Cabinet approves National Intellectual Property Rights

The Union Cabinet has approved the National Intellectual Property Rights or IPR policy that lays the future roadmap for intellectual property in India.

It aims to boost creativity, innovation and thereby promote entrepreneurship by adapting global best practices to the Indian scenario and weaving in the strengths of the Government, research and development organizations, educational institutions and corporate entities. The Policy recognizes that India has a well-established TRIPS-compliant legislative, administrative and judicial framework to safeguard IPRs, which meets its international obligations while utilizing the flexibilities provided in the international regime to address its developmental concerns. The policy provides a framework for effective co-ordination, administration and enforceability including faster registration of trademarks. Finance Minister outlined the 7 objectives that guided the policy mechanism: 1. Create public awareness about economic, social and cultural benefits of IPRs among all sections of society 2. Stimulate generation of IPRs 3. Legal and Legislative framework to have strong and effective IPR laws, which balance interests of rights owners with larger public interest 4. Administration and management to modernize and strengthen service-oriented IPR administration 5. Commercialization of IPRs to get value for them 6. Strengthen enforcement and adjudicatory mechanisms for combating IPR infringements 7. Strengthen and expand human resources, institutions and capacities for teaching, training, research and skill building in IPRs The action by different Ministries or Departments shall be monitored by DIPP which shall be the nodal department to coordinate, guide and oversee implementation and future development of IPRs in India. A Cell for IPR promotion & management would be set up in DIPP to monitor & coordinate IPR policy implementation and an IPR cell would be created in every government department and state government to coordinate with DIPP for IPR policy implementation. The policy also puts a premium on enhancing access to healthcare, food security and environmental protection. Experts say that foreign investors had been waiting for the govt's IPR policy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured businessmen in UK in November last year that the IPR policy will be finalised soon.