Comments on: India’s Intellectual Property Rights: A Beacon Of Hope? http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/ Issues & insights Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:12:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: F.Khan http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-259048 F.Khan Wed, 14 Nov 2007 18:12:33 +0000 http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-259048 ip laws need to be practically implemented otherwise all eforts in this regard in going only in vein ip laws need to be practically implemented otherwise all eforts in this regard in going only in vein

]]> By: Kiran Patil http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-78820 Kiran Patil Sun, 07 Jan 2007 11:00:23 +0000 http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-78820 From economics point of view, IP rights creates unnatural monoplies. And monopolies are inefficient. Seriously one cannot compare physical property with intellectual property. Consumption of a software programme is non rival and technically not excludable unlike a physical object. There is one argument that protecting IP rights provides incentives for innovations. But there is no conclusive evidence attributing the no. of innovations to the effectiveness of IP rights protection. further there are measurement problems involved in innovations. Most of the studies use no. of patents registered as a proxy to measure innovations which is very much questionable. From economics point of view, IP rights creates unnatural monoplies. And monopolies are inefficient. Seriously one cannot compare physical property with intellectual property. Consumption of a software programme is non rival and technically not excludable unlike a physical object.

There is one argument that protecting IP rights provides incentives for innovations. But there is no conclusive evidence attributing the no. of innovations to the effectiveness of IP rights protection.

further there are measurement problems involved in innovations. Most of the studies use no. of patents registered as a proxy to measure innovations which is very much questionable.

]]> By: Vinay http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-14333 Vinay Thu, 21 Sep 2006 14:22:01 +0000 http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-14333 I wouldn't trust Pravin Anand on matters of law, forget matters of science and innovation, so this piece only has that much credibility! The perspective (propaganda?) is purely that of the IP rights holders, and the writers as Dwight Ken mentioned cannot be accused of having a balanced view on the issue. I wouldn’t trust Pravin Anand on matters of law, forget matters of science and innovation, so this piece only has that much credibility! The perspective (propaganda?) is purely that of the IP rights holders, and the writers as Dwight Ken mentioned cannot be accused of having a balanced view on the issue.

]]> By: trademarks registration in india http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-7471 trademarks registration in india Fri, 11 Aug 2006 21:14:49 +0000 http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-7471 the real fact is that many application for trademarks are still pending in trademarks office and not been granted certificate...and mnc's are comming here and sueing the local market companies.. the real fact is that many application for trademarks are still pending in trademarks office and not been granted certificate…and mnc’s are comming here and sueing the local market companies..

]]> By: James http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-6734 James Sat, 05 Aug 2006 20:48:11 +0000 http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-6734 I saw that you have a page that discusses patent-related resources at http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/. I wanted to suggest adding www.freepatentsonline.com to the page. This web site has free PDF downloading (instead of having to page through TIFFs like at the US PTO). It is by far the best free patent searching site. I saw that you have a page that discusses patent-related resources at http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/. I wanted to suggest adding www.freepatentsonline.com to the page. This web site has free PDF downloading (instead of having to page through TIFFs like at the US PTO). It is by far the best free patent searching site.

]]> By: Dwight Ken http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-5540 Dwight Ken Thu, 06 Jul 2006 23:57:30 +0000 http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-5540 [typo] Scientists and engineers drive innovation.. [typo] Scientists and engineers drive innovation..

]]> By: Dwight Ken http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-5539 Dwight Ken Thu, 06 Jul 2006 23:56:10 +0000 http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-5539 Mr. Wilder is an IP property lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP. http://www.sidley.com/lawyers/bio.asp?ID=W840419948 Mr. Anand is Managing Partner of Anand and Anand in New Delhi, India. I would not put too much faith in two lawyers' opinion. Scientists and engieers drive innovation, laywers don't. Mr. Wilder is an IP property lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
http://www.sidley.com/lawyers/bio.asp?ID=W840419948

Mr. Anand is Managing Partner of Anand and Anand in New Delhi, India.

I would not put too much faith in two lawyers’ opinion. Scientists and engieers drive innovation, laywers don’t.

]]> By: SacredCyborg http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-3900 SacredCyborg Sat, 27 May 2006 05:34:46 +0000 http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-3900 In my opinion, Jayakumar's suggestion above that 21st Century India must follow 18th Century American intellectual property strategies is beyond absurd. The USPTO and Library of Congress have been issuing patents and copyrights respectively to applicants worldwide for aeons now. In fact, I think it's high time the Indian government passed laws to protect both copyrights and patents very aggressively. It's a no-brainer that copyright protection will result in the flourishing of original art (no more music and film script rip-offs!). The export of quality original art will result in increased interest in Indian goods outside India (see my post in "Soft Power and Bollywood" string). As for respecting copyrights held by foreign artists, India is already a signatory to the Berne Convention and is legally bound to comply with international copyright laws (NCPA is the Indian body responsible for monitoring this). But as with much else in India, when it comes implementation, the laws magically disappear. In my opinion, Jayakumar’s suggestion above that 21st Century India must follow 18th Century American intellectual property strategies is beyond absurd. The USPTO and Library of Congress have been issuing patents and copyrights respectively to applicants worldwide for aeons now. In fact, I think it’s high time the Indian government passed laws to protect both copyrights and patents very aggressively. It’s a no-brainer that copyright protection will result in the flourishing of original art (no more music and film script rip-offs!). The export of quality original art will result in increased interest in Indian goods outside India (see my post in “Soft Power and Bollywood” string). As for respecting copyrights held by foreign artists, India is already a signatory to the Berne Convention and is legally bound to comply with international copyright laws (NCPA is the Indian body responsible for monitoring this). But as with much else in India, when it comes implementation, the laws magically disappear.

]]> By: BV http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-3835 BV Thu, 25 May 2006 21:21:07 +0000 http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-3835 I think we should patent our reservation system too. You never know; we may make money out of it too - just have to find the nation looking for Pauls (i liked that saying, BTW) :-[ I think we should patent our reservation system too.
You never know; we may make money out of it too - just have to find the nation looking for Pauls (i liked that saying, BTW)

:-[

]]> By: Jayakumar http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-3626 Jayakumar Thu, 18 May 2006 15:25:07 +0000 http://indianeconomy.org/2006/05/08/indias-intellectual-property-rights-a-beacon-of-hope/#comment-3626 As others have pointed out before, the term intellectual property is somewhat misleading. It bundles together the concepts of copyrights, patents and trademarks. All of which are very disparate concepts. Copyrights protect works of art, writings and such works of the mind from being published by others. That is, the right to duplicate the work is limited. Typically for the lifetime of the author. Patents on the other hand are an act of government providing time limited monopoly (typically under 10 years) over the production of some object using the patented methodology, in return for public disclosure of the technology. Trademarks are just protection of brands. I'm rehashing points made by Lawrence Lessig and others when I say that historically, all developing economies have always needed to ignore all three of those concepts. Among the first acts of government of the US upon independence from England was to publish an act upholding copyright protection for Americans but not for foreigners. This made it legal for any printer to print Charles Dickens' work without paying him a cent in royalty since Dickens was English. If I'm not mistaken, similar liberties were taken with various patents as well as trademarks. Meaning American companies at the time often took on British sounding names such as the "Royal Tobacco" and such in order to gain the benefit of the more established brand's catchet. The same is true for China. They're respectfully ignoring some patents, a lot of trademarks and a lot of copyrights in order to improve their various industries. They're just doing what any soverign nation will do to in order to improve the lot of it's people. That said, we should think about India's position with patents. Take for example, patents taken out on electronic technology. Let's say a local company came up with a brilliant idea/process that they then patented and tried to use in a product. Pretty soon, that same idea was utilized by a big MNC like Microsoft. Could this Indian company successfully win a patent battle against Microsoft? against IBM? against HP? against Quallcom? I think not. You see the US and EU companies already have huge patent portfolios. You sue them on one item and you'll be attacked on the hundred things that you may have violated. So why fight a losing battle by trying to compete on a playing field that is already so heavily sloped in favour of the US and Europe. You're trying to bowl uphill if you want to play the patent game from India. China has taken the smart move. The field is sloped so they've decided to move the ballpark! We should definitely copy that play! Apologies for being verbose. As others have pointed out before, the term intellectual property is somewhat misleading. It bundles together the concepts of copyrights, patents and trademarks. All of which are very disparate concepts. Copyrights protect works of art, writings and such works of the mind from being published by others. That is, the right to duplicate the work is limited. Typically for the lifetime of the author. Patents on the other hand are an act of government providing time limited monopoly (typically under 10 years) over the production of some object using the patented methodology, in return for public disclosure of the technology. Trademarks are just protection of brands. I’m rehashing points made by Lawrence Lessig and others when I say that historically, all developing economies have always needed to ignore all three of those concepts. Among the first acts of government of the US upon independence from England was to publish an act upholding copyright protection for Americans but not for foreigners. This made it legal for any printer to print Charles Dickens’ work without paying him a cent in royalty since Dickens was English. If I’m not mistaken, similar liberties were taken with various patents as well as trademarks. Meaning American companies at the time often took on British sounding names such as the “Royal Tobacco” and such in order to gain the benefit of the more established brand’s catchet.

The same is true for China. They’re respectfully ignoring some patents, a lot of trademarks and a lot of copyrights in order to improve their various industries. They’re just doing what any soverign nation will do to in order to improve the lot of it’s people.

That said, we should think about India’s position with patents. Take for example, patents taken out on electronic technology. Let’s say a local company came up with a brilliant idea/process that they then patented and tried to use in a product. Pretty soon, that same idea was utilized by a big MNC like Microsoft. Could this Indian company successfully win a patent battle against Microsoft? against IBM? against HP? against Quallcom? I think not. You see the US and EU companies already have huge patent portfolios. You sue them on one item and you’ll be attacked on the hundred things that you may have violated. So why fight a losing battle by trying to compete on a playing field that is already so heavily sloped in favour of the US and Europe. You’re trying to bowl uphill if you want to play the patent game from India. China has taken the smart move. The field is sloped so they’ve decided to move the ballpark! We should definitely copy that play!

Apologies for being verbose.

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