars like Ferrari, Bugatti, or Rolls Royce have unique shapes that make them stand out. This attractive look helps the product gain value in the market. Such aesthetic or ornamental features of a product can be protected through Industrial Design rights, which stop others from copying the appearance.
Geographical Indications (GI): If you have ever heard, the Banarasi Saree is world famous for its unique weaving style, and Agra is well known for its delicious Petha. In the same way, Darjeeling Tea has its own special taste and aroma that cannot be found anywhere else. All these products are strongly connected to the place they come from, and their quality or reputation depends on that region. To protect such regional goods, there is a special right called Geographical Indication (GI). A GI tag ensures that only products made in that particular area can use the name, so that others cannot misuse it. Basically, GI protects the identity of traditional and regional products, while also promoting the culture and heritage of that place.
Trade secrets: A special recipe, a unique way of production, a business plan, or even a customer list. For example, the secret formula of Coca-Cola, the recipe of KFC chicken, or the mixing style of some perfumes are all trade secrets. A trade secret means any confidential business information that gives a company an edge over others. Now, unlike patents or copyrights, trade secrets are not registered with the government. They are protected simply by keeping them hidden through contracts, confidentiality agreements, or company policies. The basic idea is very simple: as long as the information stays secret and helps the business, it is protected.
Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights: Once upon a time, a Gujarati farmer, Dhirajlal Virjibhai Thummar, faced a major problem when the popular GG-20 groundnut crop failed due to wilt and stem rot. He took some wilt-resistant plants, saved their seeds, and after a few seasons ended up with a stronger, early-maturing, high-yielding groundnut all through his own observations and hard work. He created a new groundnut variety named “Dhiraj 101”.

So, if a scientist or breeder makes a new plant variety which is useful and different, they can register it and get legal rights. But at the same time, under the Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001, farmers also have their own rights. They can save, use, sow, re-sow, exchange, and share seeds like they always do. If a farmer develops or conserves a new variety, even they get recognition and reward. In short, this law protects scientists for their inventions and also farmers for their traditional knowledge and contribution.

ROLE OF IPR IN ECONOMIC GROWTH

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) play a very big role in the economic growth of a country. When new ideas, inventions, or creative works are protected, people and companies feel safe to invest their time, money, and energy in innovation.

Encourages Innovation – When people know their new ideas and inventions are safe under IPR, they feel motivated to create more. This brings new technologies, medicines, and products, which helps the country grow.
Attracts Foreign Investment – If a country has strong IPR laws, foreign companies feel safe to invest money and bring modern technology here. This creates jobs and pushes our economy forward.
Fair Competition & Branding – With patents and trademarks, companies can build their own brand name and identity. This stops copying and promotes fair competition. Big Indian brands like TATA, Infosys, or Haldiram are strong examples.
Exports through GI Products – Geographical Indications protect regional items like Darjeeling Tea, Banarasi Saree, Mysore Silk, Kolhapuri Chappals. These products get more value in the international market, which increases our exports and makes India popular worldwide.
Creative Industries – Copyright helps writers, filmmakers, musicians, and YouTube creators to protect their work and earn from it. This gives strength to India’s creative fields like Bollywood, music, and OTT platforms.

CHALLENGES

In India, Intellectual Property Rights face many challenges. The first issue is lack of awareness many farmers, artisans, and small businesses don’t even know how IPR can protect their unique products, seeds, or ideas. Another big challenge is the high cost and long time it takes to file patents or trademarks, which becomes very difficult for individuals and startups. Even after getting protection, enforcement is weak because fake products and counterfeiting are still common in the market.

Along with this, digital piracy has added another layer of problem. Copying movies, songs, software, or any online content has become very easy in the internet era, and controlling it is tough. There are many platforms which has mass audience or users, which makes easy to find any pirated movie or content (For example: Telegram, it has copyright detection system but still people used to upload pirated contents.), Lastly, there is the challenge of balancing public interest. Sometimes strict IPR laws make essential things like medicines more expensive, which directly affects common people. So, the real challenge is to protect the rights of innovators while also keeping things affordable and accessible for society.

FUTURE OF IPR

In the future, IPR is going to play an even bigger role because our world is changing so fast with new inventions and digital content. Today people are creating new medicines, machines, apps, designs, and even YouTube videos. All these things need protection so that the real creator gets the benefit. That is why patents, copyrights, and trademarks will become more and more important in the coming years. For example, in fields like Artificial Intelligence, biotechnology, and pharma, many new inventions are happening and they will all depend on patents. Similarly, in the digital world, content on OTT platforms, YouTube, and social media will require strong copyright protection.

For India, the future of IPR is quite bright, but we need to solve some problems first. Many people still don’t know about IPR, so more awareness is needed. Also, the process of getting patents or trademarks should be faster and cheaper, otherwise small businesses and farmers cannot use it. If these improvements are done, then IPR will help India in many ways like encouraging innovation, attracting foreign investment, protecting local products through GI tags (Darjeeling Tea, Banarasi Saree), and supporting creative industries like Bollywood and music. In short, the future of IPR is about making a balance: protect the innovator’s rights, promote new ideas, and at the same time keep public interest in mind.

IPR IN INDIA

Intellectual Property Rights are protected through different laws for patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs, plant varieties, geographical indications, and trade secrets. India has also signed many international agreements like the TRIPS Agreement (WTO) and the Paris & Berne Conventions, so our IPR laws match global standards.

In India,

patents are given under the Patents Act, 1970,
trademarks under the Trade Marks Act, 1999,
copyrights under the Copyright Act, 1957,
geographical indications under the GI Act, 1999, and
plant varieties under the PPVFR Act, 2001.

Enforcement is done through courts, and IPR offices handle registration.

Our country is also promoting awareness of IPR among startups, students, farmers, and local artisans. Campaigns like National IPR Policy (2016) aim to make the system more transparent, strong, and supportive of innovation. Still, challenges remain like piracy, counterfeiting, high costs, and lack of awareness.

In short, IPR is developing quickly in India, it protects innovations, supports local products like Banarasi Saree or Darjeeling Tea, builds strong brands like TATA, Infosys, and Wipro, and contributes to economic growth.

CONCLUSION

So, Here We conclude that IP Rights are very important in today’s world because it protect new ideas and inventions. When creators and inventors know their work is safe, they feel motivated to make new things. This helps in trade, business growth, and also creates jobs. Patents, trademarks, copyrights, and GI tags all support innovation and the economy.

But IPR should not only be used to make monopoly and profits. It should also care for the needs of common people. For example, in areas like health and education, strict IPR can make medicines or study materials very costly. So, there has to be a balance, rights of inventors should be protected, but at the same time society must also get affordable access. This balance will make IPR truly useful for growth and public welfare.

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