Intellectual property rights (ipr) in

International Journal of Library and Information Science Research and Development
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LIBRARY AND
(IJLISRD), ISSN: 2277 – 3541 (Print) ISSN: 2277 – 3673 (Online) Volume 1, Issue 1,
INFORMATION SCIENCE RESEARCH AND
January- April 2012, © PRJ Publication

DEVELOPMENT (IJLISRD)
ISSN: 2277 – 3541 (Print)
ISSN: 2277 – 3673 (Online)
IJLISRD
© PRJ PUBLICATION
Volume 1, Issue 1, January- April (2012), pp. 01-20
© PRJ: www.prjpublication.com/ijlisrd.asp

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR) IN
DIGITAL LIBRARIES

N.TAMILSELVAN
CHIEF LIBRARIAN & HEAD
RATHINAM TECHNICAL CAMPUS

Dr. S. BALASUBRAMANIAN
PRINCIPAL
RATHINAM TECHNICAL CAMPUS

ABSTRACT

Discusses the need for awareness of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Mentions
the concept of Intellectual Capital with their key components. Classifies properties to
understand the concept of intellectual property. Analyses different aspects of IPR and its
issues in digital era. Concludes with the suggestion that Library and Information
Professionals have an obligatory role to play in making aware their users about IPR.

This paper discusses developments which lead to the establishment of digital
libraries, and the prohlerns posed by digital technologies and electronic information over
internet. describes the nature of copyright violations in digital environment including
databases and points out the disparities in legislations and deals with the influence of
internet is also explains techniques like cryptography, digital watermarks and digital
signatures for effective control of infringement of rights in various environment, and
security of information over networks and multimedia works. The paper concludes some
pertinent questions about the use of digital information.

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Keywords: Intellectual Property Rights in Digital Library

INTRODUCTION
The path-breaking developments in information technology (IT), particularly in
the field of computers, communications and mass storage, have made it possible to
handle enormous volumes of digital information and data with ease. CD-ROM has
become an acceptable medium for storage and dissemination. More and more academic,
R&D and other institutions are turning to CD-ROM databases replacing some of the
conventional publications and online databases slowly but steadily. The number of
electronic databases of secondary periodicals is also growing. Retrospective and
bibliographic searches and reference queries are exclusively conducted using them.
Digital information would have a higher growth in the coming years. Library and
information centres (L&Ics) are taking advantage of these technologies for effectively
meeting user's requirements. There is a gradual increase in the digital information
component in the holdings with a growing dependency on electronic resources,
particularly in S&T and academic libraries. During the past few years, there was a
computers; the focus of the virtual library being the individual users or their workstations.
In a true virtual library there is no corresponding physical collection, documents are
available in electronic format, the) are not stored in any one location, they can be
accessed from any workstation and are retrieved and delivered as and when required, and
effective search and browse facilities are available (Sherwell,1997). The usage of
communication networks for access, browsing, downloading or transmitting information
is essential in a virtual library environment.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP)

Every human being is endowed with certain but varying degree of intellect. Each
individual is uniquely gifted. The word intellect originates from the root “intellectus” in
Latin which means the power of knowing as distinguished from the power to feel. Man
has the capacity to acquire knowledge and increase his knowledge bank by gathering
more and utilizing it as and when required throughout his life time. An intellectual makes
his living by selling the product intellect, which is nothing but the brain child of his
original idea, creative thought, which forms a special kind of property known as
intellectual property. The intellectual property is ownership of something intangible. A
right as we know is legally protected interest and object of the right is the thing in which
the owner has this interest. The object in intellectual property right is immaterial
property. Hence, we cannot neatly fit it into either of the two conventionally
dichotomized categories of personal or real property.

Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and
artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce.

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IP is divided into two categories: Industrial property, which includes inventions
(patents), trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic indications of source; and
Copyright, which includes literary and artistic works such as novels, poems and plays,
films, musical works, artistic works such as drawings, paintings, photographs and
sculptures, and architectural designs. Rights related to copyright include those of
performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings,
and those of broadcasters in their radio and television programs.

IP as a general term refers to the subject matter of the laws that give rise to
proprietary interests in creations of the mind. That is, it refers to intangibles that arise and
derive their intrinsic value out of innovative or creative activities. The various tools of
IPR that are used to protect innovations are Copyrights, Industrial Designs, Data
Protection, Geographical Indications, Patent and Trademark.

MEANING OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Intellectual property is a right you have on your creations, like a film, a musical
composition, an invention, a brand name, etc. Like any other real property, you have the
right to own and protect the creations of your mind. Such a right is called intellectual
property. If you have an intellectual property (IP) over any of your work or ideas, others
need to take your permission before using it. Otherwise you can initiate legal action
against such persons.

Intellectual property refers to the right over the intellectual work and not the work
itself. The work can be either artistic or commercial. The artistic works come under the
category of copyright laws, while the commercial ones, also known as industrial
properties, are ruled by copyrights, trademarks, industrial design rights and trade secrets.
Copyright laws deal with the intellectual property of creative works like books, music,
software, painting, etc. Industrial properties cover those created and used for industrial or
commercial purposes. As stated earlier, intellectual property is categorized into various
types as per the nature of work. The most common types of intellectual property are
copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights and trade secrets. Let us have a
brief look at the different types of intellectual property.

BASIC CONCEPTS
The brief literature review of some of the recent Indian publications given above helps
the authors to avoid duplication of explaining basic concepts related to IPR. For example:

• What is IPR?
• What are technicalities of patent protection?
• How it ensures that the inventors get their due for their efforts?
• Scope and coverage of various concepts connected with IPR, such as intellectual
Property, intellectual property rights, patents, copyright, images, designs,
trademarks, computer software, databases, Internet, and cyber laws.

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• Why India is concerned about the manner in which multinational companies and
the western countries casually appropriate intellectual property?
• Possibilities of making intellectual property as the main factor in India’s
competitive advantage in the 21st century.
• What is “fair use” in the context of print medium and is it applicable to electronic
medium?
• Historical development of IPR, copyright and patent law.
• Objectives of copyright law
• Legal rights of authors
• Exceptions to copyright infringement
• Copyright enforcement-establishment of CCC-Copyright
Clearance Center, Inc in 1977

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR)
IPR connotes the right to literary, artistic and scientific work; performances of
performing artists; phonographs and broad-cast; inventions in all fields of human
endeavour; scientific discoveries; industrial designs; trademarks; service marks and
commercial names and designations, and all other products resulting from intellectual
activity in the industrial, scientific, literary and artistic fields. It is a generic term covering
patents; registered design; trademark; copyright; layout of integrated circuits, trade
secrets; geographical indicators and anti-competitive practices in contractual licenses.

IPR is the creation of human mind. Potential efforts of human beings lead to
intellectual outcomes which in turn have considerable value in economy. Right associated
with intellectual property which gives protection is referred to as IPR.

IPR can generally be defined as the rights given to persons over the creations of
their minds. They usually give the creator an exclusive legal right over the use of his/her
creation for a certain time and thus protect the owner against unauthorized copying 11.
IPR usually protects ideas or information of commercial value, playing a crucial role in
the information market. As per TRIPS the different types of IPRs are:

Patients: A government granted and secured legal right to prevent others from
practicing.

Copyrights and related rights: A set of property rights vested in the owner of a
protected work. Geographical Indications: Place names used to identify products with
particular characteristics as they come from specific places.

Industrial Designs: Features conceived in the authors’ intellect regarding pattern,
ornament etc, applied to an article and not the article itself.
Trademarks: Identification symbol used in the course of trade to enable the purchasing
public to distinguish one trader’s goods from the similar goods of other traders.

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Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits: Layout designs in accordance with the
provisions of the IPIC (the Treaty of Intellectual Property in Respect of Integrated
Circuits), negotiated under the auspices of WIPO in 1989.

Trade Secrets (undisclosed information): Protection must apply to secret information
that has commercial value and that has been subject to reasonable steps to keep it secret.

According to World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), IPRs include “rights
relating to:

• Literary, artistic and scientific work
• Performance of performing artists, phonograms and broadcasts
• Inventions in all fields of human endeavour
• Scientific Discoveries
• Industrial Designs
• Trademarks, service marks and commercial names and designations
• Protection against unfair competition and all other rights resulting from
intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary or artistic fields”.

COPYRIGHT

Copyright protects the labour, skill and judgement of someone author, artist or
some other creator, expender in the creation of original piece of work. It may be given for
creators of literacy; dramatic; musical and other artistic work and producers of
cinematographs and sound recordings. In fact, it is a bundle of rights, including interalia,
rights of reproduction, communication to the public adaptation and translation of work. A
copyright is a set of exclusive legal rights, authors have over their works for a limited
period of time. In the United States, U.S. Copyright Office works “To promote the
progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors
the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries”.

HISTORY OF COPYRIGHT LAW

Copyright was not invented until after the advent of the printing press and with
wider public literacy its importance came to be increasingly recognized. As a legal
concept, its origins in Britain were from a reaction to printers’ monopolies at the
beginning of the eighteenth century. In Britain the King was concerned by the unfair
copying of books and used the royal prerogative to pass the Licensing Act of 1662 which
established a register of licensed books and required a copy to be deposited with the
Stationers Company, essentially continuing the licensing of material that had long been in
effect. The Statute of Anne was the first real copyright act, and gave the author rights for
a fixed period, after which the copyright expired.

However, with the rapid advancements in science and technology and the development of
a ‘global village’, the need was felt for greater international cooperation for the protection

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of the rights of inventors as well as safeguarding the interests of consumers.
Consequently, in 1995, nations of the world ratified the Agreement on Trade Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property

The first TRIPS compliant amendment to the Patent Act, 1970 came via the Patent
(Amendment) Act, 2002. The Amendment made several broad reaching changes to the
existing Act, in an endeavour to ‘make the law TRIPS compliant, but also to provide
therein adequate and necessary safeguards for protection of public interest, national
security, bio-diversity, traditional knowledge etc.’ The second Amendment, introduced in
2005, the Patent Amendment Act, 2005, was enacted with nearly similar objectives.

Thus, it can be seen that the jurisprudentially, all patent enactments in the country have
sought to strike a balance between the competing interests of consumers and those of
inventors. The Acts have recognised internationally accepted principles for granting
rights to patentees and concurrently have made suitable modifications in the Indian
milieu to provide adequate protection to society at large. Technological stagnation has
been sought to be avoided and at the same time measures have been introduced to ensure
that monopolies conferred by the grant of a patent are not used to the detriment of the
society as a whole.

WORKS PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

For the purposes of copyright protection, the term “literary and artistic works” is
understood to include every original work of authorship, irrespective of its literary or
artistic merit. The ideas in the work do not need to be original, but the form of expression
must be an original creation of the author. The Berne Convention for the Protection of
Literary and Artistic Works (Article 2) states: “The expression ‘literary and artistic
works’ shall include every production in the literary, scientific and artistic domain,
whatever may be the mode or form of its expression”. The Convention goes on to list the
following examples of such works:

• books, pamphlets and other writings;
• lectures, addresses, sermons;
• dramatic or dramatico-musical works;
• choreographic works and entertainments in dumb show;
• musical compositions with or without words;
• cinematographic works to which are assimilated works expressed by a process
analogous to cinematography;
• works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture, engraving and lithography;
• photographic works, to which are assimilated works expressed by a process
analogous to photography;
• works of applied art; illustrations, maps, plans, sketches and three-dimensional
works relative to geography, topography, architecture or science;

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• “Translations, adaptations, arrangements of music and other alterations of a
literary or artistic work, which are to be protected as original works without
prejudice to the copyright in the original work.
• Collections of literary or artistic works such as encyclopaedias and anthologies
which, by reason of the selection and arrangement of their contents, constitute
intellectual creations are to be protected as such, without prejudice to the
copyright in each of the works forming part of such collections.”

Member countries of the Berne Union, and many other countries, provide protection
under their copyright laws for the above categories of works. The list, however, is not
intended to be exhaustive. Copyright laws also protect other modes or forms of
expression of works in the literary, scientific and artistic domain, which are not included
in the list.

RIGHTS PROTECTED
The most important feature of any kind of property is that the owner may use it
exclusively, i.e., as he wishes, and that nobody else can lawfully use it without his
authorization. This does not, of course, mean that he can use it regardless of the legally
recognized rights and interests of other members of society. Similarly the owner of
copyright in a protected work may use the work as he wishes, and may prevent others
from using it without his authorization. The rights granted under national laws to the
owner of copyright in a protected work are normally exclusive rights to authorize a third
party to use the work, subject to the legally recognized rights and interests of others.

There are two types of rights under copyright. Economic rights allow the rights owner to
derive financial reward from the use of his works by others. Moral rights allow the author
to take certain actions to preserve the personal link between himself and the work.

Most copyright laws state that the author or rights owner has the right to authorize or
prevent certain acts in relation to a work. The rights owner of a work can prohibit or
authorize:

• its reproduction in various forms, such as printed publications or sound
recordings;
• the distribution of copies;
• its public performance;
• its broadcasting or other communication to the public;
• its translation into other languages;
• its adaptation, such as a novel into a screenplay.

IPR LEGISLATIONS IN INDIA

• Patents Act 1970 as amended in 2005
• Industrial Designs Act- 2000

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• Trade Marks Act 1999
• Geographical Indication Act1999
• All the above laws are administered by CGPDTM
• Copy Right Act 1999
• Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers’ Rights Act 2001
• The Biological Diversity Act,2002 (All IPR Laws are fully TRIPS compliant)

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN INDIA
It is a well-known fact that the role of Intellectual Property (IP) protection has
expanded at an unprecedented pace during the last two decades. In the process IP rights
have been modified or new provisions have been created in order to cover new areas of
Science & Technology, such as Information Technology, Biotechnology, and now
service sector. It may be observed that World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement on
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) has extended minimum
standards for IP Protection globally. There are continuing discussions in World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) aimed at further harmonization of the Patent
system. Moreover, agreements between Developed ticularly the pharmaceutical industry,
consider IPR as essential in promoting innovation.

IMPORTANCE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS II. 1
Importance of IPR
The accelerating pace of technological improvements _ some radical and mostly
incremental has resulted in fiercely competitive markets for all types of products and
services, including machine tools. For any enterprise to come into existence, survive and
thrive in such competitive arena requires access not only to the traditional factors of
production (land, labour and capital) but also to cutting edge knowledge in a diverse
range of relevant fields technical, financial, legal and commercial.

In relation to any needed inputs for business, every organisation has to decide
whether to develop new or improved technologies on its own, in partnership with others
or buy / license it from others, if possible. For instance, the desired output of R&D may
be obtained through in-house R&D, through joint R&D efforts in partnerships with a
range of partners (such as, other businesses, research institutes or universities) based in
India or overseas. This could be through subcontracting or outsourcing agreements with
vendors, suppliers, etc., and may be licensed or bought of-the-shelf, if available, in the
marketplace.

Similarly, designing and / or marketing of a new or improved product, may be
done either independently under an organisation's brand-name (trademark), or may be left
to other companies, which may use the organisation's manufacturing capability to execute
their technical specifications (based on their inventions, innovations and technologies).
The other company can take the product, to market that was manufactured by the
organisation as a contract manufacturer or OEM supplier, under the other company's

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brand (trademark). These kinds of possibilities would be equally true for machine tool
companies in India or elsewhere

For a machine tool manufacturer, irrespective of its standing in the domestic or
international value chain/network, the only way to climb up the ladder of profitability and
success is through differentiation of its products and/or of its organisation from its
competitors. This differentiation could be brought about by superior ability to create,
access, protect, exploit and manage efficiently and effectively, in domestic and export
markets, the knowledge-driven competencies. These could be done through proper use of
a whole range of tools provided by the system of IPR.

Faster pace of innovations and their strategic use and effective management is
critical for developing an internationally competitive business in any innovation-driven
industry, including machine tools. This requires companies in this industry to develop,
amongst other things, ability to create, identify, protect, use, share and manage self-
created or acquired IPR assets as an integral part of their business strategies so as to
realise maximum value out of their inputs, processes and outputs.

The basic tools for the protection of IPR are listed below:

• Trade Secrets
• Patents
• Industrial Designs Registration
• Trademarks (including service marks)
• Copyright
• Geographical Indications
• Layout Designs for Integrated Circuits
II
COPYRIGHT AND ACCESS

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

In recent years, there has been a welcome expansion of primary and secondary
education in developing countries, and aid has been concentrated rightly in these sectors.
Whilst there are still major challenges in achieving “Education for All”, developing
countries and their donor partners are making significant progress.15 Access to books
and reading materials at primary and secondary levels in some countries has also
improved. This is the result of increased levels of public expenditure on primary
education and international book donation programmes, such as Book Aid International.
And importantly, in some countries, it is also because local publishing industries, albeit
often at an embryonic stage, are able to produce low cost schoolbooks and reading
materials.

However, access to books and learning materials is still a real problem in many
developing countries. In 1999, research by the Association for Development of Education

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in Africa (ADEA), a consortium of donors and developing countries, revealed that
shortages of relevant, low cost books for use inside and outside school continue to
undermine the provision of good quality education. Indeed, the conclusions of ADEA’s
research present a very depressing picture:

“Uneven access to teaching and learning materials, inadequate provision of
reading materials for the development of vital literacy skills and unacceptable pupil/book
ratios continue to predominate. African publishers continue to be at a disadvantage in an
economic context that tends to favour the import of books from abroad at the expense
of those published in-country.”

But access to books and materials is important for other parts of the education
system as well. Developing countries need educated people such as doctors, nurses,
lawyers, scientists, researchers, engineers, economists, teachers and accountants. Without
people skilled in these professions and a system of life-long learning and education,
developing countries will be less able to absorb new technologies, generate innovation,
and compete in the global knowledge economy. For example, even if developing
countries can obtain cheap medicines they will still need trained doctors and nurses to
administer them properly in order to save lives.

However, in many developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, the
tertiary education sector has sunk to levels where it may soon no longer be able to
provide minimum levels of teaching and research – and this at a time of growing demand
for admissions for undergraduates. With many developing countries already spending a
significant proportion of GNP on education, they may be unable to find the additional
resources required simply to maintain current levels of tertiary enrolments, let alone
improve quality. Clearly, copyright is not the only issue with the weak tertiary
infrastructure but high prices of books and materials and limited access to Internet-based
resources are still important parts of a worsening crisis.

In the tertiary sector, the evidence indicates that access to books and other
materials for education and research remains a critical problem in many developing
countries, particularly the poorest. Most developing countries remain heavily dependent
on imported textbooks and reference books, as this sector is often not commercially
feasible for struggling local publishers to enter. The prices of such books are beyond the
means of most students.

LIBRARIES

University libraries should play a key role in supporting research and ensuring
access to copyrighted books, journals and on-line materials for poor students in
developing countries, but they are typically in a very poor state. Donor agencies have
provided funding to modernise and re-stock libraries in a number of countries, including
providing Internet connectivity and photocopying facilities.19 More of this assistance is
urgently needed. But donors’ systems are just too slow and bureaucratic to enable

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libraries to maintain up-to-date textbook collections. Generally, the situation for
university libraries in the poorer developing countries remains very bleak, particularly in
Africa, as a recent UNESCO report noted:

“The downturn in the economic fortunes of African countries during the last
decade or so has had a devastating effect on the quality of library services in academic
institutions, virtually all of which are publicly funded. Most of them can no longer afford
to buy new books, and large proportions of periodical subscriptions have been cancelled.
With a corresponding inability to switch to the new information technologies, African
university libraries in particular and African academics in general, face a dim future
indeed.”

University libraries in developing countries, such as South Africa, there are
sometimes serious problems in having to obtain copyright clearance and pay royalties for
materials needed by teachers and students. And the evidence we have reviewed indicates
that even these better-funded libraries have had to reduce their subscriptions to academic
journals dramatically due to the high costs of maintaining up to date collections. Indeed,
even well resourced libraries in developed countries are experiencing extreme difficulty
in continuing to stock the full range of journals their academics and students expect. In
developed countries the rapid increase in subscription prices for academic journals, and
ongoing consolidation in the publishing industry has fuelled an active debate on how
researchers can maintain access to the materials they need, and the development of
alternative models of on-line publishing.

But developing countries also need to be allowed greater freedom to relax
international copyright rules to meet their educational and research needs. As we have
noted, delegates at the Stockholm conference proposed a package of such amendments to
the Berne Convention in 1967. Developed countries rejected these proposals because they
were considered to place too radical limitations on copyright protection. Examining the
evidence 30 years later, it is clear to us that the special provisions for developing
countries that were added to the Berne Convention in 1971, as set out in the Appendix,
have not been effective. Further reforms are therefore needed, and different measures
may be more or less important in meeting the specific needs in individual countries. As
one commentator has put it:

“In some cases, access to scientific journals and books at subsidized prices for a
limited period would help greatly. In others, local publishers with limited markets need
easy and inexpensive access to foreign books in order to translate them into the local
language. In a different context, permission to reprint books from the industrialized
countries in the original language is needed to serve an indigenous population literate in
English or French but unable to pay the high cost of imported books. And for some
countries, most of the elements of an indigenous publishing industry are missing and
there is a need to build it up from scratch. Copyright may not be the key element in all of
these circumstances, but it does play a role.”

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In order to improve access to copyrighted works and achieve their goals for
education and knowledge transfer, developing countries should adopt pro-competitive
measures under copyright laws. Developing countries should be allowed to maintain or
adopt broad exemptions for educational, research and library uses in their national
copyright laws. The implementation of international copyright standards in the
developing world must be undertaken with a proper appreciation of the continuing high
level of need for improving the availability of these products, and their crucial
importance for social and economic development.

IPR CHAIRS
In order to promote teaching and research in Intellectual Property Rights Studies
the Ministry of Human Resource Development Government of India had set up six IPR
Chairs at the following Universities:

• University of Allahabad
• University of Delhi
• University of Pune
• University of Madras
• National Law School of Indian University, Bangalore
• Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin

Ten new chairs have been recently added in specific areas. These are:

i) On IP Management.

1. Indian Institute of Management, Allahabad
2. Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata
3. Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore

ii) In areas of IPRs pertaining to patents, trademarks, industrial designs and
geographical indicators.

4. Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
5. Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
6. Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai
7. Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai
8. Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

iii) Intellectual Property Rights and Development.

9. Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi.
10. Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawahawar Lal Nehru University

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COPYRIGHTS
A copyright is a right conferred on the owner of a literary or artistic work. It is an
exclusive right to control the publication, distribution and adaptation of creative works.
The right lies with the owner-cum-copyright holder for a certain period of time. As time
lapses, the work can be republished or reproduced by others. Usually, the timespan of a
copyright extends through the entire life of the owner and lasts up to a period of about 50
to100 years after death. In case of anonymous works, the right lasts for 95 years after
publication or 120 years after the creation.

Copyright stands for legal right to prevent others from copying an existing work
of an individual. It is such a right exclusively given for a definite period of time to the
originator (author or creator) of intellectual work such as publication, or an article or a
literary work for sale or any other use. In other words, copyright is a set of property rights
vested in the owner of a protected work which covers published and unpublished literary,
scientific and artistic works, etc. Copyright broadly include : Literary works; Musical
works; Dramatic works; Audiovisual works; Pantomimes and Choreographic works;
Photographic works; Sound recordings; Broadcast; Architectural works; Sculpture;
Drawing; etc. Recently an expression called “neighbouring rights” has been added to the
concept of copyrights which cover the following three types of rights:

• The rights of performing artists in their performance
• The rights of producers of phenograms in their phenograms
• The rights of broadcasting organizations in their radio and television broadcasts.

TRADEMARKS
A trademark is a symbol, which is generally used to identify a particular product, which
indicates its source. A trademark can be a combination of words, phrases, symbols, logos,
designs, images or devices, used by an individual, legal entity or business organization to
distinguish their products from that of others. For example, you can identify the products
of Nike Inc., through their logo, which is embossed on their products. Once registered,
trademarks are protected legally and the owners can sue persons who use their
trademarks.

PATENTS
Patents are rights related to new inventions. This right is conferred on persons who invent
any new machine, process, article of manufacture or composition of matter, biological
discoveries, etc. In order to grant a patent, the invention should fit into the following
criteria, which may differ from country to country. In general, the invention must be new,
inventive and should be useful or can be applied in industries. The person who receives a
patent for his invention has an exclusive right to control others from making, using,
selling, or distributing the patented invention without permission. Generally, the time
limit of a patent is 20 years from the date of filing the application (for the patent).

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INDUSTRIAL DESIGN RIGHTS
These rights also come under intellectual property and protect the visual design of objects
that are not purely utilitarian, but have an aesthetic or ornamental value. It can refer to the
creation of a shape, color, pattern or a combination of all these things. It can be an
industrial commodity or a handicraft. The design can be either two-dimensional (based
on pattern, colors and lines) or three-dimensional (as per shape and surface). An
industrial design right is conferred after considering factors like, novelty, originality and
visual appeal. The person who has an industrial design right has the exclusive right to
make or sell any objects in which the design is applicable. The right is conferred for a
period of 10 to 25 years.

TRADE SECRETS
Trade secrets are the designs, practice, formulas, instrument, processes, recipes,
patterns or ideas which are used by a company to gain economic advantage over its
competitors. The owner of a trade secret does not possess any right over anyone who
gains access to that secret independently, but he can prevent the use of trade secret by
anyone who has learned it through the owner. For example, an employer can protect trade
secrets through contracts with his employees. It differs from other types of intellectual
property, because it is the responsibility of the owner to keep the secret and it is not
protected through government policies. Once the trade secret is leaked, it can be used by
any person.

Intellectual property has encouraged people to come up with indigenous creations,
as the law protects their right over their respective works. It can also offer some
economic aid to the holder of the right, through the monopoly of their creations. Thus, it
is very important to respect these rights and restrain from infringing them.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR)

Intellectual property rights as a collective term includes the following independent
IP rights which can be collectively used for protecting different aspects of an inventive
work for multiple protection:

• Patents
• Copyrights
• Trademarks
• Registered (industrial) design
• Protection of IC layout design,
• Geographical indications, and
• Protection of undisclosed information

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IPR IN DIGITAL ERA

IPR issues in the IT sector have assumed significance following rapid emergence
of digital era. IPR cells are food to be set up in different countries of the world to launch
awareness programmes in collaboration with Public Sector undertakings, industries,
scientific societies, etc. as in India. Such cells extend support to file applications for
patents and copyrights. Recent advances in technology have produced radical shifts in the
ability to reproduce, distribute, control and publish information. WWW has allowed
everyone to be a publisher with worldwide reach. At this crucial scenario, in order to
protect the right of authors, developers and to provide privacy and liberty to user, it
becomes essential to introduce laws against computer crime and help to build IT
infrastructure. In view of these facts, various laws, Electronic-fund transfer, Electronic
cash digital intellectual property rights, etc. have been enacted14. In India specific studies
are undertaken to enhance the understanding of IPR issues in the field of Software,
Multimedia, National Information infrastructure, global digital economy, cyber laws, and
feasibility of electronic right management system in the line with WIPO treaties on
digital agenda. The initiatives taken by the Government of India, Private and NGOs to
create awareness about IPR are creating a climate to face the challenges of the new IPR
regime.

IMPORTANT LANDMARKS IN IPR: GLOBAL SCENARIO

• Vienna International Exhibition in Invention, 1873( in which foreign exhibitors
refused to attend opining that their ideas will be known to others and exploited
commercially in other countries); felt the need for Intellectual Property Protection
at International Level for the first time.
• Paris Convention, 1883(for the protection of industrial property); revised in 1900
at Brussels, in 1911 at Washington, in 1925 at Stockholm and in 1979 last
amendment was made, India became a signatory of the Paris Convention on Dec
7, 1998.
• Berne Convention, 1886(for the protection of Literary and Artistic Works);
revised in 1896, 1908, 1928, 1948, 1967, 1971 and amended for protection of
artistic works in 1979; renamed as Bureaux for Protection of Intellectual
Property(French acronym BIRPI); changed to World Intellectual Property
Organization in 1970; became specialized agency of UN in 1974.
• Hague Agreement, 1925(concerning the International deposit of industrial
designs); being implemented by the WIPO.
• Universal Copyright Convention (UCC) under the auspices of UNESCO, 1952
concerning copyright issues); came into force since September 16, 1995; revised
in 1971 at Paris.
• The Rome Convention, 1961(International Convention for protection of
Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations).
• Budapest Treaty, 1973(for deposition of micro-organisms); revised in 1980, India
became its member on December 17, 2001.

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• Patent Co-operation Treaty ((PTC), 1978 concerning Patent Cooperation issues).
India joined the same on December 7, 1998.
• Madrid Agreement, 1991(for repression of false or deceptive indications of source
of goods covering their trademarks and service marks).
• WTO – TRIPS Agreement, 1994(on Trade related aspects of IPR).
• WIPO – WIPONET, 1998(for having a worldwide network to help in the process
of generation, valuation, protection and exploitation of Intellectual property);
expected to interconnect 332 intellectual property offices in 171 countries.
• Doha Declaration: 9-13 November, 2001(on TRIPS and Public Health); which
permits the countries when faced Public Health crisis to issue compulsory
licenses to domestic firms to produce generic drugs.

IPR AWARENESS

We treat IPR as an intangible asset, which serves as a competitive advantage to
any nation. A large market lies unexplored and untapped in this domain. For this reason,
we aim at spreading awareness about the Intellectual Property Rights. Siddhast IP
Innovation has initiated the Intellectual Property Awareness Program known as IP-
INITIAL to give an in-depth view of Intellectual Property and Copyright Issue across the
country to spread the knowledge.

The objective of this program is to familiarize the participants with the basic
theory and practice of IP regimes in an organization in India and abroad. This involves
looking into the specific cases of competitive advantage, thereby, protecting the same
through Intellectual Property Rights. Under this awareness program, we also aim at
familiarizing the responsibility of industries involved in Intellectual Property Trade. We
also bring forth the concept, called “From Mind to Market, wherein, we appreciate
dimensions of licensing associated with IP Protection. Our IP-INITIAL program is quite
a comprehensive program which covers all aspects that are needed in the present time and
age. Driven by an increasing demand for knowledge, the focus has shifted on stimulating
the innovations and, further, improving the technological advancements.

It has been fore-casted that India will soon become the hub of knowledge driven
activity. Therefore, it becomes important for us to bring in the concept of Intellectual
Property Rights by enabling and protecting innovations and providing support for
strategic decisions. Keeping the above objectives in mind, we target research scholars,
entrepreneurs and strategists of companies, who are involved in various innovative
practices and other such activities. We have, therefore, taken up the initiative to train
these professionals, thereby carving a path for protecting Intellectual Property Rights.

This program will prove to be beneficial for Researchers, Entrepreneurs, Senior
Policy Makers, Scientists, Authors, Strategists and other professionals in the field of
literary and art works. Various educational and academic institutions will also benefit
from this program, since most innovations happen in these institutions.

16


IPR IN DIGITAL CONTEXT
Deming Zhou [6] while discussing Chinese copyright protection system has raised
specific issues of IPR in digital context. These are also relevant in the Indian context. The
advent of digital technology has greatly accelerated the dissemination and distribution of
information with great speed and accuracy never seen before. It is much easier to
disseminate literary, artistic and scientific work to a very large community of Internet
users and users of electronic media. At the same time poses some problems and issues for
consideration. The major issues are,

• Is digitization to be considered as similar to reproduction, for example using
Xerox machine?
• Is digitization a deductive activity such as translation from one language to
another?
• Can transmission of digitized documents through Internet be considered as
Commercial distribution or public communication similar to broadcasting?
• Is the principle of exhaustion of the distribution right still effective in the digital
age?
• Can we consider a database as a special collected work that should be protected
by the copyright law or it can be considered as a special work requiring specific
legislation for its protection?
• What can be considered as “Faire use” in the Internet environment?
• What are the concerns of the library community?
• In the digital context if access could be technologically restricted by the copyright
owner, how could the public exercise fair use with regard to those work?
• Whether libraries should be prevented from employing digital technology to
preserve work by making three copies-an archival copy, a master copy and a use
copy?
• Whether Internet Service Providers (including libraries and educational
institutions) should be liable for copyright infringement merely because they
facilitated the transmission of digital data (Zeroes and Ones) that translated into
another party’s copyrighted work.

The issues mentioned above are specific to the library community. The libraries
as a Service have allowed their users to read a document, to browse through the whole
collection; to search through the library catalogue; to supply Xerox copy for specific
individual research and education purpose; to procure photocopies of articles from other
libraries or clearing centers; to widely distribute the re-produced copies of documents
requiring public awareness and to provide inter library loan service. Whether all these
activities will continue in the digital age? If digitization is considered as reproduction, it
is clear that in digitization the initial work is merely changed into the digital form and the
Process of changing is accomplished by a machine, without any creativity. At the same
time if it is considered as a translation from one language to another, the digitization is
also a change from natural language of humans in to binary language of machine. In
digitization however, there is no creativity involved and it could be considered as an

17


activity similar to reprography. The copyright protects creative works. Simply
transformation in to the digital form of an original document cannot be considered as
creative.

The transmission of information on Internet can be considered similar to broad
casting and copyright law cannot be applied. Internet transmission is global in nature. A
tangible object carrying a traditional work distributed lawfully comes under the principle
of exhaustion of distribution right. It is not appropriate to apply this right to a work
transmitted on Internet. The transmission on Internet is different from any tangible object
fixing of the work.

CONCLUSION

A database is normally defined as the structured storage of data in a computer
system. As the selection of data and arrangement of data in a structured way could be
considered as intellectual creation, database, accordingly should be protected by
copyright law. The fair use of print material by allowing reproduction in a reasonable
way for private study, research or education is well understood. But in the context of
digital information, because it is distributed to a larger community, it is difficult to judge,
comprehend “fair use”, access and control the infringement of copyright law. It is almost
impossible for a copyright owner to know which person used his/her work. It is also
impossible for copyright owner to give permission to use and receive remuneration. In
this context it is necessary to modify the copyright law. The librarians in the digital
environment have the same responsibility to collect information and help the readers by
giving it even if the form is electronic information. The role of librarian is to be protected
and enhanced. The copyright protection should be encouraging the use of information for
creativity and not for creating hurdles in the use of information. The Librarians should
continue to work as catalyst for the free flow of information between the owners of
copyright and the users of the information.

18


REFERENCE
1. The Copyright Act 1957 as amended up to 1999 along with Copyright Rules 1958 and
International Copyright Order 1999; 2005
2. The Design Act 2000 along with Design Rules 2001; Universal Law Publishing Co.
Ltd., New Delhi; 2004
3. The Trademarks Act 1999 along with trade Marks Rules 2002; Commercial Law
Publisher (India) Private Ltd., 2004
4. The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 along
with Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Rules 2002;
Universal Law Publishing Co. Ltd., New Delhi; 2004
5. 1. http://www.siddhast.com/page.php?page=ipr_awareness
6. See, for example, Oman, R (2000) “Copyright – engine of development”, UNESCO,
Paris. Note that this is available on the Web as an e-book with an access fee of £10.67.
This fee allows one to browse the book
On-line but not print it out in hard copy. It is a good example of technological
Protection on the Internet.
Source: http://upo.unesco.org/ebookdetails.asp?id=3004
7. Bgoya, W. et al (1997) “The Economics of Publishing Educational Materials in
Africa”, Perspectives on
African Book Development series, ADEA Working Group on Books and Learning
Materials, London.
Source:
http://www.adeanet.org/trans/Econ%20of%20publishing_ENG/Economic%20eng.pdf
8. The Association for Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) Working Group on
Books and Learning
Materials. Source: http://www.adeanet.org/workgroups/en_wgblm.html
9. Lyman, P. (1996) “What is a Digital Library? Technology, Intellectual Property, and
the Public Interest”,
Daedalus: Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol. 125 No. 4, p. 12
10. Commission on Intellectual Property Rights 2002
http://www.iprcommission.org
11. http://www.cordis.lu/ipr-helpdesk
12. http://www.uspto.gov
13. http://www.tdctrade.com
14. Gupta, V.K. Negotiating IPR in International Science and Technology Cooperation.
Journal of Intellectual Property Rights.5; 2000.61-71.
15. Hewlett-Packard. Competing on Knowledge. Fortune Magazine, September.9, 1996.
16. Leibowitz, Jay and Beckman, Tom.Knowledge Organizations. Boca Ration: St. Lucie
Press, 1998, PP.26.
17. Brooking, A. Introduction to Intellectual Capital. Cambridge U. K. The Technology
Ltd., 1996.
18. http: //www.isdw.org/int.html.
19. Seemann, P. et al. Building Intangible Assets: A strategic Framework for Investing in
Intellectual Capital. In Morey, D. et. al (Eds). Knowledge Management: Classic and
Contemporary works. University Press. Hyderabad. 200 85-98

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20. Upadhyay, P. Intellectual Property Right in the Digital age. NACLIN, 2000. IIT
Chennai P. 260-266.
21. Kumar, PSG. Information and Communication.BRPC.New Delhi. 2004.
22. James, T. C Copyright Law of India and the Academic Community, Journal of
Intellectual Property Rights. 9; May 2004, PP207-225.
23. Mahanti, S. Intellectual Property Rights.Employment News.XXVI, 4; 7-13 July 2001.
24. Awasthi, D. Technological and Legal Implications of New Generation of Libraries.
In: Murthy, TAV, et al (Eds).Road Map to New Generation of Libraries Using
Emerging Technologies. 2nd International CALIBER 2004. February, 11-13, 2004,
New Delhi. Pp.33-41.
25. Ch. Ibohal Singh and Th. Madhuri Devi
26. In Towards the New Information Society of Tomorrow: Innovations, Challenges and
Impact.
27. Papers presented at the 49th FID Conference and Congress, New Delhi, 11-17
October 1998.
28. NM Malwad, et al (Eds). New Delhi, INSDOC, 1998. pp. IV-51-IV-61. FID
Publication No. 719.
28. Lakshmana Moorthy, A and Karisiddappa, CIi (1996) Glcctl.onrc publishing: Impact
and implications on library and information centres. In Digital Liht-aries: Dynarnic
Store house of digitized information. Papers presented at the SIS 96; Fifteenth Annual
Convention and conference, 18-20 January 1996, Bangalore, N.M. Malwad, T.B.
Rajashekar, 1.K.Ravichandl-a Rao and N.V. Satyanarapana (eds). New Age
International Publishers, New Delhi, pp. 15-35.
29. National seminar on information policies and cyber laws. 4-6 December 2000.
Bangalore. Sarada Ranganathan Endowment for Library Science. Bangalore,
2000.
30. Panda, K.C. and others. Copyright law in the electronic age. In Access to electronic
information: Papers presented at the SIS-97, - 16th Annual Convention and
Conference. 29-31, January, 1997. Bhubaneswar ed. By M.Mahapatra and others.
Society for Information Science, Bhubaneswar Chapter, Bhubaneswar, 1997. pp
400- 402, (5 refs)
31. Bomanwar, V.J.Intellectual property rights and new information society. In
Towards the new information society of tomorrow: Innovations, challenges and
impact. Papers presented at the 49th FID conference and congress, New Delhi,
11-17 October 1998. ed by N.M.Malwad and others. FID publications No.719.
INSDOC, New Delhi, 1998. Ibid pp iv-31-33. (13 refs).
32. IPR in digital environment: issues of concern to library community
By N. M. Malwad and M.Anjanappa
33. Dr. Ch. Ibohal Singh is from the Department of Library and Information Science,
Canchipur, Imphal. He has contributed number of papers in seminar and conferences
Dr. Th. Madhuri Devi, holds B.Lib.Sc. (B.H.U) and M.Lib.Sc. (Delhi University).
She joined the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for P.G Studies, Imphal in 1977 and she was
appointed as Assistant Professor in the Department of Library and Information
Science in November 1991. She is at present Head of the Department (in-charge) of
Library and Information Science, Manipur University, Imphal.

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