Intellectual property in India refers to the patents, copyrights and other intangible assets in India.

Government Policy

Indian government approved its first Intellectual Property Rights Policy in May 2016.

Laws

Copyrights

The "Copyright Act, 1957" (as amended by the Copyright Amendment Act 2012) governs the subject of copyright law in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. The history of copyright law in India can be traced back to its colonial era under the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading post ...

. The Copyright Act, 1957 was the first post-independence copyright legislation in India and the law has been amended six times since 1957. The most recent amendment was in the year 2012, through the Copyright (Amendment) Act 2012.

Trademarks

"Indian trademark law" statutorily protects

trademarks A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from ot ...

as per the Trademark Act, 1999 and also under the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

remedy of

passing off Passing off is a common law tort which can be used to enforce unregistered trade mark rights. The tort of passing off protects the goodwill of a trader from misrepresentation. The law of passing off prevents one trader from misrepresenting ...

. Statutory protection of trademark is administered by the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, a government agency which reports to the

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is a central government department under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in India. It is responsible for formulation and implementation of promotional and developmental ...

(DIPP), under the

Ministry of Commerce and Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and M ...

Patents

The Patents Act, 1970 were brought into the force on 20 April 1972, and further amendments were carried in 1999, 2002 and 2005. The Patent Rules, 2003 were introduced along with the Patent Act (amendment), 2002 on 20 May 2003, and recent amendments were carried in 2016, and 2017. The Patents (Amendment) Rules 2016 mainly focused on expediting the grant process, benefits to startup, and increase in official fees. Patent filing has increased drastically, with over 138,000 patents filed between 2015- 21, with over 85,000 filed in emerging technologies.

Authority

The Intellectual Property India is administered by the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks (CGPDTM). This is a subordinate office of the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

and administers the Indian law of Patents, Designs, Trade Marks and Geographical Indications.

References

Indian intellectual property law {{India-law-stub