Roadmap to Promote IPR in Telecom Sector

IPR in Telecom Sector: Relevance

• GS 3: Issues relating to intellectual property rights.

IPR in Telecom Sector: Context

• Recently, the Department of Telecommunications has been discussing a strategy road map to promote intellectual property rights in the telecom sector.

दूरसंचार क्षेत्र में आईपीआर को प्रोत्साहित करने हेतु रोडमैप

IPR in Telecom Sector: Key points

• The roadmap could include the setting up of a Sovereign Patent Fund and a Bharat Technology Bank.
• The roadmap would also include taking measures to reduce the long delays in obtaining a patent.
• The department has also been discussing a proposal to set up a Digicom Intellectual Property Management Board.
  • Digicom Intellectual Property Management Board would facilitate IPR licensing and IP management in the telecom sector.

IPR in Telecom Sector: Importance of the roadmap

• A roadmap for IPR promotion in telecom sector is long overdue as India takes 5-8 years for giving telecom patents compared with 1-2 years in the US and 3 years in China.
• It could increase India’s share in global supply chain for telecom equipment, which is currently less than 1 percent.

Intellectual property rights meaning

• Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) are legal rights that protect creations and/or inventions resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary or artistic fields.
• Intellectual property rights protect the use of information and ideas that hold importance for the creators.
• The term Intellectual property rights covers the rights given to persons over the creations of their minds. They usually give the creator an exclusive right over the use of his/her creation for a certain period of time.
• The most common IPRs include patents, copyrights, marks and trade secrets.
• Intellectual Property Rights examples: Any industrial or copyright works.

Intellectual Property Rights types

Copyright

• Copyright is a legal term used to describe the rights that creators have over their literary and artistic works.
• Copyright covers: books, music, paintings, sculpture and films, to computer programs, databases, advertisements, maps and technical drawings.

Patents

• A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention.
• A patent provides the patent owner with the right to decide how the invention can be used by others.
• In exchange for this right, the patent owner makes technical information about the invention publicly available in the published patent document.

Trademarks

• A trademark is a sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises.
• Trademarks date back to ancient times when artisans used to put their signature or “mark” on their products.

Geographical indicators

• Geographical indications and appellations of origin are signs used on goods that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities, a reputation or characteristics that are essentially attributable to that place of origin.
• Most commonly, a geographical indication includes the name of the place of origin of the goods. For example: Darjeeling tea, Tezpur litchi, Kashmir saffron etc.

Trade secrets

• Trade secrets are IP rights on confidential information which may be sold or licensed.
• The unauthorized acquisition, use or disclosure of such secret information in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices by others is regarded as an unfair practice and a violation of the trade secret protection.

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