WTO and Intellectual Property Rights: Evolution, Divisions

Introduction

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) encompasses the rights granted to individuals for their intellectual creations, spanning inventions, literary and artistic works, as well as symbols, names, and images used in commerce. These rights typically grant creators exclusive control over the use of their creations for a specific duration. Within the WTO framework, member countries agree to certain standards and rules regarding intellectual property protection. 

Evolution of Intellectual Property Rights 

• Basis in Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights outlines IPR, emphasizing the right to benefit from the protection of moral and material interests derived from scientific, literary, or artistic productions.
• Historical Recognition: The significance of intellectual property was initially acknowledged in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883) and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1886). 
  • Both conventions are administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
• Divisions of Intellectual Property Rights
  • Copyright and Rights Related to Copyright (i): Protects the rights of authors of literary and artistic works (e.g., books, music, paintings) for a minimum of 50 years after the author’s death.
  • Industrial Property (ii): Protects distinctive signs, including trademarks and geographical indications.
  • Trademarks differentiate goods or services of one entity from others.
  • Geographical Indications (GIs) identify a good’s origin and relevant characteristics.
    • Protection aims to ensure fair competition and consumer protection, lasting indefinitely if the sign remains distinctive.

Other Types of Industrial Property:

• Includes protection for inventions (patents), industrial designs, and trade secrets.
• Aimed at stimulating innovation, design, and technological advancement.
• Patents protect inventions, while industrial designs safeguard the visual design aspects.
• Trade Secrets: Involve confidential business information.

Patents

• A patent is a form of intellectual property protection, granting exclusive rights for an invention, whether it’s a product or a process. The invention typically offers a new approach to doing something or presents a new technical solution to a problem.
• Patentability Criteria: To qualify for a patent, an invention must meet certain criteria:
• Novelty: The invention should be new.
• Inventive Step: It must involve a technical advancement.
• Industrial Application: The invention should be capable of industrial application.
• Term of Patent in India: The term of a patent in India is 20 years from the date of filing the patent application, regardless of whether it’s filed with a provisional or complete specification.
• Patents Act, 1970: The principal law governing the patent system in India, enacted in 1972, replacing the Indian Patents and Designs Act 1911.
  • Amended in 2005 to extend product patent protection to various fields, including food, drugs, chemicals, and microorganisms.
  • Introduced provisions for compulsory licenses, repealed Exclusive Marketing Rights (EMRs), and included pre-grant and post-grant opposition provisions.
• Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2021:
  • Reduced Fees for Educational Institutions: Official fees payable by educational institutions for patent filing and prosecution have been reduced to encourage greater participation.
  • Extension of Expedited Examination System: The Expedited Examination system, initially for startups, is extended to eight more categories, including SMEs, female applicants, government departments, and others.
  • Evergreening of Patent: A strategy to extend the term of a granted patent by obtaining new patents, often for known substances, to retain royalties. 
    • Section 3(d) of the Indian Patent Act prevents evergreening.
  • Compulsory Licensing (CL): CL allows entities to use, manufacture, import, or sell a patented invention without the patent owner’s consent. 
    • Governed by the Patents Act in India, it is permitted under the WTO’s TRIPS (IPR) Agreement under certain conditions like national emergencies and anti-competitive practices.

Geographical Indication (GI) Tag

• It is a designation used to identify products with unique characteristics originating from a specific geographical area.
• Legal Framework in India: The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 governs the registration and enhanced protection of geographical indications relating to goods in India. (UPSC 2018)
• International Regulation: Aligned with the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). 
  • Recognized as elements of Intellectual Property under Articles 1(2) and 10 of the Paris Convention.
• Scope: Encompasses agricultural, natural, or manufactured products, including handicrafts and industrial goods.
• Validity: GI tags are valid for 10 years and can be renewed.
• Significance: Offers legal protection and prevents unauthorized use of the product’s name. Facilitates promotion of exports and assures customers of product authenticity.
• Registration Process: Involves filing an application, preliminary scrutiny, examination, show cause notice, publication in the geographical indications journal, opposition to registration, and final registration.
  • Any association, producer, organization, or authority established by law can apply, representing the producers’ interests.
• GI Tag Products: Examples of goods with GI tags include Basmati rice, Darjeeling Tea, Chanderi Fabric, Mysore Silk, Kullu Shawl, Kangra Tea, Thanjavur Paintings, Allahabad Surkha, Farrukhabad Prints, Lucknow Zardozi, Kashmir Saffron, and Kashmir Walnut Wood Carving. (UPSC 2015)

Conclusion

• The intersection of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and intellectual property rights (IPR) represents a critical aspect of global trade and innovation. 
• The WTO provides a platform for member countries to negotiate and enforce trade agreements, while IPR ensures that creators and innovators are incentivized to develop new ideas by granting them legal protections. 
• Through agreements such as the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the WTO seeks to establish minimum standards for IPR protection and enforcement worldwide.