Intellectual property describes intangible creations of the human mind. Intellectual property becomes rights when commercially exploited. Intellectual property rights, corporate competitiveness and international trade in a globalised world are indispensably linked. With the globalisation of our economy a well enforced intellectual property system could be the driving force for economic reforms.

The need for international protection of intellectual property became evident when foreign exhibitors refused to attend the International Exhibition of Inventions in Vienna in 1873 because they were afraid their ideas would be stolen and exploited commercially in other countries. The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property in 1883 marked the first international treaty designed to help the people obtain protection in other countries for their intellectual creations in the form of industrial property rights known as inventions, trademarks and industrial designs. The Paris Convention entered into force in 1884 with 14 member states.

Intellectual property protection encourages the use and further development of local inventive and artistic talents and assets. In addition, an intellectualproperty infrastructure allows participation in the exchange of commercially valuable information at the international level. An effective IP system benefits consumers and businesses alike. It enables consumers to differentiate between similar products. It speaks of the organisations' commitment to the consumer and allows the business to build a distinct identity of its own. India is in the process of making its intellectual property laws compliant and better integrated with the global systems. The Trademarks Act 1999 is a step in the direction of internationalising the laws of trademark rights and protection.

Today Intellectual property like inventions, designs, trademarks, books, music and films are used all over the world. But there is the very real menace of infringement of trademark and with the dramatic rise in Internet use, especially for e-commerce and information and knowledge exchange, the issue has intensified and has global repercussions. Loss to consumers, trademark owners and the exchequer runs into thousands of crores annually.

Mr. Ashok Chhabria of the Brand Protection Committee recommends, "To control this problem, the provisions requiring opinion of Registrar before seizing infringing products should be deleted, Trademark offenses should be made non bailable and the burden of proof should be transferred onto the accused. This shall also help the Government meet the requirements of the TRIPS Agreement."

There are at present around 2,42,000 registered trademarks in India. Of these approximately 15%, nearly 35,000 are of foreign origin. Trade mark applications have increased from 42,723 in 1995 to over 66,000 in 2000. In the corresponding period registrations have increased from 5,300 to over 14,000 during the last year. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion is implementing a project of over Rs.8 crores relating to the modernization of the Trademarks Registry and its branches.

Mr. A. E Ahmad, Joint Secretary, Department of Industrial Promotion andPolicy, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India says, "The power of trademarks, as purveyors of brand equity, quality assurance and, of course, commercial value need not be overemphasized. Trademark protection is confronted with a wide variety of challenges in the new millennium. The rapid pace of change of technology and more importantly, the convergence of technology, especially in the communication related fields and IT raises several challenges. Audible and olfactory trademarks are now sought to be registered. Moving images as trademarks accompanied with music have been registered in different offices. Similarly with the growth of e-commerce and the increasing penetration of personal computers and Internet connectivity, the abuse of famous names and well known trademarks in the course of e-commerce through either "cyber squatting" or domain name grabbing has become a frequent cause of concern. The enforcement of such rights in a seamless and borderless medium cutting across national territorial boundaries in cyberspace has been a cause for concern and India has to focus on such issues as well."

With increasing globalisation and participation in the world market and a growing economy, the Indian Government has taken cognizance of the issues pertaining to Intellectual property and the importance of the same. Industry is also increasingly aware of the significance of protecting their brands. But one area that needs focus is the area of consumer awareness, on educating the consumer about his role.

By : Supriya Rathod