Page 40 - DMGT547_INTERNATIONAL_MARKETING

Unit 2: World Trade Organization

Article 26 on ‘Protection’ states that: Notes
1. The owner of a protected industrial design shall have the right to prevent third parties not
having the owner’s consent from making, selling, selling or importing articles bearing or
embodying a design which is a copy, or substantially a copy, of the protected design,
when such acts are undertaken for commercial purposes.

2. The duration of protection available shall amount to at least 10 years. (The Indian Designs
Act, 2000, also provides the same protection of 10 years)

Indian Designs Act

The existing legislation on industrial designs in India is contained in the Designs
Act, 2000.
Among other things, the Act mentions the following:
‘Article’ means any article of manufacture and any substance, artificial, or partly artificial
and partly natural and includes any part of an article being made and sold separately.
‘Design’ means only the features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornament or composition
of lines or colours applied to any article whether in two dimensional or three dimensional
or in both forms, by any industrial process or means, whether manual, mechanical, or
chemical, separate or combined, which in the finished article appeal to and are judged
solely by the eye.
“Prohibition of Registration of Certain Designs”
A design will not be registered:

If it is not new or original; or
If it has been disclosed to the public anywhere in India or in any other country by
publication in any tangible form or by use or in any other way prior to the filing
date; or
If it is not significantly distinguishable from known designs or combination of
known designs; or
If it comprises or contains scandalous or obscene material
The copyright of a registered design will extend for 10 years from the date of registration,
extendable on an application from the registered proprietor for a second period of five years
from the expiration of the original period.
TRIPS and Control of Anti-competitive practices: Under Section 8 regarding ‘Control of Anti-
competitive practices in Commercial Licenses’ there is recognition “that some licensing practices
or conditions pertaining to intellectual property rights which restrain competition may have
adverse effects on trade and may impede the transfer and dimension of technology”.
Thus members are allowed to specify in their legislation licensing practices or conditions that
may in particular cases constitute an abuse of intellectual property rights having an adverse
effect on competition in the relevant market.

Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement

The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures – also known as the
SPS Agreement was negotiated during the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade, and entered into force with the establishment of the WTO at the beginning of 1995.

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