India - IP rules (new)

It has been announced that Trademark registration will take only one month as per the IPR policy. After implementing this policy, Copyright laws will be under the control of Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (“DIPP”)

The Policy lays down seven objectives which are briefly mentioned below:

Creating awareness: To create the awareness amongst all section of society regarding economic, social, and cultural benefits of IPR by making IPR a compulsory part of the curriculum in the major institutions. The need to open a national research institute for IPR has also been made out to increase IPR outreach.
Innovation: To offset the growing foreign dependence India needs to develop indigenous products. Through this National IPR policy, the main thrust of the government is to create an environment where people can think innovatively and generate innovation in every field. Mainly for inventors and entrepreneurs who are dealing with an overload of knowledge and ideas which need to be protected against infringers by getting them trademarked, copyrighted or patented according to the need.
Balanced structure of legal framework: Protection of intellectual property can only be provided through well-defined laws which have a balanced approach towards interests of public and owner of intellectual property. If there will be a lack of protection mechanism in legislature framework, then people are not encouraged to create more intellectual property. This will lead to setting up of a stronger institutional monitoring mechanism to curb IP offenses at State level.
Administration and Management: To modernize and strengthen service-oriented IPR administration. Digitization of all government filings has made it quite hassle free to register trademarks online by using IP India’s Site http://www.ipindia.nic.in/. To speed up the approvals by lowering the average time for pending IPR applications to 18 months from 5-7 years and lowering the trademark registration time from 13 months at present to one month by 2017.
Commercialization of IPRs: Get value for IPRs through commercialization. Most business owners do not know how their brand impacts the value of their business. A strong brand is nothing but an intangible asset which includes trademarks, copyrights, patents and trade secrets which are the intellectual property of that company. At the time of valuation or in case if the owner is considering selling his business then intangible assets like your intellectual property can bag you more value than other tangible assets. Also, a well-protected brand attracts investors as they will feel safe to invest in a company which has everything secured in legal terms to avoid any future conflicts.
Enforcement and Adjudication: Protecting your intellectual property with trademarks, copyrights and patents play an essential role in monetizing innovation. By strengthening the enforcement and adjudicatory mechanisms for combating IPR infringements one can stop others from stealing their work. Making the process of opposing and safeguarding the IP by coordination between various agencies and guiding the IP owners on following the best practices to avoid any digital piracy.
Human Capital Development: To strengthen and expand human resources, institutions and capacities for teaching, training, research and skill building in IPRs. The opening of R&D institutions and making IPR a compulsory subject to be taught in schools and colleges to develop a pool of skilled experts in this field to facilitate in increasing generation of IP assets and managing them judiciously. more