India: Intellectual property law: Scope and challenges.

THE various branches of intellectual property law - patents, trademarks, designs, and copyright - ensure legal exclusivity in the market. In the new world economy, these property rights are invaluable in the fight to achieve and retain market shares. The term intellectual property presupposes an exclusive right to perform some well- defined activity, mainly manufacturing or marketing. The increase in the number of patents granted and trademarks registered indicate that intellectual property rights provide immense commercial returns. The importance of recognising intellectual property rights is understood worldwide, and almost all countries have framed statutes for their protection as these laws safeguard ideas and information of commercial value.

But intellectual property laws guarantee only limited protection against exploitation. The economic needs of the country always prevail over the commercial interest of an individual, and the legal protection is limited to giving the freedom to compete. The increasing awareness of intellectual property rights has brought a lot of pressure on the legal framework. The resources of …