IP Law Explained: From Copyrights to Trademarks and Patents, all you need to know

Introduction to IP Law

Intellectual Property law (IP law) deals with the protection of the creative, innovative and intellectual works of individuals.

IP law plays a vital role in today’s globalized world as It grants the exclusive rights for the creators and innovators over their works. These rights can be either used for financing or can be sold. 

Thus IP law ensures that creators can claim the royalty of their work and safeguards works from exploitation and misuse.
Intellectual Property law has a significant impact in promoting new inventions and encouraging inventors in order to ensure economic growth and industrial developments.

What is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual Property is referred to as creative or inventive works that originate from human intellect. They are the intangible assets of an inventor.

Intellectual property covers many sectors including technology, entertainment, medicine,  agriculture etc.

Intellectual property works include new inventions, artistic works, computer software, business models, pharmaceuticals etc.
Most importantly IP works have economic value and demand in the market economy.

Copyright	Industrial property
Author’s Rights	Patents
Neighboring Rights	Industrial design, trade marks, trade secrets

1. Copyright

“Copyright is a property right which protects the original expression of ideas, but not the ideas themselves.” – W.R. Cornish

(Source: W.R. Cornish, Intellectual Property: Patents, Copyright, Trade Marks and Allied Rights)

2. Author’s Rights

“Author’s rights refer to the rights of creators over their literary and artistic works, focusing not only on economic rights but also on moral rights which protect the personal link between the author and their creation.” – Sam Ricketson

(Source: Sam Ricketson, The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works)

3. Neighboring Rights

“Neighbouring rights are rights granted to performers, producers of phonograms, and broadcasting organizations, which exist alongside copyright and protect the interests of those who contribute to the dissemination of works.” – Paul Goldstein

(Source: Paul Goldstein, International Copyright: Principles, Law, and Practice)

4. Patents

“A patent is a monopoly granted for a limited time to an inventor, giving exclusive rights to exploit an invention that is new, involves an inventive step, and is capable of industrial application.” – Jeremy Phillips
(Source: Jeremy Phillips and Alison Firth, Introduction to Intellectual Property Law)

5. Trade Marks

“A trademark is any word, name, symbol, or device used by a manufacturer or merchant to identify their goods and distinguish them from those manufactured or sold by others.”  – J. Thomas McCarthy

(Source: J. Thomas McCarthy, McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair Competition)

6. Trade Secrets

“Trade secrets are confidential business information which provides an enterprise a competitive edge. Protection is based on secrecy and not registration.”  – David Llewelyn

(Source: David Llewelyn, Invisible Assets: Intellectual Property in the Age of Information Capitalism)

7. Industrial Designs

“Industrial design rights protect the visual design of objects that are not purely utilitarian. It includes features such as shape, pattern, or ornamentation that appeal to the eye.”  – W.R. Cornish

(Source: W.R. Cornish, Intellectual Property: Patents, Copyright, Trade Marks and Allied Rights)

Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883)

• One of the oldest international Intellectual property treaties.
• Covers patents, trademarks, industrial designs etc. 

Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1886)

• Protects creative works such as literary, artistic, and musical works.
• Covers copyright and author’s rights.

TRIPS Agreement – Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (1994)

• The most broad international IP agreement.
• Covers copyright, patents, trademarks, industrial designs, trade secrets etc.
• Administered under the World Trade Organization (WTO)

WCT – WIPO Copyright Treaty (1996)

• An agreement under the Berne Convention.
• Provides protection for digital and online works.
• Administered under the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

WPPT – WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (1996)

• Focuses on neighboring rights such as rights of the performers and producers of phonograms
• Provide protection for digital and online works.

Madrid Agreement (1891) and Madrid Protocol (1989)

• Facilitate international registration of trademarks.
• Provide protection for trademarks in multiple countries. 

PCT – Patent Cooperation (1970)

• Facilitate international registration for patents.
• Provides protection for patents in multiple countries. 
• Administered under the WIPO

Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs

• Facilitate international registration for industrial designs. 
• Provides protection for industrial designs in multiple countries. 
• Administered under the WIPO

• Sri Lanka was ratified to the Paris Convention in 1952.
• Sri Lanka was ratified to the Berne Convention in 1959. 
• Sri Lanka has been binding to the TRIPS agreement since 1995 via WTO. 
• Sri Lanka has been a member of the WIPO convention since 1978.

Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003 is the main piece of legislation that governs the Sri Lanka Intellectual Property matters. It is a consolidated and a comprehensive statute which covers patent, copyright, neighboring rights, trade marks, trade secrets, industrial designs, geographical indications etc.

The Code of Intellectual Property Act No. 52 of 1979 served as Sri Lanka’s primary legislation on intellectual property until it was repealed and replaced by the Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003 in 2003.

IP law is a vital aspect of Sri Lanka’s legal system to foster innovation and to enhance the economic growth of the country. It provides legal safeguarding against exploration and misuse of the creator’s inventive, literary or artistic works.

Sri Lanka has a strong legal regime to govern most of the copyright related issues. But when it comes to law enforcement we face a lot of challenges in relation to trademark violations, piracy, rapid dissemination of online creative works etc. By establishing strong enforcing systems including agencies, customs and also by imposing huge Penalty over violations can enhance the legal enforcement.

Educating school children, university students and the general public on the IP law is a necessity to overcome this challenge.

By doing so Sri Lanka can contribute to the world economy with new artistic works like films, music, sculpture, art, graphics and also new inventions for technology and science.

Written by M.W.F. Nuzha Kidur

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