The Intellectual Property Review-INDIA

I FORMS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION

India has substantive legislation covering all major forms of intellectual property (IP), including patents, copyright, designs, trademarks, plantvarieties, geographical indications and semiconductors. As a World Trade Organization member since 1995,² all this legislation, by and large, complieswith the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

An overview of all the major forms of intellectual properties and the available legal framework for their protection are as follows:

i Patents

Registration and protection of patents in India are governed by the Patents Act, 1970,³ and the accompanying rules.⁴ The law conforms to theuniversally applicable triple test for grant of patents, namely, that a new product or process that involves an inventive step and is capable ofindustrial application is entitled to be protected as a patent.⁵ The patent term is 20 years from the date of filing. A