This Article is written by Ayush Khilwani, a Fourth-year law student of Career College of Law, Bhopal

Global Guardians: An Overview of International Conventions on Intellectual Property Rights

In the field of intellectual property, international agreements provide a consistent legal framework for coping with the problems of a digitally changed global economy. Intellectual property rights (IPR) provide people control over their creative works, which might include inventions, literary and artistic works, and corporate emblems, names, and pictures. These rights enable artists and owners to acquire recognition and even financial rewards for their works. Intellectual property in India is protected by copyright, trademarks, patents, and other legal mechanisms. Individuals can seek protection for their intellectual property by contacting the appropriate government authorities.
Intellectual property rights hold significant importance in both national and global arenas. To recognize the international growth of intellectual property law, numerous bilateral and multilateral treaties have been signed. Although the concept of intellectual property seems to be recent its recognition at the international level began in 1880’s. These international conventions and treaties provide a legal framework for the protection of intellectual property on the global stage.

.[1]Concept of Intellectual Property Rights

The concept of intellectual property rights is growing rapidly in the current global economy. Intellectual property rights are basic rights of ownership of property, property that is not tangible and is the result of intellect. The main objective of these rights is to protect the interest of creators by granting them the right of ownership of their creations which also allows creators to earn financial benefits from their creations.

Need for Intellectual Property Rights:

• IPR provides legal protection to the owner of the creation.

• IPR plays a vital role in boosting the growth of the economy of the nation.

• IPR aims to prohibit duplication of work and also aims to facilitate fair trading.

• IPR incentivizes the creator or author of the work and gives recognition to the efforts of the creator.

• IPR encourages the creation of new pathbreaking inventions and promotes creativity.

Types of Intellectual Property Rights Recognised in India

Ø Copyright:

Copyright is the first type of intellectual property protection that prohibits copying. Copyright protects people's original works, including writing, photography, music, and video, as well as other forms of creativity such as literature and art. In India, copyright is controlled by the Copyright Act of 1957, which became effective in January 1958.
This right encompasses the following:
• Right to replicate the work.
• Right to make derivative works based on the original work.
• The right to publicly exhibit or perform the work.
• Authority to distribute copies of original work.

Ø Trademark:

A trademark is defined as a brand name or mark that has been registered or licensed. A trademark is any term, symbol, or name that identifies the items produced by an individual, corporation, organization, etc. The Trademark Act, of 1999 deals with the protection, registration, and prevention of fraudulent use of trademarks. It also deals with the rights of the holder of the trademark, penalties for infringement, remedies for the damage as well as modes of transference of the trademark. The distinction between a trademark and other intellectual property rights is that a trademark is granted for an unlimited time, whereas other IPRs have a specific period. Initially trademark is registered for 10 years but it can be renewed again and again indefinitely and easily.

Ø Patents:

A patent is an absolute right provided by the government to the owner or creator of the invention. This right prevents anyone from using, making, or selling the idea. Section 53 of the Patent Act states that a patent is only valid for 20 years, after which the innovation is no longer patentable.

Ø Geographical Indication (GI):

"Indications which identify a good as originating in the territory of a member, or a region or locality in that territory where a given quality, reputation, or other characteristic of good is essentially attributable to its geographic origin," is how the TRIPS agreement defines geographical indications in Article 22. Russian Vodka, Basmati Rice, Bikaneri Bhujia, and other products are a few examples of GI. The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act of 1999 governs geographic indications. The registration, infringement, and GI remedies are governed by this statute.

[2]Brief Overview of Major International Conventions on Intellectual Property Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) has also taken the initiative to protect intellectual property by establishing an appropriate framework at the international level. According to Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to have their moral and material interests protected as a result of any scientific, literary, or creative output of which they are the author. In today’s era, we can observe how proficiently intellectual property rights are enforced in the global economy.

Some major international conventions which played a crucial role in the development of IPR are:

Paris Convention 1883

Many International conventions and treaties were created to safeguard intellectual property rights. Paris Convention is one of the major and first conventions that played a significant role in protecting intellectual property. Paris Convention was held in 1883, and the main objective of this convention was to safeguard mainly industrial intellectual property. Paris Convention marks out all major forms of industrial property such as trademarks, trade secrets, industrial design, patents, etc. Paris Convention of 1883 has two major provisions which are as follows:

Ø National Treatment:

The concept of national treatment is based on the principle of equal treatment. The convention's national treatment clauses say that, in terms of industrial intellectual property protection, each contracting or member state offers the same protection to nationals of another contracting state as it does to its nationals.

Nationals of non-contracting states are also entitled to national treatment under this convention if they are domiciled or they have real and effective industrial establishments in a contracting state.

Ø Right of Priority:

In the case of patents, the Paris Convention provides the right of priority. This right means that, based on a regular first application filed in the contracting states, the applicant may within the period apply for the protection in any of the other contracting states. Generally, the period is 12 months for the patents, and the period for industrial designs and marks is 6 months.

[3]Berne Convention 1886

The Berne Convention was adopted in Brene, Switzerland on September 9, 1886, and went into force in 1887. Currently, 181 nations have signed the Bene Convention, which was the second international treaty designed to defend intellectual property rules. The main objective of this convention was to provide effective protection to literary and artistic work, the Brene Convention also contains important principles like

• Principle of National Treatment

• Principle of Automatic Protection

• Independence of Protection

The Berne Convention also aims to provide exclusive rights to the author which includes rights like:

• Rights of Translation

• Rights of Reproduction

• Rights to Perform Dramatic etc

[4]World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

WIPO is an intergovernmental organization that was signed on 14th July 1967, and it came into force on 27th April 1970, WIPO contains a total of 21 articles. WIPO has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and there are a total of 193 member states of WIPO, India also joined WIPO in 1975. Daren Tang Heng Shim is the current director general of WIPO.

The WIPO aims to promote and protect intellectual property throughout the world through administrative cooperation among states. In the ongoing positive relationship with WIPO, India has taken an active part in meetings of the Standing Committees on Intellectual Property and its development.

WIPO has two main objectives:

• To promote the protection of intellectual property worldwide

• To ensure administrative cooperation among the intellectual property Unions

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) 1994

TRIPS Agreement 1994 came into force on 1st January 1995. TRIPS is an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that sets down the minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property. TRIPS includes most of the Brene Convention rules.

TRIPS introduced intellectual property law into the international trading system for the first time and TRIPS is the most comprehensive international agreement on intellectual property till today. Obligations under TRIPS apply to all member equally but developing countries were given more time to make changes in their national laws. TRIPS also included provisions like national treatment, favored nation, etc. Some important objectives of TRIPS are:

• To promote effective and adequate protection of intellectual property rights

• To reduce distortion and impediment to international trade

• To ensure that measures and procedures to enforce intellectual property rights

These international conventions including international agreements and treaties have always fascinated in promotion and protection of intellectual property rights. With time many other international treaties and agreements were introduced for the development of intellectual property rights. Some other important international treaties which have taken place are:

· The Madrid Agreement of 1891

· The Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, 1925

· The Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Registration of Marks, 1957

· The Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, 1958

· The Rome Convention Concerning Neighbouring Rights, 1961

· The Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs, 1968

• The Trademark Law Treaty, 1994

The above-given international conventions have played a crucial role in creating a global framework for intellectual property rights.

Conclusion:

It can be concluded that there is a need to protect intellectual property rights in the current global economy as these rights ensure that corporations and enterprises invest in innovative technology and developments. These conventions have also been successful in enhancing international cooperation and these treaties have empowered nations to safeguard their creations and innovations.

In the end, these treaties and agreements act as global guardians of intellectual property rights as these conventions have always worked for the promotion and protection of these rights and these conventions are successful in establishing a worldwide framework for intellectual property rights.

References

[1]Nidhi Bajaj, “All about Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)”, May 31, 2022 ,https://blog.ipleaders.in/all-about-intellectual-property-rights-ipr/, accessed on 20th September 2024

[2]Shriya Singh, “Treaties for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection”, February 13, 2024, https://blog.ipleaders.in/leading-international-instruments-related-to-intellectual-property-rights/, accessed on 20th September 2024

[3] Mohd Aqib Aslam, “Intellectual Property and Its Conventions”, https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-4938-intellectual-property-and-its-conventions.html, accessed on 21st September 2024

[4] Adv. Anamika Kashyap “International IPR Treaties and Conventions”, https://www.ezylegal.in/blogs/international-ipr-treaties-and-conventions, accessed on 22nd September 2024