Second, copyrights comprising literary works such as, novels, poems, plays, films, musical works; and artistic works including paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures and architectural designs. So far, the related copyrights are concerned, these include performing artists, producers of phonograms and their recordings and broadcasters of radio and television programmes. When these rights are conferred on their respective creators, it is referred to as intellectual property rights (IPRs).
There are two main economic objectives for protecting intellectual property rights. First, it is to encourage research and development and investment activities in knowledge creation and business innovations by providing exclusive privileges for using/selling of newly developed technologies, goods and services. Second, it is dissemination of new knowledge through rights holders in the market.
In economic terms, it is socially efficient to provide wide access to new technologies and products, once they have been developed at their marginal costs of production. Such costs could be quite low for they may entail simply copying a blueprint or making another copy of a compact disk or video. IPRs have different forms and operate through their mechanisms. Such as patents which provide the exclusive rights to prevent unauthorised making/selling and importing or using of an invention, product/technology recognised in the patent claim, demonstrating novelty, involves an inventive step and is capable of industrial application for 20 years.
The main reason for providing patent protection is to permit the inventors to earn the returns on their inventions by providing incentives for technology progression. Utility models (petty patents) are protected for a shorter duration for certain small or incremental innovations.
Trademarks rights under identified names, symbols, logos, images and any distinctive mark to save consumers from confusion by playing a significant role in reducing their search costs for various goods and services. Such privileges induce trading firms to maintain production qualities for their various products and services. These rights also induce licensees for protecting the value of assets by selling the goods of guaranteed quality both in national and international markets.
Protection period for trademarks in most of the countries is 10 years but a trademark can be renewed indefinitely. Many countries provide protection against the unfair competition, occasionally by way of preventing misrepresentations as to trade origin regardless of registration of trademarks. If trademarks are not protected, rival firms could misrepresent their lower-quality goods as legitimate versions of those which are produced by renowned companies. Such a situation would diminish incentives for maintaining the quality of various goods/services. Economists believe that hazards of markets ascendancy through abuse of trademarks are trivial in competitive economies but such marks could prove to be a significant market power.
In the long run, different firms develop their own technologies or gather valuable information regarding production methods for various products and business plans not patentable called trade secrets or undisclosed informations. Such secrets are protected under legal policies. Protecting trade secrets encourages development and commercial use of sub-patentable inventions. Rules which provide protection to trade secrets or undisclosed informations and promote innovation also encourage learning. Designs for integrated circuits are awarded exclusive rights for a shorter time periods than patents, recognising that the semiconductor designs often demonstrate the technological changes. Geographical Indications (GIs) identify products with their associated qualities, reputation and other characteristics and hence recognise the place of origin. Food products having qualities that derive from their place of production and respective local environmental factors can be cited as examples. These indications deter unauthorised parties from using a protected GI for the products not from that region or from misleading the public as to the true origin of the product.
Literary and artistic creations and computer software are also protected under copyrights, by providing exclusive rights for a certain time period when found in certain specific mediums. Copyright protection begins with the creation of a work and lasts for the life of the creator plus 50 years (70 years in US and EU). It prevents unauthorised reproduction, public performances, recordings, broadcastings, translation or adaptation and allows the collection of royalties for authorised use.
However, several technologies cannot be comfortably fit into these traditional protection categories. Because some computer programmes may contain elements of industrial usefulness in addition to their expressive elements and some countries make programmes eligible for patents.
There is a controversy particularly in developing nations about patents for biotechnological inventions and plant breeders rights (PBRs). It can be said that patents engender a strong and unwarranted protection in biotechnology industry because such inventions may not reveal a truly inventive step. Hence its representative firms claim that patents are required to encourage investment in such risky technologies.
Finally, IP system requires its enforcement mechanism involving two opposing tasks such as punishing infringement by free riders and disciplining enterprises trying to extend their rights beyond intended levels by acting in anti-competitive manners.
In order to fulfill the purpose and mechanism for the protection of intellectual property rights, this glimpse of theoretical analysis reveals that there is a need for the development of extensive legal and scientific expertise.