“At a time when the world urgently needs ideas and inspiration to overcome common challenges, intellectual property will encourage them to strengthen the existing solution and creating new ones.”
-Daren Tang, Director General, WIPO
(FICCI’s Run-up event to World IP Day 2024)
‘World IP Day’ is celebrated on 26th April to regard the coming into force of ‘WIPO’ (World Intellectual Property Organization) on 26th April 1970. WIPO was established in 1967 at the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, and later became a UN specialised agency in 1974. Headquartered at Geneva, Switzerland, it seeks to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world.
World IP Day 2024
World Intellectual Property Day 2024 carries the theme: “IP and the SDGs: Building Our Common Future with Innovation and Creativity.” The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims at bringing attention to 17 goals including ending poverty, improved quality of living, increased innovations etc. by 2030. The alarming issues like unemployment, global warming, climate change impacts, food security issues, gender inequalities and others, need solutions. WIPO calls upon the innovators, creators, entrepreneurs to contribute to SDG achievement while guaranteeing services of protection and promotion of intellectual property across borders and acting as a forum to address any IP based disputes.
Overview
World Intellectual Property Organization defines Intellectual Property as the creations of mind -everything from works of art to inventions, computer programs to trademarks and other commercial designs. Since the late 19th century, there has been initiatives to recognize intellectual property through Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, 1883 and Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, 1886. Madrid Agreement in 1891 launched the first international IP filing service. The two secretariats which were set up to administer the conventions were combined and United International Bureaux for Protection of Intellectual Property (BIRPI) was established in 1893 but it was transformed into an intergovernmental organization called the WIPO in 1970. There has been many developments later, including protecting the Intellectual Property Rights in respect of Integrated Circuits, producers of phonograms, biodiversity, plant varieties, etc. India has many statutes specifically for each intellectual property including, the Copyright Act, 1957; the Patent Act, 1970; the Trade Marks Act, 1999; the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999; the Designs Act, 2000; the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Designs Act, 2000; the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001and the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, also known as the Patent Office is an agency of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It administers laws relating to patents, designs, trademarks and geographical indications in India
India at 2024
It is admirable that 635 Geographical Indications, 36,378 copyright, 27819 design and more than 1 lakh patents, registrations were granted in 2023-24 fiscal year. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry says that, every working day, 250 patents were granted. With 223 candidates successfully qualified to Patent Agent Exam and 109 for Trademark Agent Exams, 2024, the registration and dispute resolution of IP protection can take a more smoothened leap. It is absolutely a proud moment for India when WIPO reported that, there is a 44.6% growth in international patent filings from India in 2023-‘24. It was just 25.9% in 2022 and 9.2% in 2021. The recent acceleration in the innovations and number of IP registrations can be attributed to various policies undertaken by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and also by the enlightened work done by the Office of CGPDTM. Some of them are discussed as follows.
IP Manthan series is an initiative by the Office of CGPDTM where it discusses periodically on relevant topics related to IP and innovation with respect to the economic and cultural developments of the country. IP Samvaad is another such initiative to conduct webinars about various IP matters.
WIPO India Action Plan 2023 signed in October 2023 is aimed at skills building, small and medium scale entrepreneurship development, creative industries and enhancing IP operations. The M.A Degree course in IP Law and Management at NLU, Delhi with WIPO, Patent Office is also part of this Action Plan.
Ministry of Commerce and Industry notified the Patent Amendment Rules, 2024 where in duration to file Request for Examination has been reduced from 48 months to 31 months to speed up the patent examination procedure. There are significant other changes and a major step would be the introduction of ‘Certificate of Inventorship’ that recognizes the intellectual property of inventors in patented inventions.
India-European Free Trade Agreement States’ Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) signed in March 2024, has 14 chapters of which one is exclusively for IPR. It is the first time that India signs an agreement with such nations. The IPR chapter involves provisions for protection, acquisition and maintenance and enforcement of IPR including border measures and others. The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum also contribute towards creating a stronger IP system in India.
A 247% growth was reported in patent filing from academic institutions in the last 5 years, as per the Office of CGPDTM, can be attributed to the KAPILA and NIPAM initiatives of Government of India. The Kalam Program for IP Literacy and Awareness (KAPILA) launched on October 15, 2020 delivers funding assistance for patent filing, IPR courses and sets foundation for institutional participation in Ministry of Education’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship initiatives along with other activities. The National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM) under the Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav aims at providing awareness on intellectual property and its rights to 1 million students and to incorporate the spirit of creativity and innovation to students of higher education.
Way Forward
Prof (Dr) Unnat P Pandit, the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks exhorts, ‘in the realm of creative endeavours, ideas sparkle like stardust, inviting dreamers to weave them into the tapestry of imagination; blending inspiration with knowledge to give birth to intellectual creation.’ His words reveal a positive IP culture encouraging for a consistent growth in the said field. There is always a scope for progress. The Stanford AI Index Report 2023 has reported India as the third country having a positive response towards AI development. The AI based skillset is also improving in Indian workforce. Also, journal publications on Artificial Intelligence based topics are also increasing from below 1.3% in 2020 to 5.6% in 2021. If India encourages AI innovations by guaranteeing IP protection, there would be a drastic change for India as an international personality. Addressing challenges associated with AI and its intellectual property related ambiguities are also necessary. Adequate preservation and protection of biodiversity, plant varieties and traditional knowledge associated thereto, if given simultaneous stimulus, can bring a holistic development, contributing towards achieving SDG and technological growth.
Thus, with more support to the innovations and creativity in India from the authorities, smart legal counsels working in the sector and new entrepreneurs getting on board, India can hope for a better future towards IP protection while striving for fulfilment of Sustainable Development Goals.
(Featured Image is the image posted by WIPO at X.com)
