IPR ENFORCEMENT, THE BEST PRACTICES – Shri. V.P.Nandakumar
On 11 August 2016, I was fortunate to meet with some senior police officials at the Kerala Police Academy in Thrissur during an interactive session on the best practices for enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). The event was organized by the Kerala State Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as part of a planned series of similar orientation sessions for police officials across India. The programme at Thrissur was the 4th such event during the current year. In this context, I’d like to share with you a brief overview of the challenges in IPR enforcement in India that I had highlighted in my address to the gathering.
In general, it is true that the government has a limited role to play in matters relating to breach of contractual regulations between private parties. However, Intellectual Property laws are rather different. IPRs are essentially negative rights in the sense that they are meant primarily to prevent any third party from exploiting them commercially… in any manner in violation of the provisions of the concerned law, without proper authorization from the holder of the right. Enforcement of IPR is about putting in place legal and administrative provisions and structures that would come to the aid of the holder of the IPR in ensuring that his statutory rights are respected by others… and he is able to enjoy unhindered, the limited monopoly that comes with the grant of an IPR in accordance with the law.
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