A Comprehensive Assessment of the Economic Impacts of Intellectual Property Rights: A Case Study of India
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This Blog is written by Prerna Ganti from Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad. Edited by Pranoy Singhla.
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INTRODUCTION
In the modern world, every nation is competing with each other to succeed in all fields. Various technological innovations, business ventures are being introduced to increase the growth and economy of the nation. Governments of all the nations are looking for ways to build their economy and develop the country. Thanks to the human brain, in fields such as technology, information, and culture, various advanced innovations are taking place. Man-made innovations are excelling all over the world. The Private Sector or Companies are an open door for such innovations as they build up and succeed their firms by such innovations. Every product we use in our day-to-day life is a creative innovation that we enjoy using human intelligence. The property that is developed using the human intellect or human mind is known as intellectual property.
The rights given to the owner or the creator over their creation is known as intellectual property rights. These rights grant the creator or the owner exclusive rights over his creation or innovation for a specific period. The value of the intellectual property and its concerning rights are becoming precious day by day. There are well-established statutory, administrative and judicial procedures for the protection of intellectual property rights in India. Patents, Copyrights, Trademark are some examples of intellectual property rights. Intellectual property rights play a significant role in the development of the economy of a nation. Laws relating to the IPR vary from country to country. The strict implementation of the IPR contributes significantly to economic growth in many advanced nations. Every business in the world is all about creation. IPR promotes innovation which in turn leads to the growth of the economy. The innovation thus leads to building goodwill for the company, which is essential. This name of goodwill is often exchanged or sold for a reasonable price in the market. Therefore, IPR leads to financial developments in a nation.
The role of Intellectual Property Rights in building the economy:
• is to develop a market for the invention so that it can be put to good use and inspire others to innovate and create
• prohibit competitors or anyone else from abusing or misusing the property without the creator’s consent
• to secure the creator’s interests and stimulate investment in research and information production by providing exclusive rights.
Apart from boosting the economy, there are various benefits of promoting Intellectual Property Rights, such as:
• Intellectual property protection allows businesses to profit from their ideas and expand: Firms that use IPR succeed as it helps them trade, develops and helps them innovate better. Hence, IPR promotes diversification, publication and diversity.
• The preservation of intellectual property encourages innovation: IPR increases a firm’s funding, letting them realise the need for innovation. Hence, this helps the firm understand the importance of innovation secured by IPR than those without it.
• Small and medium businesses benefit from intellectual property protection: It can be observed that small scale industries use IPRs on a large scale than more prominent firms. Therefore, by using IPR, SMEs develop better employment opportunities, more growth and increased income.
• Consumers and society benefit from intellectual property protection: IPR helps consumers use products virtually without any trouble. It also safeguards consumers from pirated versions and also protects the creator’s rights.
In India, intangibles, such as Intellectual Property, account for 60% or more of the market value of many firms today. The intellectual property they possess in the innovation they have invented is the only thing that matters to some small businesses. IPR has evolved into an ‘intellectual currency,’ promoting global economic growth, firm competitiveness, and innovation.
SIGNIFICANCE
Intellectual property rights are necessary as they protect the rights of the creator. It also provides exclusive rights to the owner over their creation. The owner has complete control over the fair market value and can sell them to anyone. Great market value for creations can encourage others to come up with creative ideas that benefit everyone. Protecting ideas and innovation is essential as it benefits the creator and leads to research and development. They help in the growth of the state and national and economies. Through Intellectual property rights, employment opportunities can be created. Over the next decade, employment in IP-intensive businesses is predicted to expand faster than the national average. Intellectual Property increases competitiveness amongst firms which leads to economic growth. Intellectual Property Rights promotes innovation and rewards creators for their creation. The innovation economy thrives on risk and sometimes failure. In the face of hardship, intellectual property rights encourage entrepreneurs to keep pushing for breakthroughs. By sharing the protected know-how vital to the original, patented idea, IP rights allow the free flow of information. As a result of this process, new ideas and enhancements to current ones emerge. IPR also helps maintain an equal balance in the market. Through innovation, all sectors can boost their economy, create better employment opportunities, and protect society’s rights and interests. Therefore, this develops the economy of the nation and leads to development.
IMPACT
Improved technology and methods can help to boost productivity. India, which is currently a developing nation, focuses more on development and increasing market productivity. India is one of the nations that always comes first in providing exceptional services to other nations worldwide. Innovation requires investment though they are expensive. They give high returns equally, which benefits the nation. We may learn from industrialised countries such as the United States and Japan, where the rate of development grew fivefold once intellectual property rules were implemented. India must establish the required legislation to comply with Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The subject of how Intellectual Property Rights influence economic development and improvement is fascinating and depends on various circumstances. In theory, more solid frameworks for the protection of licenced invention could either help or hinder economic growth. Development paves the path for the creation of licenced innovation, and using this protected innovation gives a company a significant competitive advantage while also contributing significantly to its success. IPR has led to better employment opportunities in India. Significantly, innovation is promoted in India, such as the Make In India campaign, which increased employment and promoted creation. Through Make in India, the country’s economy boomed. IPR laws provide incentives to both consumers and producers. These laws also safeguard the necessary quality and forfeit on fake, duplicated products that are hazardous. The pharmaceutical industry in India had significant growth in the world that led to the growth of the economy of India due to the implementation of patent rights. Thus, Intellectual Property Rights play an important role and significantly help in the growth of the country.
STATUTORY PROVISIONS
The creation of using skills, innovation, mind, intelligence and ability is known as Intellectual Property. IP is an asset to the creator as one had exclusive rights over his creation. It was classified as an intangible asset and thus, was provided with the law to safeguard the rights of the creator. The Indian legislative system has established a complex legal framework for intellectual property. The word “intellectual property” encompasses a wide range of topics and laws related to them. The law for Intellectual Property Rights was first implemented in the year 1957 with the Copy Rights Act, 1957. This Act includes the provisions for artistic, musical, cinematography, literary and other such works. It addresses the creative side of the creator and prevents third party invasion without the copyright holder’s permission. The Patents Act, 1970 contains the required provisions for the ownership, grant, term, exploitation, revocation, and other aspects of patents. A patent is an exclusive right granted to the creator to use his intellectual property commercially. The Trademark Act, 1999 regulates the different legal aspects of trademarks. Trademarks are symbols or legally registered words that differentiate one business from another. The Designs Act, 2000 was enacted as a result of the increase in industrial developments. It safeguards the creative part of industrial product design. Apart from these Acts, there are various other Acts that also protect the Intellectual Property Rights of farmers, such as the Protection of plant variety and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001. Following the enactment of these laws, the number of intellectual property issues that reached the courts increased. People were more aware of their rights and did not hesitate to pursue legal remedies such as injunctions, compensation or damages when their intellectual property was infringed. These laws helped protect the creator’s rights, leading to more innovations and a rise in the numbers of Intellectual Property in the nation.
CASE LAWS
In Marico Ltd. v. Abhijeet Bhansali, the plaintiff company’s goodwill and reputation were damaged by the defendant, who was a social media influencer via youtube. The defendant used the Parachute, their trademark, without the creator’s permission in his video and infringed the company’s right. The Bombay High Court, in this case, held that, in explanation of Section 29 of the Trademarks Act, 1999, the court found that the defendant had infringed on the plaintiff’s trademark by utilising it without permission in his film. As a result, the Defendant was issued an interim injunction and an order to remove the disputed film.
In Sameer Wadekar v. Netflix entertainment Services Pvt. Ltd., the defendant had copied the literary works of the plaintiff, filmed a web series using his content without the plaintiff’s permission. The Bombay High Court examined both works and determined that the similarities between them were insufficient to declare the web series a copy of the plaintiff’s literary work as there were merely any similarities between the works. Thus, the injunction case was eventually dismissed, and the online series was allowed to air.
In Star India Pvt. Ltd. v. Moviestrunk.com, the defendant, without the plaintiff’s permission, streamed a web series directed by the plaintiff on his online platform. This amounted to copyright infringement by the defendant. The plaintiff’s claim to exclusive exploitation and distribution of their copyrighted content was recognised by the Delhi High Court under the Copyright Act of 1957. The court awarded suitable compensation to the plaintiff for the damage suffered.
ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION
Intellectual property helps in the innovation and development of the nation. Intellectual property helps build employment opportunities in the country and give an opportunity to the creation of billions. Intellectual property rights play a key role as they protect the rights and interests of the creator. The creators have the knowledge to fight for their rights if there is any misuse or exploitation against them. Intellectual property rights also help in boosting the economy of the nation. With innovation and creation that can be used in various fields and resources, the nation is advancing with it, helping it boom its economy. Intellectual property rights also help build employment opportunities and pay better salaries to the employees as the firms grow. However, there are drawbacks to IPR as well. The major disadvantage of IPR is that it sometimes prevents technology from being used most appropriately. The holder of rights can occasionally abuse his or her position. They can charge whatever they want, and IPR protects their innovation from being misused by third parties. The spirit of competition maintains a check and balance on both pricing and product quality. IPR laws, on the other hand, are anti-competitive. PR legislation creates a market monopoly. It is pro-monopoly. Copyright, trademarks, and patents are examples of laws that make it difficult for a competitor to use discovery. Every law has both negative as well as positive aspects. As a result, India’s Intellectual Property Right law does not make the market inflexible while still keeping it dynamic.