Union Cabinet approves country's first National Intellectual Property Rights Policy

The Union Government has approved National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy, 2016 to promote the IP regime and to encourage innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship in India.
The first of its king policy in the country seeks to strengthen legislative and legal framework of IPRs, their commercialization and reinforce enforcement and adjudicatory mechanisms for IPR infringements.
The National IPR Policy will endeavour for a “Creative India; Innovative India: रचनात्मक भारत; अभिनव भारत”.
The Policy lays down seven objectives

• IPR Awareness: Outreach and Promotion- It seeks to create public awareness about the social, economic and cultural benefits of IPRs among all sections of society.
• Generation of IPRs: It seeks to stimulate the generation of IPRs.
• Legal and Legislative Framework: It call for a strong and effective IPR laws, which will have balance the larger public interest and interests of rights owners.
• Administration and Management: It seeks to strengthen and modernize service-oriented IPR administration.
• Commercialization of IPRs: Provide appropriate value for IPRs through commercialization.
• Enforcement and Adjudication: Seeks to strengthen the adjudicatory and enforcement mechanisms for combating IPR infringements.
• Human Capital Development: Seeks to expand and strengthen human resources, capacities and institutions for teaching, research, training and skill building in IPRs.

Other highlights of the Policy

• Recognises abundance of innovative and creative energies in the country and prioritizes the need to tap and channelise these energies towards a better and brighter future for all.
• Exploit and create synergies between all forms of intellectual property (IP), concerned agencies and statutes in the country.
• Sets in place an institutional mechanism for monitoring, implementation and review of IP regime.
• Aims to incorporate and adapt global best practices to the Indian scenario.
• Makes the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), under the Union Commerce Ministry nodal agency for regulating IP rights in the country.
• Seeks to weave in the strengths of the Government, R&D organizations, educational institutions, corporate entities including start-ups, MSMEs and other stakeholders in the creation of an innovation-conducive environment.
• Facilitates a transparent, stable and service-oriented IPR administration in the country.
• Recognizes that India has well-established TRIPS-compliant administrative, legislative and judicial framework to safeguard IPRs.
• Meets international obligations while utilizing the flexibilities provided in the international regime to address its developmental concerns.
• Reiterates India’s commitment to the Doha Declaration on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement and Public Health.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2016