In 2016 and 2017, patent and trademark rules were revised, setting strict deadlines for processing cases, streamlining examination and reducing some filing fees to encourage start-up activity. In 2019, the Patent Rules (Amendment Rules) further expanded the categories of applicants who can be subject to expedited examination of their patent applications. The 2017 Guidelines for the Examination of Computer-Related Inventions removed all examples of what can and cannot be patentable, leaving it at the discretion of the patent examiner and raising concerns about the consistency of patentability decisions. In 1485, the first system of intellectual property protection in the form of the Venetian decree appeared historically. In England, the Statue of Monopolies followed in 1623, which expanded patent rights for technological inventions. In 1760, patent laws were introduced in the United States. Between 1880 and 1889, patent laws were developed in most European countries. In 1856, the Patents Act was introduced in India, which remained in force for over 50 years and was later amended and revised, called the „Indian Patents and Designs Act, 1911“. A comprehensive patent rights law was passed after independence in 1970 and was called the Patents Act of 1970. An intellectual property case can be filed either with the commercial courts or with the commercial divisions of the high courts if the valuation of the lawsuit is greater than Rs 1 crore. In addition, all actions and motions pending on the original side of the High Court will be heard and decided by the Commercial Division of the High Court. The lack of coordination between DPIIT and the Central Drug Standards Control Organization (CDSCO) through patent links or an effective reporting system encourages abusive counterfeiting activities that affect the ability of innovative industries to effectively market and enforce their rights in India.
Liberal price control, combined with the potential misuse of procedures such as pre- and post-grant opposition proceedings, further complicates an effective IPR regime for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Over the years, intellectual property disputes have spread to India and hundreds of cases are filed every year. In India, trademark registration can be requested for words, logos, slogans, devices, numbers, shape of products, packaging or color combinations, etc. The registration of the trademark confers on the owner of the trademark the exclusive legal right of use. However, the process takes time and involves several steps. Below are the different steps of registering a trademark – Yes. The interaction between intellectual property rights and competition law is increasingly highlighted. In addition, regulatory issues are also addressed with respect to pharmaceutical patents, particularly in the context of linking patents. Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Court of First Instance may appeal to the Supreme Court within 90 days from the date of the judgment or order, or the case may be. A digital industry sees a very important role for copyright, computer programming was included in the law in 1984 as a literary work to recognize and protect computer programming. However, the separate definition was provided for the same later in 1994.
Over the past three decades, information technology and the digital industry have seen the greatest development, with development also accelerating day by day and can be considered the fastest growing sector of the century. The industry has undergone significant changes in electronic devices, computers, telecommunications, etc., and it has also affected human life in the greatest way by bringing progress in many ways. Microelectronics, which mainly refers to integrated circuits (ICs) ranging from small-scale integration (SSI) to very large-scale integration (VLSI) on a semiconductor chip, can rightly be called the most important strategic technology in the world, especially for the information technology (IT)-based society. Integrated circuits require expertise and the effort required to create one depends on the complexity of the output. Therefore, it is very necessary to include it in intellectual property rights, and it is also necessary to promote further research and development in the field of microelectronics. In April 2017, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) lifted the requirement for companies to inform if a new drug is under patent at the time of filing a manufacturing license. This is seen as a regressive measure and contradicts India`s national IPR policy, which calls for better central and state coordination of IP. India still lacks an effective system to inform interested parties of marketing authorisations for follow-up medicines, which would allow potential patent disputes to be resolved quickly.
As a result of the TRIPS Agreement under Article 27 of the TRIPS Agreement, it was necessary to protect plant varieties through patents or an effective sui generis system or a combination thereof, so the Government introduced the Plant Variety Protection and Farmers` Right Act of 2001 to promote the development of new plant breeds. However, the law requires more investment in research in the private and public sectors to better explore the discovery or development of new breeds. .