Patent:
Patent is a statutory right for an invention granted for a limited period of time to the patentee by the Government, in exchange of full disclosure of his invention for excluding others, from making, using, offering for sale or selling, and importing the patented product or process for producing that product for those purposes without the consent of patentee.
In a patent application, there are usually various parts like the title, description, drawings, claims, and abstract. It is this “claims” portion that is perhaps the most significant part of the application, as this encompasses the invention for which the applicant claims protection. The patent application must qualify the three main criteria for patentability ‘Novelty’ ‘Inventive step’, and ‘Industrial application’. Accordingly, before applying for a patent, applicants must ensure that their inventions, prima facie, are new, involve an inventive step, and can be used in or by the industry. The Act defines the term ‘inventive step’ under Section 2 (1)(ja) as “a feature of an invention that involves a technical advance as compared to the existing knowledge or having economic significance or both and that makes the invention not obvious to a person skilled in the art”.
The Indian Patent Act, under Section 3, i.e., ‘Non-Patentability’ provides a list of inventions that are specifically barred from being patentable even if they meet the patentability criteria. So, it is important that the applicants also ensure that their inventions do not fall under Section 3.
Trademark:
Trademark is the right to use a specific name, word, phrase, symbol, logo, design, sound or color (or a combination of elements) to identify your products and distinguish them from other products. A service mark is similar, but refers to the right to use a name to identify the source of services and distinguish that source from other service providers.
Industrial design:
Industrial design registration recognizes the creation of new and original features of new shape, configuration, surface pattern, ornamentations, and composition of lines or colors applied to the articles. Moreover, it includes industrial designs which can be two-dimensional or three-dimensional designs of the article.
It’s important to mention that the concept of design patents is a US concept and not permitted in India. In India, industrial designs are protected by the Designs Act, 2000, subject to fulfillment of related laws and rules, but the same is not patent protection, but only industrial design protection.
Copyright:
Copyright is a form of protection provided to authors of original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. A copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, thus, the copyright registration is optional. Using the copyright symbol © along with the year of first publication, and the author’s name signifies the copyright.
GI
Geographical Indication (GI) is an intellectual property (IP) right that is used to identify a product having its origin in a particular region, and qualities, reputations, or other qualities of the product that may be directly linked to the origin. When a product has a GI tag, it inhibits unlawful usage and increases the manufacturer’s financial benefit through export. The price of a GI product rises on the global market as exports grow.
– AmanIntellect IP