Intellectual Property Enforcement   Introduction   The general laws in relation to Intellectual Property Enforcement in India are mainly the following:-   The Code Of Civil Procedure     The Indian Penal Code    The Civil and Criminal Rules of Practice     While Civil Procedure Code provides for the civil remedies and enforcement through civil courts, the Indian Penal Code provides for penal remedies. The rules of practice of the trial courts, High Courts and the Supreme Court of India set the finalities of the enforcement procedure.

India follows common law tradition and judicial precedents do have binding force. Hence the decisions of the Supreme Court bind the lower judiciary of the country.

The Intellectual Property Laws do provide for statutory enforcement mechanisms. The most important of the Indian Intellectual Property Laws are:-

		The Patents Act, 1970
		The Trade Marks Act, 1999
		The Copyright Act, 1957
		The Designs Act, 2001

The above legislations are supported by the relevant Rules there under and these rules are:-

		The Patents Rules, 1972 as amended by the Patents (Amendment) Act of 1999
		The Trade Rules, 2001
		The Copyright Rules, 1958 &
		The Designs Rules, 2000

The main post WTO Intellectual Property legislations are:-

		The Geographical Indications Act, 1999
		The Semi Conductors Integrated Circuits Layout - Design Act, 2000

The Geographical Indications Rules provide for the administrative mechanisms for registration and enforcement of Geographical Indications. The Semi Conductor Integrated Circuits Layout Design Act is yet to have its rules to support the administrative mechanism there under. The Information Technology Act, 2000 also plays an important role in relation to areas of inter-phase between Information Technology and Intellectual Property Rights. All the above-mentioned legislations provide for in-built enforcement mechanisms and detailed procedures there of.

Intellectual Property Transactions

Technical

India announced the new economic policy in 1991 with a view to liberalize its economy and allow inflow of foreign investment. The New Economic Policy envisages a structured and gradual opening up of Indian market. Accordingly the Government of India permitted foreign investment in various sectors of industry subject to certain conditions. Sectoral ceilings for investments in identified sectors of industries were prescribed. The Policy also clarified the foreign exchange and other regulatory approvals for technology collaborations. Certain sectors are completely opened up for foreign direct investment. Based on this rationale of gradual and structured opening up of the market, the Government of India constituted the Foreign Investment Promotion Board. A Secretariat of Industrial Assistance was also constituted in the Ministry of Commerce and Industries to provide single-window clearance for investments in India. While the Reserve Bank of India has been empowered to provide Automatic Approvals for foreign investments in certain categories thus dispensing with the requirements to have prior approvals, the FIPB is authorized to grant specific approval to investment proposals for transactions that do not fall under the Automatic Route. There are a number of corporate routes that a foreign company could adopt to enter the Indian market. Licensing the use of trademarks and technical know-how is the most easy and indirect among these corporate routes. Ordinarily licensing involves two parts:

		Licensing of technical know-how
		Licensing of Intellectual Property Rights

	Technical licensing between Indian Companies and foreign companies come under the Automatic Approval Route, if the payment terms satisfy the Government of India Guidelines. The following Press Note clarified the procedure in respect of foreign technology collaborations:
	Procedure in respect of foreign technology agreements

[Press Note No.12 of 1991 Series dated 31.8. 1991] Government tabled a Statement on Industrial Policy in both the Houses of Parliament 24.7.1991. The Statement has substantially liberalized the provisions and simplified the procedure governing Foreign Technology Agreements. The relevant portion of the Statement dealing with Foreign Technology Agreements is as follows:

AIPC is proud of having played a role in acquiring GI tag for “Hyderabad Haleem” Like Darjeeling Tea, Banarasi Silk and Tirupati Laddu, Hyderabadi Haleem will soon get Geographical Indicator (GI) tag protecting the name from being used by any other city.

Adhikari IPC is an intellectual Property (IP) and Business Consulting Firm that provides a comprehensive range of Intellectual Property and Business Consulting services. Intellectual property issues are critical to the success of any business, regardless of its size.