This article has been written by Mr. Saharsh Singh, a 2nd year student of A.B.M.S.P Yashwantrao Chavan Law College, Pune.

INTRODUCTION

With the emergence of Industrial Revolution technology has taken a wide evolution with its innovation that happened in the back 18th century. The steam engine is one of the best examples of it. The second period of industrialization that took place in the late 19th and 20th century saw a rapid growth in the steel, electric and automobile industries. Today the era of digitalization is the emergence of 4th Industrial Revolution since the middle of last century.  It is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres. This 4th Industrial Revolution is the foundation made by the 3rd one as it moves from electric era to a process which is the combination of human beings and electronics. AI, i.e. Artificial Intelligence, is one of the best examples of this era of industrialization. Therefore, with the rapid growth in this era of industrialization which involves mainly the artificial intelligence, the law relating to Intellectual Property Rights is an essential to deal with the rising problems like patent, trademark, copyright, etc. of intangible nature.

PATENTS

Patents are not just abstract concepts as they play an invaluable and practical role in everyday life. By rewarding ideas, patents encourage the development of innovations and new technologies in every field.

A patent is the granting of a property right by a supreme authority to an inventor. These grants provide the inventor exclusive rights to the patented process, design, or invention for a designated period in exchange for a comprehensive disclosure of the invention. They are a form of incorporeal property. Government agencies handle and approve applications for patents.

Patents can be categorized into three categories: 

1. Utility Patents
2. Design Patents
3. Plant Patents

UTILITY PATENTS

Utility Patents, also known as patents for innovation, issue legal protection to people who invent a new and useful process, an article of manufacture, a machine, or a composition of matter. These are the most common types of patents. It lasts for 20 years from the date of filing as long as maintenance fees are paid. Maintenance fees are sub charges applied to utility patent applications filed after 12 December, 1980.

DESIGN PATENTS

Design patents are patents issued for original, new and ornamental designs for manufactured products. It protects the design or look of something as they require the invention to which the design belongs to be original and useful. Design Patents last for 15 years from the date of application filed and this is applicable to the application filed after 13 May, 2015. For application filed before this date, patent lasts for 14 years from the date of filing. In this type of patent, there is no maintenance fee applicable. The design of Toyota Motors cannot be a replica of the design of Ford as Ford has registered their designs through Design Patent; this is the best example of design patent. 

PLANT PATENTS

Plant patent is issued to anyone who produces, discovers and invents a new kind of plant capable of reproduction. These patents are granted for 20 years from the date of filing and there is no maintenance fee applicable for this kind of patent. It provide an incentive for companies or individuals to continue developing innovative products or services without the fear of infringement. 

In other words, patents protect the intellectual property of companies to help their profitability. It also serve as bragging rights for companies demonstrating their innovativeness. 

EMERGING AND LEAL CHALLENGES

SCOPE-:

Patents are the type of Intellectual Property Right that protects the inventors and their inventions. These protections also have boundaries and limitations for their application. The scope of patent is wide as it grants protection and establish the legitimacy and genuineness of the patents. The scope includes:

1. Geographical Scope
2. Related to the content or composition
3. Innovation in the Drug Industries, etc.

GEOGAPHICAL SCOPE

The rapid growth in patents has increases the worth and scope of intellectual property protection. A patent can only be protected in a specific country other than the one where it has been received. Patents are valid only in a particular small geographical area conferring a small geographical scope of patent protection as compare to the international market. While a large family and number of patents implies higher costs during filing for it and maintaining its fees.

SCOPE RELATED TO THE CONTENT OR COMPOSITION

Intellectual Property Right provides a stronger and strict base only if the claims have strict and strong base that could be assessed by the content of the article. The structuring of the claim and the relation shared by the claims with several patent families provide a better scope of patent protection for it. The common phenomenon is that that one patent indicates the protection of one innovation but related applicants to that same patent prevent competitors from even coming near it.

INNOVATION IN THE DRUG INDUSTRIES

TRIPS Agreement establishes a new sphere of intellectual property rights concerning the health sector. The member states of the WTO formulate their patents and other IPR laws in consideration with the requirements and provided laws, but yet these member states have to follow the TRIPS Agreement. The TRIPS agreement provides several opportunities, for instance, compulsory licensing, negotiating with patent holders, etc.

CHALLENGES IN VARIOUS FIELDS:-

1. Biotechnology
2. Outer Space

BIOTECHNOLOGY 

The practice and jurisprudence of Indian patent with respect to patenting of biological materials are relatively new and thus not so well settled and/or uniform. Issues like ownership of genes and genetically modified humans, moral and identity dangers inherent in human cloning and genetic modification of human beings are some of the serious issues related to granting patents on biotech inventions. Article 27 of TRIPS has discussed about the agreed international norms on patentability of the inventions. It has discussed about new products or process that involves an inventive step and has industrial application, also about invention against public order or morality or which would cause serious prejudice to the plant, animal or human health and life.  It has also discussed about therapeutic, diagnostic and surgical methods as well as plants and animals except microorganisms. 

DIMMINACO A.G. v. CONTROLLER OF PATENTS AND DESIGNS & ORS

FACTS:- 

The petitioner had issued a patent application related to its invention of a method of preparing the infectious Bursitis Vaccine. Under Section 12 of the Patent Act, 1970 has laid down the method of examination of such an application , the Patent Office Examiner declared that the application did not constitute any inventions as laid by Section  2 (i) (i.a) of the Patent Act. 1970. It was said that the Patent Applicant’s Invention arranged by a particular process was capable of being used as food or a drug, but not as an invention as mentioned in the above section.

It was contended by the appellant that there was no restraint against the method of preparation of a product that was already patented, even if the process constituted live virus leading the objection under section 2 (i) (i.a) by the examiner to be unreasonable. It was also said that there was no deterrent as per current laws for granting a patent to a final product involving live virus. The grant of patent affected and denied on the basis of administrative policy can annul the statutory provision. 

HELD:-

It was held that the patent application had to be reconsidered and soon after two months later from the date of production of this judgment.

OUTER SPACE

The legal framework on the outer space invention is taking a rapid growth in the modern world. Since 1957 these legal framework are constantly developing and making a wide scope for tomorrows’ lawyers.

The International space law consist of five space treaties concluded in the framework of the UN which provides some important principles on International Space Laws; right to use an outer space but not to appropriate it, application of the international law, obligation to use an outer space for a peaceful purpose, etc. 

Keeping in mind these rule and principles, currently USA, Japan, Canada, and the member of European Space Agency (ESA) are working together to establish a legal framework to define the rights and obligations of each of the partner states as well as their jurisdiction and control over their International Space Station (ISS) elements regarding Intergovernmental Agreement, 1998. 

The major problem while filing the patent is that the territorial boundaries of outer space is not defined and is not possible to recognized as it is on Earth. But there are cases which have helped in recognizing these kind of space invention. One of such can be seen in “Title 35 of the United States Section Code 105”. The USA Patent Act, (35 U.S.C. 105 (2003)) states that:

1. Any invention made, used, or sold in outer space on a space object or component thereof under the jurisdiction or control of the United States shall be considered to be made, used or sold within the United States for the purposes of this title, except with respect to any space object or component thereof that is specifically identified and otherwise provided for by an international agreement to which the united States is a party, or with respect to any space object or component thereof that is carried on the registry of a foreign state in accordance with the Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space.
2. Any invention made , used or sold in outer space on a space object or component thereof that is carried on the registry of a foreign state in accordance with the Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space, shall be considered to be made, used or sold within the United States for the purposes of this title if specifically so agreed in an international agreement between the United States and the state of registry.

India is also a party to all international space treaties which form the main body of international space law. India has played a significant role to adopt legal principles by UN General Assembly Resolution. It has become important for India to have Indian Space Laws as the Indian Space Activities have become vastly diversified and have come to stay as successfully demonstrated their implicational applicability. Thus, there is a need to redefine and formalize the existing set up of institutional mechanism and to facilitate inter-departmental coordination, making it a legal norm.

CONCLUSION

As the era of today is taking a very diversified step in developing into the world where most of the work is done through intellectual properties such as today a brand has its value more than its products, the idea of the invention is more precious than the invention, etc to protect all these Intellectual Property right has emerged and paced rapidly with today’s developing nation. Artificial Intelligence has helped in reducing human labor as most of the work is done through machines and this machine language has taken a significant place in modern world. To safeguard and protect its invention and many other things, patenting is an important tool of intellectual property through which one can safeguard his right over his invention.

India has also stepped into the field of product patent regime but it still has a long way to go in case of managing the interests of the companies and maintaining a balance as it has to implement the TRIPS Agreement to achieve institutional reforms, environment protection, usage of genetic resources and so on. To bring forth more opportunities India should promote the formation of an association between the Convention on Biological Diversity and TRIPS Agreement and this can be done only if there is efficacy in the management of patent application. Therefore, Patenting should involve strategies that can work side by side with the inventions that are to be implemented.

Bibliography

HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF PATENTS – INTERNATIONAL & NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

(karnikaseth.com)https://blog.ipleaders.in/current-emerging-issues-related-patents/#Conclusion

Patents in Outer Space – Intellectual Property, IPR & Corporate Law Firm Chennai, Bengaluru (altacit.com)

Inventions in outer space – CNET