National Intellectual Property Rights policy

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) refers to the legal rights resulting from invention, innovation, and discovery in scientific, literary, artistic, and industrial sectors etc. IPRs entitle any individual or group to the economic and moral rights for their creation. IPRs gives protection to the original invention and ideas for a certain time limit and avoids its commercial exploitation by others.

The Government of India brought National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policy, 2016 for promoting IPR Regime in India and for encouraging invention creativity and entrepreneurship in the country. The policy makes India's IPR policy TRIPS compliant through a legislative, administrative and judicial framework for safeguarding IPR for meeting the international obligations at the same time utilising the flexibility available under trips for developmental concerns.

Objectives of National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policy

• IPR awareness: To make all the sections of society aware of the economic, social and cultural benefits arising from the intellectual property rights.
• Generation of IPRs: stimulating the generation of IPRs, R&D Institutions, Enterprises, Universities and Technical institutes etc.
• Legal and legislative framework: having strong and effective implementation of IPR laws for balancing the rights of owners with the larger Public Interest.
• Administration and management: modernizing and strengthening a service oriented IPR administration.
• Commercialization of IPRs: To ensure that the owners of IPRs get its value through commercialization.
• Enforcement and adjudication: strengthening the enforcement and the educated mechanism for dealing with infringements of IPR.
• Human capital development: strengthening and expanding the human resources, institutions and capacities for research, skill building, teaching and training in IPRs.

Highlights of the policy

• Department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) will act as the nodal department for coordinating, guiding and overseeing the implementation and future development of IPR in India. It will monitor the work done by other Ministries and departments for IPR.
• The policy has a tagline of Creative India: Innovative India which aims to update the different intellectual property laws such as Indian cinematography act for removing inconsistencies.
• The policy calls for financially supporting less empowered IP creators and owners such as weavers, farmers, and artisans through IP friendly loans from rural banks and cooperative banks.
• The policy calls for IPR commercialization through financial support for developing IP assets by linking them with financial institutions such as venture capital funds, angel funds, crowd funding etc.
• The IPR policy will be reviewed every five years in consultation with the stakeholders.

The policy will have several benefits such as fostering creativity and innovation in the country which would ultimately promote entrepreneurship leading to socio-economic development. It will promote the environment of protection of IPR which will ultimately help in technology advancements. The policy would also be helpful in promoting food security, enhancing affordable healthcare services through inventions, innovations, and discoveries in these sectors.