Your Intelligence, Your Property, Your Right

Final Part

Shri. Kaustubh J. Javle

Greetings readers and thank you for coming back to read the fourth and the final part of the ‘Your Intelligence, Your Property, your Right’ series, where I will conclude my attempt to introduce you with the remaining types of Intellectual Properties.

In the previous editions of this series we saw the prominent types of Intellectual Properties i.e. Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks. In this edition we will take a look at some of the lesser known Intellectual Properties. These types of the Intellectual Properties can be used or it may be said that they may be more relevant to a more specific categories of people/ companies and may be of less concern to the individuals in general.

Now then, the first type we will take a look at will be, Geographical Indications (for the sake of brevity we’ll refer to it as GI). GI is something which is related to products originating from definite territory of India. It is an indication that the said product is produced or manufactured at the place of origin from where it is getting its identity. A few examples will give a clearer picture to the readers here: Darjeeling Tea, Solapur Chadar, Mysore Silk, Mahabaleshwar Strawberry, Nashik Grapes, Nagpur Orange, Basmati Rice, Sindhudurg & Ratnagiri Kokum, Lasalgaon Onion and yes even Paithani Sarees are recognized and registered as GI.

Registering a product as a GI means that it is an authentic item from where it is gaining its identity and the quality of that product has been recognized and given recognition. Having a GI tag to your product can be beneficial for the producer to export their respective products to other countries and the increased demand from other countries is also a sign of acknowledgment. Therefore, farmers, handicraft workers and manufacturers are prominently interested and involved in the GI. Getting a product GI registered receives legal protection to that particular product, boosts exports of the product and increases business. More information can be found at the Government’s website: http://www.ipindia.nic.in/gi.html

The second type we’ll be looking at is, Designs. Section 2 (d) of The Designs Act, 2000 defines Designs as, “design” means only the features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornament or composition of lines or colours applied to any article whether in two dimensional or three dimensional or in both forms, by any industrial process or means, whether manual, mechanical or chemical, separate or combined, which in the finished article appeal to and are judged solely by the eye; but does not include any mode or principle of construction or anything which is in substance a mere mechanical device, and does not include any trade mark as defined in clause (v) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 or property mark as defined in section 479 of the Indian Penal Code or any artistic work as defined in clause (c) of section 2 of the Copyright Act, 1957.

Although Designs may be a bit similar to the types included in Copyrights, Section 2 (c) of The Designs Act, 2000 defines Copyrights as, “copyright” means the exclusive right to apply a design to any article in any class in which the design is registered. More information can be sought at the Government’s website: http://www.ipindia.nic.in/designs.htm

And finally, we’ll discuss Trade Secrets. Now this part is a bit tricky; there are no legal provisions presently available in India to protect trade secrets. Therefore, one must take utmost care to protect their “secret formula” which makes the respective owner’s product unique. ‘Confidentiality’ is the name of the game in this type of Intellectual Property, as there is no law to back you up on this one. If you lose your “secret formula”, or if someone steals it from you, or even if someone is lucky enough to guess your formula, then there is nothing you can do about it. Trade secrets are considered as a sensitive type of Intellectual Property which does not fit into any definitions of the previously discussed Intellectual Properties; however, they do have substantial economic value. The best example given here can be of none other than Coca-Cola. A secret which has been closely guarded for almost more than 125 years now and yet no person till date has been able to figure out and/or replicate the formula. There have been other versions and imitations, but the original taste and formula is still a mystery, and only a few select (and anonymous) people on the planet are aware of the entire formula as maintained by the Coca-Cola Company.

And with this final chapter, I would like to conclude this ‘Your Intelligence, Your Property, your Right’ series by saying, Intellectual Property is like a hen which gives you golden eggs, so go ahead and sell those eggs, but don’t tell the world from where you are getting them.

I hope all of you found my articles informative to some extent. It was a pleasure to write for the readers. I would like to extend my thanks to Shri. Dnyanesh Chandekar Sir and Mrs. Chitra Wagh Madam, and the entire ‘Aamhi Parlekar’ & ‘Maharashtrache Udyog Vishwa’ team for giving me the opportunity to reach up to the dear readers. So, until next time, I would like to take your leave, and hopefully we’ll meet again. I hope you enjoyed my writing. Take Care.

The author of this article, Shri. Kaustubh J. Javle is a practicing Advocate at Bombay High Court, and is also a Registered Attorney of Trademarks.
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