Intellectual Property And Its Pervasiveness In Industry Trade And Commerce.
What Is Intellectual Propoerty:-
Property which comes from the Human Brain and for which Government gives protection is called Intellectual Property Right(IPR). Trademark.Patent,copyright,geographical location are few examples of Intellectual Property(IP). Intellectual property has gained in prominence in many fields of business in recent times. Today, it is a major asset for many of the world’s most powerful companies. The intellectual property of a company is its legally protectable and exploitable invisible assets .It is a sub-set of assets known as “intangibles”. The term “intellectual property (IP)” refers to property in a legal sense. It is something which can be owned and dealt with. The legal rights that give rise to intellectual property are usually referred to as “intellectual property rights (lPRs)”. There are several types of IPRs that qualify as intellectual property. The most widely known lP category is patents. Other categories include copyrights, trade marks, design rights, trade secrets and plant breeders’ rights. In the emerging knowledge economy, lP has become a critical success factor for most high- It is an Intangible Asset.But the future benefits to be derived is uncertain. Hence valuation cannot be made correctly.
It has no objectivity or supporting documents unlike our accounting system which is based on objectivity.
HISTORICAL BACKDROP LEADING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF (Intellectual Property Rights)IPRs:-
For most of the 19th century, the USA provided no copyright protection for foreign
authors; the argument was that it needed the freedom to copy in order to educate the new nation. Similarly, parts of Europe built their industries by copying the inventions of
others. The same model was followed later by Japan and even later, after the second world war, by both South Korea and Taiwan.
Today, however, developing countries do not have the luxury to take their time over lntellectual Property Rights (IPR). As a part of the trade deal hammered out nine years ago, countries joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO) also signed up to TRIPS (trade-related aspects of IPR), which include patents, copyright, trade marks, trade secrets, geographical indicators and such other items. The poor-er countries of the world were given until 2006 to comply in full with the requirements of this treaty.
Contrary to popular perception, TRIPS does not create a universal patent system..
Rather, it lays down the ground rules describing the protection that a country’s legal system must provide, Much of the recent debate over the impact of IPR on the poor has
centred on the issues of access to expensive medicines, In April 2001, South Africa won a victory against major drug companies fighting patent reform there, allowing access to cheaper versions of patented rnedicines for AIDS, Encouraged, the developing countries issued a declaration at the WTO meeting at Doha in November 2001 asserting the primacy of public health over IPR. They also resolved that the least-developed countries should bo given at least until 2016 to introduce patent protection for pharmaceuticals.