RESEARCH METHODOLOGY &

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
RIGHTS(RMI)
Course Code : 21RMI56
CIE Marks : 50
SIE Marks : 50
 Building Intellectual Property Rights
• Intellectual property (IP) is the term used to refer to non-
commercial assets derived from human intelligence, creativity and
imagination, but often intangible.

• A patent is a special right granted to an invention that is a product

or method, usually providing a new way of doing something or a
new solution to a problem for that matter.

• In order to obtain a patent, the information regarding the

invention must be disclosed to the public in the patent application.
 The major types of IP are:
• 1. Trademarks: A trademark is a sign that suitably differentiates the
owner’s goods or services from those of others.
• 2. Patents: A patent is a legal document that gives its owner the exclusive
right to manufacture a product or manufacture it in any form in a limited
area and for a limited period of time, preventing interested parties from
producing, using or selling a product present invention.
• 3. Industrial Designs: Design protection relates to some specific beautiful
images related to products whose work the owner may want to protect.
• 4. Copyright: Copyright is a right vested in the owner or creator of the
publication and distribution of text, music, images or other works.
Copyright also applies to content such as software, data files and related
information.
Trademarks:
• Brand names: Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola
• Product names: iPhone, Air Jordan, Coke
• Company logos: Golden Arches (McDonald's), Nike swoosh,
Apple logo
• Slogans: Just Do It (Nike), Think Different (Apple), I'm Lovin' It
(McDonald's)
Patents:
• New inventions: The light bulb, the telephone, the computer
• New processes: The manufacturing process for a new drug, the
method for creating a new type of solar cell
• New designs: The design of a new car, the design of a new
computer chip
Industrial designs:
• The shape of a product: The shape of a Coca-Cola bottle, the
shape of a Samsung Galaxy phone
• The pattern on a product: The pattern on a Tiffany & Co. necklace,
the pattern on a Nike sneaker

• The color scheme of a product: The color scheme of a Target

store, the color scheme of a Starbucks coffee cup
Copyrights:
• Literary works: Books, poems, scripts, musical pieces
• Artistic works: Paintings, sculptures, photographs, movies
• Software programs: Computer software, video games
• Technical works: Engineering drawings, architectural plans
 Law of Patents
Key aspects of patent law include:
1. Eligibility Criteria:
2. Application Process.
3. Granting of Patents:
4. Enforcement
5. Licensing and Transfer:
6. International Protection.
7. Challenges and Litigation:
8. Patent Infringement:
 Patentability Requirements
• Novelty.
• Non-Obviousness (Inventive Step):
• Utility or Industrial Applicability:
• Enablement (Sufficiency of Disclosure):
• Subject Matter Eligibility:
• Non-Disclosure:
• No Excluded Categories:
• Written Description and Claims:
• First-to-File Rule:
 Patentable Subject Matter
• Processes:
• Machines:
• Manufactures:
• Compositions of Matter:
• Articles of Manufacture:
• Machines and Apparatuses:
• Software and Computer-Implemented Inventions:
• Biotechnological Inventions:
 Industrial Applicability/Utility in Patents:
Requirement for Patentability:
Real-World Application:
Preventing Overly Abstract or Theoretical Inventions:
Clear and Specific Utility:
Exclusions and Limitations:
Balancing Innovation and Public Benefit:
Scope of Protection:
 Novelty in patent
1. Novelty in Patent Law:
2. What's Already Known:
3. The Patent Monopoly:
4. What's New in India:
5. No Copies from Other Patents:
6. What Makes an Invention Special:
7. Obviousness:
8. Keeping Secrets:
9. Anticipation and Lack of Novelty:
 Anticipation by publication
These are in the case of an invention claimed in a complete
specification
(1) Protection for Old Specifications:
(2) Protection for Self-Disclosure or Unauthorized Publication:
(3) Priority for the Real Inventor:
• Anticipation by public knowledge and public use after
provisional specification
• As per Section 23: Anticipation by previous publication under
Chapter 4: Anticipation of the THE PATENTS ACT, 1970:
• 1. Protection for Earlier Filings:
• 2. Convention Application Protection:
 Anticipation by public display
• 1. Protection for Exhibitions:
• 2. Permission and Display:
• 3. Publication from Exhibitions:
• 4. Unapproved Use During Exhibition:
• 5. Inventor's Presentations:
 Anticipation by public working
1. Protection for Public Testing:
2. Testing by Inventor or Others:
3. Consent and Reasonable Trial:
 Anticipation by sale
In simpler terms:
• If an invention has been sold or made available to the public in
India before someone applies for a patent, it might not be
considered new anymore.
• This could impact the inventor's ability to get a patent for the
invention because patents are usually granted for new and
unique ideas.
 Inventive step/non-obviousness
• It involves:
• Prior Art
• Inventive Step:
• Not Obvious to Skilled Person:
• Encouraging Real Innovation:
 Novelty Assessment
Following are the steps taken to assess novelty in the Indian IPR
context:
1. Comparison with Prior Art
2. Evaluation of Claims:
3. Novelty Criterion:
4. Global Assessment:
5. Grace Period:
6. Inventive Step and Novelty:
 Inventive Step Assessment
Here's how the assessment of inventive step works in the Indian IPR
context:
1. Comparison with Existing Knowledge (Prior Art):.
2. Non-Obviousness Requirement:
3. Person Skilled in the Art:
4. Combination of Prior Art:
5. Unexpected Results:
6. Innovation Beyond Obvious Modifications:
7. Objective and Subjective Criteria:
 Specification
Following are the contents of specifications:
1. Detailed Description:.
2. Claims:
3. Importance of Clarity:
4. Determining Patent Scope:
5. Prior Art Search:
6. Enablement Requirement:.
7. Importance for Legal Protection:
8. Completeness: