World Intellectual Property Rights Day is celebrated on April 26 every year. The event was established by the World Intellectual Property Rights Organisation to raise awareness about the importance and impact of these rights. Here's all you need to know about it.
What are Intellectual Property Rights?
Intellectual Property is a product of human intellect such as inventions, artistic and literary works, designs and symbols, and names and images used in commerce and the rights granted on it allow its owner to benefit from the fruits of this intellectual endeavour by creating a monopoly over it.
What are the types of IPR?
There are four main types of Intellectual Property Rights — Trade Secrets, Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks.
What is the purpose of IPR?
Strong and enforced Intellectual Property Rights protect consumers and families. Strong IP rights help consumers make an educated choice about the safety, reliability, and effectiveness of their purchases. Enforced IP rights ensure products are authentic, and of the high quality that consumers recognise and expect.
What are the international IPR agreements India has signed?
The Paris Convention – under this, any person from a signatory state can apply for a patent or trademark in any other signatory state and will be given the same enforcement rights and status as a national of that country would be.
The Berne Convention – under this, each member state recognises the copyright of authors from other member states in the same way as the copyright of its own nationals.
The Madrid Protocol – under this, a person can file a single trademark application at their national office that will provide protection in multiple countries.
The Patent Cooperation Treaty – this is a central system for obtaining a ‘bundle’ of national patent applications in different jurisdictions through a single application.
What is the open COVID pledge?
Long-term success in the medical response to COVID-19 will depend on diagnostics, therapeutics, equipment, vaccines, tracking systems and software. However, restrictions on their use resulting from patents, copyrights and other intellectual property rights could cost lives. The Open COVID Pledge, launched in April, enables organisations to make their IP widely available without charge.