Research Methodology and IPR
Teaching Scheme Lectures: 1hrs/week
Course Outcomes: At the end of this course, students will be able to
 Understand research problem formulation.
 Analyze research related information
 Follow research ethics
 Understand that today’s world is controlled by Computer, Information
 Technology, but tomorrow world will be ruled by ideas, concept, and creativity.
 Understanding that when IPR would take such important place in growth of individuals &
nation, it is needless to emphasis the need of information about Intellectual Property Right
to be promoted among students in general & engineering in particular.
 Understand that IPR protection provides an incentive to inventors for further research
work and investment in R & D, which leads to creation of new and better products, and in
turn brings about, economic growth and social benefits.
Unit 1: Meaning of research problem, Sources of research problem, Criteria Characteristics
of a good research problem, Errors in selecting a research problem, Scope and objectives of
research problem. Approaches of investigation of solutions for research problem, data
collection, analysis, interpretation, Necessary instrumentations
Unit 2: Effective literature studies approaches, analysis Plagiarism, Research ethics,
Unit 3: Effective technical writing, how to write report, Paper Developing a Research
Proposal, Format of research proposal, a presentation and assessment by a review committee
Unit 4: Nature of Intellectual Property: Patents, Designs, Trade and Copyright. Process of
Patenting and Development: technological research, innovation, patenting, development.
International Scenario: International cooperation on Intellectual Property. Procedure for
grants of patents, Patenting under PCT.
Unit 5: Patent Rights: Scope of Patent Rights. Licensing and transfer of technology. Patent
information and databases. Geographical Indications. New Developments in IPR:
Administration of Patent System. New developments in IPR; IPR of Biological Systems,
Computer Software etc. Traditional knowledge Case Studies, IPR and IITs.
References:
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Stuart Melville and Wayne Goddard, “Research methodology: An introduction for
science & engineering students’”
Wayne Goddard and Stuart Melville, “Research Methodology: An Introduction”
Ranjit Kumar, 2nd Edition, “Research Methodology: A Step by Step Guide  for
beginners”
Halbert, “Resisting Intellectual Property”, Taylor & Francis Ltd ,2007.
Mayall, “Industrial Design”, McGraw Hill, 1992.
Niebel, “Product Design”, McGraw Hill, 1974.
Asimov, “Introduction to Design”, Prentice Hall, 1962.
Robert P. Merges, Peter S. Menell, Mark A. Lemley, “ Intellectual Property in New
Technological Age”, 2016.
T. Ramappa, “Intellectual Property Rights Under WTO”, S. Chand, 2008
UNIT-I
Research Problem
Research Problem
It refers to some difficulty which a researcher experiences in the context of either
theoretical or practical situation and wants to obtain a solution for the same.
A research problem can be simply defined as a statement that identifies the problem
or situation to be studied.
Components of research problem
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An individual or a group with some difficulty or problem
Objectives of research that are to be attained
The environment in which the problem exists
Two or more course of action or Alternative means for obtaining the objective
Two or more possible Outcomes
Objective of the study
Characteristics of a good topic?
 Interest – The topic must be able to keep the researcher interested in it throughout
the research process
 Data Availability– It must be ensured that the topic can be investigated through the
collection and analysis of data
 Significant – The topic must contribute towards improvement and understanding of
an educational theory or practice
 Adequate – The topic must be according to the skills of the researcher, available
resources and time restrictions
 Ethical – The topic must not embarrass or harm the society
Selecting a Problem
Guidelines for selecting a research problem:
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Subject which is overdone should not be chosen
An average researcher must not choose Controversial topics
Too narrow or too vague problems should be avoided
The chosen subject should be familiar and feasible
Significance and Importance of subject must be given attention
Cost and time factor must be kept in mind
Experience, Qualification and Training of the researcher must be according to the problem
in hand
Formulating a Research Problem
The steps involved in formulating a research problem are as follows: Develop a Suitable Title
 Build a conceptual model of the problem
 Define the objectives of the study
 Set up investigative questions
 Formulate hypothesis
 State the operational definition of concepts
 Determine the scope of the study
Necessity of defining a problem
The problem to be investigated must be clearly defined in order to –
 Discriminate relevant data from the irrelevant one
 To keep a track and make a strategy
 Formulate objectives
 Choose an appropriate Research Design
 Lay down boundaries or limits
Technique involved in defining a research problem
A researcher may define a research problem by:1. Defining the statement of the problem in a general way.
2. Understanding the nature of the problem.
3. Surveying the available literature.
4. Developing ideas through discussions an brain storming
5. Rephrasing the research problems
There are few rules that must be kept in mind while defining a research problem. They are Technical terms should be clearly defined.
 Basic assumptions should be stated.
 The criteria for the selection should be provided.
 Suitability of the time period and sources of data available must be considered.
 The scope of the investigation or the limits must be mentioned.
Methodological Steps for the Research Study
Sources of research problem
II. Sources of Problems to Solve
Beginners tend to start with relatively specific research problems focused on the face value
of the question, but eventually develop a broad research question with great generality. For
example, what started as “how can I help my roommate study more?” evolves into “what
controls studying in people?” At the beginning, the roommate’s behaviour is at issue for
itself. Later the person and the behaviour are seen as arbitrary instances of a much more
important and challenging question. Career long research problems tend to emerge
following several years of specific research topics, and require many specific research
studies to solve. This section details some of the sources for an initial, relatively specific,
research problem. It is intended to help you come up with research which is manageable,
enjoyable, and productive.
A very serious impediment facing new researchers is well illustrated by trying to use a
foreign language dictionary to learn what foreign words mean. Until you know "enough" of a
language, you cannot find out what the words mean. Until you know "enough" of a paradigm,
you do not know what unresolved questions remain, or when the paradigm is wrong. "A"
below is generally a person's first exposure to a research project for that reason.
In addition to not knowing what unresolved problems remain, is missing the more
fundamental broader issue underlying any specific behaviour change. When looking at the
world, try to see each functional relationship as only an instance of a more general class of
relationships.
A. Research Problem from Expert
The simplest source of a problem to solve is to have it given to you as a class assignment,
as a directed research project, or as a task while you are an apprentice in someone's lab.
You are told what problem to research and how to do it. This is probably an ideal way to
assure that your first research topic is a good one.
Example: Students in Experimental Psychology were assigned the task of finding out if
social attention made their roommate study more. They were told to measure the amount
of time their roommate studied on days during which they expressed interest in their
roommate's course material as compared to days when they refrained from talking about
academic topics.
B. Research Problem from Folklore
Common beliefs, common sense, or proverbs could be right but on the other hand, they
could also be wrong. You must verify that they are true before considering them as a
source of knowledge. It is possible that some unverified beliefs have the roots of a better
idea and therefore would be a worthy research topic. It is critical to note, however, that
the task of research is not to simply validate or invalidate common sense but rather to
come to understand nature.
Example: It's commonly believed that studying within the two hours preceding a test will
decrease test scores. To research this belief a randomly selected half of a class was told to
study immediately before taking a test while the other half was prohibited from studying
before the test. This research was intended to determine whether or not studying
immediately before a test decreased the points earned.
C. Research Problem from Insight
Sometimes people research an issue simply because it occurred to them and it seemed
important. The systematic development of the idea is lacking. This is "intuitive" or good
guess research. It is risky because you may not be able to get other researchers to
understand why the research is important. It is fun because you get to do what interests
you at the moment. Alternatively, it could be the application of a general rule of thumb or
guessing that a new problem is actually a well-understood function in disguise.
Example: While feeling especially competent after explaining course material to three
friends you realize that orally presenting material may help test performance. You
conducted a study in which material was orally presented before the test on a random
half of the occasions. The research was based on your insightful realization that oral
presentation may increase test performance.
D. Research Problem from Informal Discussion
This is a research problem that some discussion group feels is interesting. Discussion
among friends can often spark our interest in a problem or provides us with the
reinforcers for pursuing a question.
Example: After telling a group of friends about your success with oral presentations on
test taking, the group talks about it for a while and becomes interested in the possibility of
the subject becoming confused as well as doing better as a result of feedback from the
listeners. The group provides you with the idea and the excitement to do research on how
students can affect the accuracy of a teacher's understanding.
E. Research Problem from Knowledge of Techniques and Apparatus
This is the selection of a research topic based on your special knowledge outside the field.
A technique or apparatus with which you are familiar can offer the potential for a major
advance in the field of psychology. Sometimes we realize that we can apply a new
technique or apparatus to an area to which it has not yet been applied. Because we are
specially qualified to succeed, solving the problem can be especially gratifying.
Example: You may know about microelectronics and be good at detailed work. You find
out that many researchers are anxious to discover the migration patterns of butterflies so
you mount an integrated circuit transmitter on a butterfly and thereby trace the
behaviour of the free ranging butterfly.
F. Research Problem from Reading the Literature
These are research problems which capture your interest while reading. While reading
you will often wonder why, or will disagree, or will realize that you have a better idea
than the original author.
Example: While you were reading about jet lag and its effects on sleep the first night, you
realize that the author failed to control for light cycle. You try stretching either the light
period or stretching the dark period to make up the phase shift. You implement this by
changing the cabin illumination period on various trans-Atlantic flights, and monitoring
the passengers sleep for the next three days.
1. Sources of Research Literature
Initially, it may be hard to know where to start reading on your quest for knowledge.
Consider starting at a very broad general level and working your way to the more
recondite.
A good place to start is several Introductory Psychology textbooks. Understand the
basic area, what it is, how it fits in Psychology, and why it is important. Then look
through several middle level textbooks which cover that particular area.
Understanding the structure of the area by reading the table of contexts, then read the
specific section relevant to your research topic. Read the table of contents and sections
relevant to your paper in several more textbooks, paying particular attention to the
original research which led to the general paradigm and conclusions. Pay attention to
the theoretical significance of various types of results and to the functional relationship
depicted in the figures. Note the authors, titles, dates, volume, and pages of the journals
and books which are referred to. Then consult Psychological Abstracts. This is a
publication that organizes and provides short abstracts of the mass of knowledge
provided in journals. The Psychological Abstracts are available in the library. Locate
key papers in the Abstracts.
Introductory texts
Second-level or area texts
Annual Review / review articles
Special topic text / symposium reports
Journal articles
2. How to Find Additional Sources
Web
PsychInfo
Dictionary of Psychology (http://www.psychology.org)
Card catalog
Psychological Abstracts
Current Contents
Citation Index (find subsequently-published related articles)
Reference sections of relevant papers (find previously-published related articles)
Knowledgeable people
3. How to Read Research Articles
Actively participate while you are reading. At first it will keep you from falling asleep,
later it will keep you from thinking about other things, and eventually it will make it a
lot of fun.
Underline, write questions and answers in the margins, and keep an idea log. Draw a
diagram of the procedure. Consider how the research bears on your interests. Look for
what's important.
a. What was the research problem and why must it be answered?
b. What subjects were used and why?
c. What apparatus or setting was used and why?
d. What general procedure was used and why?
e. Was the procedure applicable and the best available?
f. What was the independent variable, how was it measured, and what was it inferred
to be doing (its interpretation) (e.g., did shock produce fear or something else)?
g. What were potential confounds and how were they controlled?
h. What was the dependent variable, how was it measured, and what was it inferred
to be the result of, or what did it represent (its interpretation)?
i. What were the actual results, what were they interpreted to mean, and to what
extent is it likely they would happen again if the experiment were replicated (their
reliability)?
j. How sensitive was the dependent measure? To what degree would small changes in
the independent variable be expected to change the dependent variable?
k. How much of the variability obtained could be accounted for?
l. To what extent will the findings apply to other subjects, situations, and procedures?
Was there generality?
m. What was gained by the research ("so what")? How has the paradigm been
extended by this finding?
G. Research Problem from a Paradoxical Incident or Conflicting Results
If the world is perfectly understood, then there can be no surprises. Contrariwise, if
something surprises you, then your theoretical framework is inadequate and needs
development. If two seemingly similar procedures produce different results, then
something is wrong with your understanding of the procedures. They are not actually
similar in the important respect of how they affect the dependent variable. Given that an
error has been made, something is not correctly understood and must be resolved.
H. Research Problem Deduced from Paradigms or Theories
Researchers who propose theoretical accounts for phenomena cannot think through
every possible ramification. As you come to understand a theory, potential errors or
extensions become apparent. This type of research tests the implications of theories to
confirm or reject them. This is classic deductive "normal" science. Using the object in the
lake from the first chapter as an example -- this would be deducing "if it is an steam
shovel under there, then we should find a long row of high spots coming out of one end."
You then test that prediction by probing around trying to find a boom.
If response strength approaches asymptotic response strength on each reinforced trial,
then presenting a compound stimulus of asymptotically conditioned stimuli should result
in a response decrement on subsequent tests with isolated stimuli. (This is a counter
intuitive prediction based on Rescorla-Wagner which is true.)
Criteria Characteristics of a good research problem
There are some suggestion for the graduate students and researchers which are
drawn from the different areas of education, social sciences as well as psychology. There are
two factors in the selection of topic external and personal. External criteria involves how the
topic is important for the field, availability of both data and data collection methods and the
administration is cooperative or not. Personal Criteria means researcher own interest, time
and cost. Criteria for selection of research problem depends on the following characteristics.
Personal Inclination. The chief motivation in the way of selecting research problem is the
personal inclination of the researcher. If a researcher has personal interest in the topic, he
would select that problem for his research work.
Resources Availability. During the selection, a researcher will see to the resources
available. If these resources like money, time, accommodation and transport are available to
the selection place, then the selection of the problem is easy.
Relative Importance. The importance and the problem also play a vital role in the selection
of research problem. If the problem is relatively important, then the researcher tends
towards the selection of the problem.
Researcher Knowledge. The researcher knowledge should play a vital role in the selection
of the research problem. The wisdom and experience of an investigator is required for well
collection of the research data. He can bitterly select a problem.
Practicality: Practicality is also responsible for the selection. The practical usefulness of the
problem is the main motivation for a researcher to attend it.
Time-lines of the Problem. Some problems take little time for its solution while others take
more time. So, it depends on the time in which we have to complete his research work.
Data Availability. If the desired data is available to the researcher, then the problem would
be selected.
Urgency. Urgency is a pinpoint in the way of the selection of research problem. Urgent
problem must be given priority because the immediate solution can benefit the people.
Feasibility. Feasibility is also an important factor for the selection of the research problem.
The researcher qualification, training and experience should match the problem.
Area Culture. The culture of the area for which a researcher conducts his research is also
responsible for the selection of research problem.
Characteristic of Research Problem
Any research is a difficult task to achieve and research needs to do a great effort. Selection of
research topic is the first step to success.
1. Research topic must be very clear and easy to understand. It should not distract people.
2. If a topic is well define is the only way to successful research. The topic should not create
doubt and double impression.
3. Easy language is a key to success. Use technical words if necessary otherwise focus of
simplicity.
4. Research title should be according to the rules of titling. There are different rules of
titling, a researcher must aware before writing a research title.
5. While selecting a research topic current importance of a researcher should also be
considered. Topic should not be obsolete and it should have great importance in the
current day.
Errors in selecting a research problem
Designing a research project takes time, skill and knowledge. If you don’t go into the
process with a clear goal and methods, you’ll likely come out with skewed data or an
inaccurate picture of what you were trying to accomplish. With Qualtrics survey software,
we make the survey creation process easier, but still you may feel overwhelmed with the
scope of your research project.
While it’s important to use proper methodology in the research process, it’s equally
important to avoid making critical mistakes that could produce inaccurate results. In this
article, we’ll list 5 common errors in the research process and tell you how to avoid making
them, so you can get the best data possible.
1. Population Specification
Population specification errors occur when the researcher does not understand who they
should survey. This can be tricky because there are multiple people who might consume the
product, but only one who purchases it, or they may miss a segment looking to purchase in
the future.
Example: Packaged goods manufacturers often conduct surveys of housewives, because
they are easier to contact, and it is assumed they decide what is to be purchased and also do
the actual purchasing. In this situation there often is population specification error. The
husband may purchase a significant share of the packaged goods, and have significant direct
and indirect influence over what is bought. For this reason, excluding husbands from
samples may yield results targeted to the wrong audience.
How to avoid this: Understand who purchases your product and why they buy it. It’s
important to survey the one making the buying decision so you know how to better reach
them.
2. Sampling and Sample Frame Errors
Survey sampling and sample frame errors occur when the wrong subpopulation is used to
select a sample, or because of variation in the number or representativeness of the sample
that responds, but the resulting sample is not representative of the population concern.
Unfortunately, some element of sampling error is unavoidable, but sometimes, it can be
predicted. For instance, in the 1936 presidential election between Roosevelt and Landon, the
sample frame was from car registrations and telephone directories. The researchers failed to
realize that the majority of people that owned cars and telephones were Republicans, and
wrongly predicted a Republican victory.
Example: Suppose that we collected a random sample of 500 people from the general U.S.
adult population to gauge their entertainment preferences. Then, upon analysis, found it to
be composed of 70% females. This sample would not be representative of the general adult
population and would influence the data. The entertainment preferences of females would
hold more weight, preventing accurate extrapolation to the US general adult population.
Sampling error is affected by the homogeneity of the population being studied and sampled
from and by the size of the sample.
How to avoid this: While this cannot be completely avoided, you should have multiple
people reviewing your sample to account for an accurate representation of your target
population. You can also increase the size of your sample so you get more survey
participants.
3. Selection
Selection error is the sampling error for a sample selected by a non-probability method.
When respondents choose to self-participate in a study and only those interested respond,
you can end up with selection error because there may already be an inherent bias. This can
also occur when respondents who are not relevant to the study participate, or when there’s
a bias in the way participants are put into groups.
Example: Interviewers conducting a mall intercept study have a natural tendency to select
those respondents who are the most accessible and agreeable whenever there is latitude to
do so. Such samples often comprise friends and associates who bear some degree of
resemblance in characteristics to those of the desired population.
How to avoid this: Selection error can be controlled by going extra lengths to get
participation. A typical survey process includes initiating pre-survey contact requesting
cooperation, actual surveying, and post-survey follow-up. If a response is not received, a
second survey request follows, and perhaps interviews using alternate modes such as
telephone or person-to-person.
4. Non-responsive
Nonresponse error can exist when an obtained sample differs from the original selected
sample.
This may occur because either the potential respondent was not contacted or they refused to
respond. The key factor is the absence of data rather than inaccurate data.
Example: In telephone surveys, some respondents are inaccessible because they are not at
home for the initial call or call-backs. Others have moved or are away from home for the
period of the survey. Not-at-home respondents are typically younger with no small children,
and have a much higher proportion of working wives than households with someone at
home. People who have moved or are away for the survey period have a higher geographic
mobility than the average of the population. Thus, most surveys can anticipate errors from
non-contact of respondents. Online surveys seek to avoid this error through e-mail
distribution, thus eliminating not-at-home respondents.
How to avoid this: When collecting responses, ensure your original respondents are
participating, and use follow-up surveys and alternates modes of reaching them if they don’t
initially respond. You can also use different channels to reach your audience like in person,
web surveys, or SMS.
5. Measurement
Measurement error is generated by the measurement process itself, and represents the
difference between the information generated and the information wanted by the
researcher. Generally, there is always some small level of measurement error due to
uncontrollable factors.
Example: A retail store would like to assess customer feedback from at-the-counter
purchases. The survey is developed but fails to target those who purchase in the store.
Instead, the results are skewed by customers who bought items online.
How to avoid this: Double check all measurements for accuracy and ensure your observers
and measurement takes are well trained and understand the parameters of the experiment.
While not all of these errors can be completely avoidable, recognizing them is half the battle.
Next time you’re starting a research project, use this blog as a checklist to ensure you’re
doing everything you can to avoid these common mistakes.
Also, before you begin your next research project, read 5 Ways to Formulate the Research
Problem. This is vital to any research project because you can’t begin creating surveys unless
you understand the research problem. Once you’re ready to begin creating your survey, use
a free Qualtrics account to get started and download the eBook below for an in-depth guide
to creating your survey questions.
Scope and objectives of research problem
Scoping is figuring out what, exactly, to explore for a study. It’s a Goldilocks problem:
you don’t want the scope too broad, or you will not see patterns appear in the data, but you
don’t want it too narrow, or the participants will tell you everything they have to say about it
in five minutes. You want to get the scope just right–somewhere in between these two
extremes.
The scope, in case you haven’t read Practical Empathy, is how you begin a listening session.
It’s how you introduce the subject you’d like the participant to cover, and it’s the only
question you think of in advance.
You can explore several different scopes over time, each examining an intent or purpose a
person has before reaching for your solution. Each scope has its own study. Scopes are
difficult–often it takes a week of discussion to figure out which scope to explore for
an upcoming study. Sometimes you discover a scope is too broad or too narrow after the few
couple of listening sessions, so you must adjust it mid-study.
Scopes are difficult to define because of the tendency to tie them to a technology or tool. This
is the solution space. In this research approach, you want to explore the problem space. Your
organization and its solutions should not be included or implied by the scope statement.
Here are some example scopes which define a particular problem space. The solution space
appears in parenthesis:
 Make sure the drivers in my commercial fleet don’t get us in trouble. (commercial vehicle
speed tracking)
 See if I can gain better insights from my engineering/scientific data. (statistical graphical
software)
 Figure out why my code isn’t working, to get it working how I’d like. (software API
developers network)
 Make sure we have reliable data storage access and future expansion. (data storage
configuration automation)
 Decide whether/how I can get a college degree/certificate, given my financial and family
situation. (technical & community college marketing plan)
 Guide a business toward success where my employees must drive to customer sites.
(decide whether to build a better dispatch tool)
 Decide what to get for lunch. (fast food restaurant)
Research Problem and Objectives
Research Problem 5 factors to consider to determine that a problem is researchable or not.
1.
2.
3.
4.
The problem existing in the locality or country but no known solution to problem.
The solution can be answer by using statistical methods and techniques.
There are probable solutions but they are not yet tested.
The occurrence of phenomena requires scientific investigation to arrive at precise
solution.
5. Serious needs/problems of the people where it demands research.
Research Objectives
Research Objectives are a specification of the ultimate reason for carrying out
research in the first place. They help in developing a specific list of information needs.
Only when the researcher knows the problem that management wants to solve can
the research project be designed to provide the pertinent information.
Objective is clear concern and declarative sentence which provide direction to
investigate solution or variable
Characteristic of Objective the objectives of a project should be SMART. They
should be,
Specific. The problem be specifically tested.
Measurable. It is easy to measure by using research instruments, apparatus or
equipment.
Achievable. The data are achievable using correct statistical tools to arrive at precise
results.
Realistic. Real results are attained because they are gathered scientifically and not
manipulated or manoeuvred.
Time-bound time frame is required in every activity because the shorter completion
of the activity, the better.
Approaches of investigation of solutions for research problem
Research approach can be divided into three types:
1. Deductive research approach
2. Inductive research approach
3. Abductive research approach
The relevance of hypotheses to the study is the main distinctive point between
deductive and inductive approaches. Deductive approach tests the validity of assumptions
(or theories/hypotheses) in hand, whereas inductive approach contributes to the emergence
of new theories and generalizations. Abductive research, on the other hand, starts with
‘surprising facts’ or ‘puzzles’ and the research process is devoted their explanation.
The following table illustrates the major differences between deductive, inductive and
abductive research approaches in terms of logic, generalizability, use of data and theory.
Deduction
In a deductive inference,
when the premises are
true, the conclusion must
also be true
Induction
Abduction
In an inductive inference,
In an abductive inference,
known premises are used
Logic
known premises are used to
to generate untested
generate testable conclusions
conclusions
Generalising
from
the
Generalising from the Generalising from the
Generalizability
interactions between the specific
general to the specific
specific to the general
and the general
Data collection is used to explore
Data collection is used to
Data collection is used to
a phenomenon, identify themes
explore a phenomenon,
evaluate propositions or
and patterns, locate these in a
Use of data
identify
themes
and
hypotheses related to an
conceptual framework and test
patterns and create a
existing theory
this through subsequent data
conceptual framework
collection and so forth
Theory
generation
or
modification;
incorporating
Theory falsification or Theory generation and
Theory
existing
theory
where
verification
building
appropriate, to build new theory
or modify existing theory
Differences between deductive, inductive and abductive approaches
Discussion of research approach is a vital part of any scientific study regardless of the
research area. Within the methodology chapter of your dissertation to you need to explain
the main differences between inductive, deductive and abductive approaches. Also, you need
to specify the approach you have adopted for your research by breaking down your
arguments into several points.
Deductive Research Approach
If you have formulated a set of hypotheses for your dissertation that need to be confirmed or
rejected during the research process you would be following a deductive approach. In
deductive approach, the effects of labour migration within the EU are assessed by
developing hypotheses that are tested during the research process.
Dissertations with deductive approach follow the following path:
Deductive process in research approach
Inductive Research Approach
Alternatively, inductive approach does not involve formulation of hypotheses. It starts with
research questions and aims and objectives that need to be achieved during the research
process.
Inductive studies follow the route below:
Inductive process in research approach
Abductive Research Approach
In abductive approach, the research process is devoted to explanation of ‘incomplete
observations’, ‘surprising facts’ or ‘puzzles’ specified at the beginning of the study.
CONCEPT OF DATA COLLECTION
Data collection is the process of gathering and measuring information on variables of
interest, in an established systematic fashion that enables one to answer stated research
questions, test hypotheses, and evaluate outcomes. The data collection component of
research is common to all fields of study including physical and social sciences, humanities,
business, etc. While methods vary by discipline, the emphasis on ensuring accurate and
honest collection remains the same. The goal for all data collection is to capture quality
evidence that then translates to rich data analysis and allows the building of a convincing
and credible answer to questions that have been posed. Regardless of the field of study or
preference for defining data (quantitative, qualitative), accurate data collection is
essential to maintaining the integrity of research. Both the selection of appropriate data
collection instruments (existing, modified, or newly developed) and clearly delineated
instructions for their correct use reduce the likelihood of errors occurring.
Data collection is one of the most important stages in conducting a research. You can
have the best research design in the world but if you cannot collect the required data you
will be not be able to complete your project. Data collection is a very demanding job which
needs thorough planning, hard work, patience, perseverance and more to be able to
complete the task successfully. Data collection starts with determining what kind of data
required followed by the selection of a sample from a certain population. After that, you
need to use a certain instrument to collect the data from the selected sample.
TYPES OF DATA
Data are organized into two broad categories: qualitative and quantitative.
Qualitative Data: Qualitative data are mostly non-numerical and usually descriptive or
nominal in nature. This means the data collected are in the form of words and sentences.
Often (not always), such data captures feelings, emotions, or subjective perceptions of
something. Qualitative approaches aim to address the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of a program and
tend to use unstructured methods of data collection to fully explore the topic. Qualitative
questions are open-ended. Qualitative methods include focus groups, group discussions and
interviews. Qualitative approaches are good for further exploring the effects and unintended
consequences of a program. They are, however, expensive and time consuming to
implement. Additionally the findings cannot be generalized to participants outside of the
program and are only indicative of the group involved.
Qualitative data collection methods play an important role in impact evaluation
by providing information useful to understand the processes behind observed results
and assess changes in people’s perceptions of their well-being. Furthermore qualitative
methods can be used to improve the quality of survey-based quantitative evaluations by
helping generate evaluation hypothesis; strengthening the design of survey questionnaires
and expanding or clarifying quantitative evaluation findings. These methods are
characterized by the following attributes  they tend to be open-ended and have less structured protocols (i.e., researchers may
change the data collection strategy by adding, refining, or dropping techniques or
informants);
 they rely more heavily on interactive interviews; respondents may be interviewed
several times to follow up on a particular issue, clarify concepts or check the reliability of
data;
 they use triangulation to increase the credibility of their findings (i.e., researchers
rely on multiple data collection methods to check the authenticity of their results);
 generally their findings are not generalizable to any specific population, rather each case
study produces a single piece of evidence that can be used to seek general patterns
among different studies of the same issue.
Regardless of the kinds of data involved, data collection in a qualitative study takes a great
deal of time. The researcher needs to record any potentially useful data thoroughly,
accurately, and systematically, using field notes, sketches, audiotapes, photographs and
other suitable means. The data collection methods must observe the ethical principles of
research. The qualitative methods most commonly used in evaluation can be classified in
three broad categories  In-depth interview
 Observation methods
 Document review.
Quantitative Data: Quantitative data is numerical in nature and can be mathematically
computed. Quantitative data measure uses different scales, which can be classified as
nominal scale, ordinal scale, interval scale and ratio scale. Often (not always), such data
includes measurements of something. Quantitative approaches address the ‘what’ of the
program. They use a systematic standardized approach and employ methods such as
surveys and ask questions. Quantitative approaches have the advantage that they are
cheaper to implement, are standardized so comparisons can be easily made and the size
of the effect can usually be measured. Quantitative approaches however are limited in
their capacity for the investigation and explanation of similarities and unexpected
differences. It is important to note that for peer-based programs quantitative data
collection approaches often prove to be difficult to implement for agencies as lack of
necessary resources to ensure rigorous implementation of surveys and frequently
experienced low participation and loss to follow up rates are commonly experienced
factors.
The Quantitative data collection methods rely on random sampling and
structured data collection instruments that fit diverse experiences into predetermined
response categories. They produce results that are easy to summarize, compare, and
generalize. If the intent is to generalize from the research participants to a larger
population, the researcher will employ probability sampling to select participants.
Typical quantitative data gathering strategies include  Experiments/clinical trials.
 Observing and recording well-defined events (e.g., counting the number of
patients waiting in emergency at specified times of the day).
 Obtaining relevant data from management information systems.
 Administering surveys with closed-ended questions (e.g., face-to face and telephone
interviews, questionnaires etc).
 In quantitative research (survey research), interviews are more structured than in
Qualitative research. In a structured interview, the researcher asks a standard set
of questions and nothing more. Face -to -face interviews have a distinct advantage of
enabling the researcher to establish rapport with potential participants and therefore
gain their cooperation.
 Paper-pencil-questionnaires can be sent to a large number of people and saves the
researcher time and money. People are more truthful while responding to the
questionnaires regarding controversial issues in particular due to the fact that their
responses are anonymous.
Mixed Methods: Mixed methods approach as design, combining both qualitative and
quantitative research data, techniques and methods within a single research
framework. Mixed methods approaches may mean a number of things, i.e. a number of
different types of methods in a study or at different points within a study or using a mixture
of qualitative and quantitative methods. Mixed methods
encompass multifaceted
approaches that combine to capitalize on strengths and reduce weaknesses that stem
from using a single research design. Using this approach to gather and evaluate data may
assist to increase the validity and reliability of the research. Some of the common areas
in which mixed-method approaches may be used include –
 Initiating, designing, developing and expanding interventions;
 Evaluation;
 Improving research design; and
 Corroborating findings, data triangulation or convergence.
Some of the challenges of using a mixed methods approach include –
 Delineating complementary qualitative and quantitative research questions;
 Time-intensive data collection and analysis; and
 Decisions regarding which research methods to combine.
Mixed methods are useful in highlighting complex research problems such as disparities in
health and can also be transformative in addressing issues for vulnerable or
marginalized populations or research which involves community participation. Using a
mixed-methods approach is one way to develop creative options to traditional or single
design approaches to research and evaluation.
There are many ways of classifying data. A common classification is based upon who
collected the data.
PRIMARY DATA
Data that has been collected from first-hand-experience is known as primary data.
Primary data has not been published yet and is more reliable, authentic and objective.
Primary data has not been changed or altered by human beings; therefore its validity is
greater than secondary data.
Importance of Primary Data: In statistical surveys it is necessary to get information
from primary sources and work on primary data. For example, the statistical records of
female population in a country cannot be based on newspaper, magazine and other
printed sources. A research can be conducted without secondary data but a research based
on only secondary data is least reliable and may have biases because secondary data has
already been manipulated by human beings. One of such sources is old and secondly they
contain limited information as well as they can be misleading and biased.
Sources of Primary Data:
Sources for primary data are limited and at times it becomes difficult to obtain data from
primary source because of either scarcity of population or lack of cooperation.
Following are some of the sources of primary data.
Experiments:
Experiments require an artificial or natural setting in which to perform logical study to
collect data. Experiments are more suitable for medicine, psychological studies, nutrition
and for other scientific studies. In experiments the experimenter has to keep control over
the influence of any extraneous variable on the results.
Survey:
Survey is most commonly used method in social sciences, management, marketing and
psychology to some extent. Surveys can be conducted in different methods.
Questionnaire:
It is the most commonly used method in survey. Questionnaires are a list of questions
either open-ended or close-ended for which the respondents give answers. Questionnaire
can be conducted via telephone, mail, live in a public area, or in an institute, through
electronic mail or through fax and other methods.
Interview:
Interview is a face-to-face conversation with the respondent. In interview the main problem
arises when the respondent deliberately hides information otherwise it is an in depth
source of information. The interviewer can not only record the statements the interviewee
speaks but he can observe the body language, expressions and other reactions to the
questions too. This enables the interviewer to draw conclusions easily.
Observations:
Observation can be done while letting the observing person know that s/he is being
observed or without letting him know. Observations can also be made in natural settings as
well as in artificially created environment.
Advantages of Using Primary Data
 The investigator collects data specific to the problem under study.
 There is no doubt about the quality of the data collected (for the investigator).
 If required, it may be possible to obtain additional data during the study period.
Disadvantages of Using Primary Data
1. The investigator has to contend with all the hassles of data collection deciding why, what, how, when to collect;
 getting the data collected (personally or through others);
 getting funding and dealing with funding agencies;
 ethical considerations (consent, permissions, etc.).
2. Ensuring the data collected is of a high standard all desired data is obtained accurately, and in the format it is required in;
 there is no fake/ cooked up data;
 unnecessary/ useless data has not been included.
3. Cost of obtaining the data is often the major expense in studies.
SECONDARY DATA
Data collected from a source that has already been published in any form is
called as secondary data. The review of literature in any research is based on secondary
data. It is collected by someone else for some other purpose (but being utilized by the
investigator for another purpose). For examples, Census data being used to analyze the
impact of education on career choice and earning.
Common sources of secondary data for social science include censuses,
organizational records and data collected through qualitative methodologies or qualitative
research. Secondary data is essential, since it is impossible to conduct a new survey that
can adequately capture past change and/or developments.
Sources of Secondary Data:
The following are some ways of collecting secondary data –
 Books
 Records
 Biographies
 Newspapers
 Published censuses or other statistical data
 Data archives
 Internet articles
 Research articles by other researchers (journals)
 Databases, etc.
Importance of Secondary Data:
Secondary data can be less valid but its importance is still there. Sometimes it is difficult to
obtain primary data; in these cases getting information from secondary sources is easier and
possible. Sometimes primary data does not exist in such situation one has to confine the
research on secondary data. Sometimes primary data is present but the respondents are not
willing to reveal it in such case too secondary data can suffice. For example, if the research
on the psychology of transsexuals first it is difficult to find out transsexuals and second they
may not be willing to give information you want for your research, so you can collect data
from books or other published sources. A clear benefit of using secondary data is that much
of the background work needed has already been carried out. For example, literature
reviews, case studies might have been carried out, published texts and statistics could
have been already used elsewhere, media promotion and personal contacts have also been
utilized. This wealth of background work means that secondary data generally have a preestablished degree of validity and reliability which need not be re-examined by the
researcher who is re-using such data. Furthermore, secondary data can also be helpful in the
research design of subsequent primary research and can provide a baseline with which the
collected primary data results can be compared to. Therefore, it is always wise to begin
any research activity with a review of the secondary data.
Advantages of Using Secondary Data
 No hassles of data collection.
 It is less expensive.
 The investigator is not personally responsible for the quality of data (‘I didn’t do it’).
Disadvantages of Using Secondary Data
 The data collected by the third party may not be a reliable party so the reliability and
accuracy of data go down.
 Data collected in one location may not be suitable for the other one due variable
environmental factor.
 With the passage of time the data becomes obsolete and very old.
 Secondary data collected can distort the results of the research. For using secondary
data a special care is required to amend or modify for use.
 Secondary data can also raise issues of authenticity and copyright.
Keeping in view the advantages and disadvantages of sources of data requirement of the
research study and time factor, both sources of data i.e. primary and secondary data have
been selected. These are used in combination to give proper coverage to the topic.
PROCESS ANALYSIS
A step-by-step breakdown of the phases of a process, used to convey the inputs, outputs, and
operations that take place during each phase. A process analysis can be used to improve
understanding of how the process operates, and to determine potential targets for process
improvement through removing waste and increasing efficiency. Inputs may be materials,
labor, energy, and capital equipment. Outputs may be a physical product (possibly used as
an input to another process) or a service. Processes can have a significant impact on the
performance of a business, and process improvement can improve a firm’s competitiveness.
The first step to improving a process is to analyze it in order to understand the activities,
their relationships, and the values of relevant metrics. Process analysis generally involves
the following tasks Define the process boundaries that mark the entry points of the process inputs and the
exit points of the process outputs.
 Construct a process flow diagram that illustrates the various process activities and their
interrelationships.
 Determine the capacity of each step in the process. Calculate other measures of interest.
 Identify the bottleneck, that is, the step having the lowest capacity.
 Evaluate further limitations in order to quantify the impact of the bottleneck.
 Use the analysis to make operating decisions and to improve the process.
Process Analysis Tools
When you want to understand a work process or some part of a process, these tools can help
 Flowchart: A picture of the separate steps of a process in sequential order, including
materials or services entering or leaving the process (inputs and outputs), decisions that
must be made, people who become involved, time involved at each step and/or process
measurements.
 Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA): A step-by-step approach for identifying all possible
failures in a design, a manufacturing or assembly process, or a product or service;
studying the consequences, or effects, of those failures; and eliminating or reducing
failures, starting with the highest-priority ones.
 Mistake-proofing: The use of any automatic device or method that either makes it
impossible for an error to occur or makes the error immediately obvious once it has
occurred.
 Spaghetti Diagram: A spaghetti diagram is a visual representation using a continuous flow
line tracing the path of an item or activity through a process. The continuous flow line
enables process teams to identify redundancies in the work flow and opportunities to
expedite process flow.
Process Flow Diagram The process boundaries are defined by the entry and exit points of
inputs and outputs of the process. Once the boundaries are defined, the process flow
diagram (or process flowchart ) is a valuable tool for understanding the process using
graphic elements to represent tasks, flows, and storage. The following is a flow diagram for a
simple process having three sequential activities-
The symbols in a process flow diagram are defined as follows Rectangles - represent tasks.
 Arrows - represent flows. Flows include the flow of material and the flow of information.
The flow of information may include production orders and instructions. The information
flow may take the form of a slip of paper that follows the material, or it may be routed
separately, possibly ahead of the material in order to ready the equipment. Material flow
usually is represented by a solid line and information flow by a dashed line.
 Inverted triangles - represent storage (inventory). Storage bins commonly are used to
represent raw material inventory, work in process inventory, and finished goods
inventory.
 Circles - represent storage of information (not shown in the above diagram) .
In a process flow diagram, tasks drawn one after the other in series are performed
sequentially. Tasks drawn in parallel are performed simultaneously. In the above diagram,
raw material is held in a storage bin at the beginning of the process. After the last task, the
output also is stored in a storage bin. When constructing a flow diagram, care should be
taken to avoid pitfalls that might cause the flow diagram not to represent reality. For
example, if the diagram is constructed using information obtained from employees, the
employees may be reluctant to disclose rework loops and other potentially embarrassing
aspects of the process. Similarly, if there are illogical aspects of the process flow, employees
may tend to portray it as it should be and not as it is. Even if they portray the process as they
perceive it, their perception may differ from the actual process. For example, they may leave
out important activities that they deem to be insignificant.
Process Performance Measures
 Operations managers are interested in process aspects such as cost, quality, flexibility,
and speed. Some of the process performance measures that communicate these aspects
include- Process capacity - the capacity of the process is its maximum output rate,
measured in units produced per unit of time. The capacity of a series of tasks is
determined by the lowest capacity task in the string. The capacity of parallel strings of
tasks is the sum of the capacities of the two strings, except for cases in which the two
strings have different outputs that are combined. In such cases, the capacity of the two
parallel strings of tasks is that of the lowest capacity parallel string.
 Capacity utilization Throughput rate (also known as flow rate) - the average rate at which units flow past a
specific point in the process. The maximum throughput rate is the process capacity.
 Flow time (also known as throughput time or lead time) - the average time that a unit
requires to flow through the process from the entry point to the exit point. The flow time
is the length of the longest path through the process. Flow time includes both processing
time and any time the unit spends between steps.
 Cycle time - the time between successive units as they are output from the process. Cycle
time for the process is equal to the inverse of the throughput rate. Cycle time can be
thought of as the time required for a task to repeat itself. Each series task in a process
must have a cycle time less than or equal to the cycle time for the process. Put another
way, the cycle time of the process is equal to the longest task cycle time. The process is
said to be in balance if the cycle times are equal for each activity in the process. Such
balance rarely is achieved.
 Process time - the average time that a unit is worked on. Process time is flow time less
idle time.
 Idle time - time when no activity is being performed, for example, when an activity is
waiting for work to arrive from the previous activity. The term can be used to describe
both machine idle time and worker idle time.
 Work In process - the amount of inventory in the process.
 Set-up time - the time required to prepare the equipment to perform an activity on a
batch of units. Set-up time usually does not depend strongly on the batch size and
therefore can be reduced on a per unit basis by increasing the batch size.
 Direct labor content - the amount of labor (in units of time) actually contained in the
product. Excludes idle time when workers are not working directly on the product. Also
excludes time spent maintaining machines, transp
utilization - the fraction of labor capacity that actually is utilized as direct labor.
Process Bottleneck
The process capacity is determined by the slowest series task in the process; that is, having
the slowest throughput rate or longest cycle time. This slowest task is known as the
bottleneck. Identification of the bottleneck is a critical aspect of process analysis since it not
only determines the process capacity, but also provides the opportunity to increase that
capacity. Saving time in the bottleneck activity saves time for the entire process. Saving time
in a non-bottleneck activity does not help the process since the throughput rate is limited by
the bottleneck. It is only when the bottleneck is eliminated that another activity will become
the new bottleneck and presents a new opportunity to improve the process. If the next
slowest task is much faster than the bottleneck, then the bottleneck is having a major impact
on the process capacity. If the next slowest task is only slightly faster than the bottleneck,
then increasing the throughput of the bottleneck will have a limited impact on the process
capacity.
Starvation and Blocking
Starvation occurs when a downstream activity is idle with no inputs to process because of
upstream delays. Blocking occurs when an activity becomes idle because the next
downstream activity is not ready to take it. Both starvation and blocking can be reduced by
adding buffers that hold inventory between activities.
Process Improvement
Improvements in cost, quality, flexibility, and speed are commonly sought. The following
lists some of the ways that processes can be improved.
 Reduce work-in-process inventory - reduces lead time.
 Add additional resources to increase capacity of the bottleneck. For example, an
additional machine can be added in parallel to increase the capacity.
 Improve the efficiency of the bottleneck activity - increases process capacity.
 Move work away from bottleneck resources where possible - increases process capacity.
 Increase availability of bottleneck resources, for example, by adding an additional shift increases process capacity.
 Minimize non-value adding activities - decreases cost, reduces lead time. Non-value
adding activities include transport, rework, waiting, testing and inspecting, and support
activities.
 Redesign the product for better manufacturability - can improve several or all process
performance measures.
 Flexibility can be improved by outsourcing certain activities. Flexibility also can be
enhanced by postponement, which shifts customizing activities to the end of the process.
In some cases, dramatic improvements can be made at minimal cost when the
bottleneck activity is severely limiting the process capacity. On the other hand, in welloptimized processes, significant investment may be required to achieve a marginal
operational improvement. Because of the large investment, the operational gain may not
generate a sufficient rate of return. A cost-benefit analysis should be performed to
determine if a process change is worth the investment. Ultimately, net present value will
determine whether a process ‘improvement’ really is an improvement.
LINK ANALYSIS
Link analysis is a data analysis technique used in network theory that is used to evaluate the
relationships or connections between network nodes. These relationships can be between
various types of objects (nodes), including people, organizations and even transactions. Link
analysis is essentially a kind of knowledge discovery that can be used to visualize data to
allow for better analysis, especially in the context of links, whether Web links or relationship
links between people or between different entities. Link analysis has been used for
investigation of criminal activity (fraud detection, counterterrorism, and intelligence),
computer security analysis, search engine optimization, market research and medical
research.
Link analysis is literally about analyzing the links between objects, whether they are
physical, digital or relational. This requires diligent data gathering. For example, in the case
of a website where all of the links and backlinks that are present must be analyzed, a tool has
to sift through all of the HTML codes and various scripts in the page and then follow all the
links it finds in order to determine what sort of links are present and whether they are active
or dead. This information can be very important for search engine optimization, as it allows
the analyst to determine whether the search engine is actually able to find and index the
website. In networking, link analysis may involve determining the integrity of the connection
between each network node by analyzing the data that passes through the physical or virtual
links. With the data, analysts can find bottlenecks and possible fault areas and are able to
patch them up more quickly or even help with network optimization.
Link analysis has three primary purposes –
 Find matches for known patterns of interests between linked objects.
 Find anomalies by detecting violated known patterns.
 Find new patterns of interest (for example, in social networking and marketing and
business intelligence).
Instrument, Validity, Reliability
Instrument is the general term that researchers use for a measurement device (survey, test,
questionnaire, etc.). To help distinguish between instrument and instrumentation, consider
that the instrument is the device and instrumentation is the course of action (the process of
developing, testing, and using the device).
Instruments fall into two broad categories, researcher-completed and subject-completed,
distinguished by those instruments that researchers administer versus those that are
completed by participants. Researchers chose which type of instrument, or instruments, to
use based on the research question. Examples are listed below:
Researcher-completed Instruments
Subject-completed Instruments
Rating scales
Questionnaires
Interview schedules/guides
Self-checklists
Tally sheets
Attitude scales
Flowcharts
Personality inventories
Performance checklists
Achievement/aptitude tests
Time-and-motion logs
Projective devices
Observation forms
Sociometric devices
Usability refers to the ease with which an instrument can be administered, interpreted by
the participant, and scored/interpreted by the researcher. Example usability problems
include:
1. Students are asked to rate a lesson immediately after class, but there are only a few
minutes before the next class begins (problem with administration).
2. Students are asked to keep self-checklists of their after school activities, but the
directions are complicated and the item descriptions confusing (problem with
interpretation).
3. Teachers are asked about their attitudes regarding school policy, but some questions are
worded poorly which results in low completion rates (problem with
scoring/interpretation).
Validity and reliability concerns (discussed below) will help alleviate usability issues. For
now, we can identify five usability considerations:
1. How long will it take to administer?
2. Are the directions clear?
3. How easy is it to score?
4. Do equivalent forms exist?
5. Have any problems been reported by others who used it?
It is best to use an existing instrument, one that has been developed and tested numerous
times, such as can be found in the Mental Measurements Yearbook. We will turn to why
next.
Validity is the extent to which an instrument measures what it is supposed to measure and
performs as it is designed to perform. It is rare, if nearly impossible, that an instrument be
100% valid, so validity is generally measured in degrees. As a process, validation involves
collecting and analyzing data to assess the accuracy of an instrument. There are numerous
statistical tests and measures to assess the validity of quantitative instruments, which
generally involves pilot testing. The remainder of this discussion focuses on external validity
and content validity.
External validity is the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized from a
sample to a population. Establishing eternal validity for an instrument, then, follows directly
from sampling. Recall that a sample should be an accurate representation of a population,
because the total population may not be available. An instrument that is externally valid
helps obtain population generalizability, or the degree to which a sample represents the
population.
Content validity refers to the appropriateness of the content of an instrument. In other
words, do the measures (questions, observation logs, etc.) accurately assess what you want
to know? This is particularly important with achievement tests. Consider that a test
developer wants to maximize the validity of a unit test for 7th grade mathematics. This
would involve taking representative questions from each of the sections of the unit and
evaluating them against the desired outcomes.
Reliability can be thought of as consistency. Does the instrument consistently measure what
it is intended to measure? It is not possible to calculate reliability; however, there are four
general estimators that you may encounter in reading research:
1. Inter-Rater/Observer Reliability: The degree to which different raters/observers give
consistent answers or estimates.
2. Test-Retest Reliability: The consistency of a measure evaluated over time.
3. Parallel-Forms Reliability: The reliability of two tests constructed the same way, from
the same content.
4. Internal Consistency Reliability: The consistency of results across items, often measured
with Cronbach’s Alpha.
Relating Reliability and Validity
Reliability is directly related to the validity of the measure. There are several important
principles. First, a test can be considered reliable, but not valid. Consider the SAT, used as a
predictor of success in college. It is a reliable test (high scores relate to high GPA), though
only a moderately valid indicator of success (due to the lack of structured environment –
class attendance, parent-regulated study, and sleeping habits – each holistically related to
success).
Second, validity is more important than reliability. Using the above example, college
admissions may consider the SAT a reliable test, but not necessarily a valid measure of other
quantities colleges seek, such as leadership capability, altruism, and civic involvement. The
combination of these aspects, alongside the SAT, is a more valid measure of the applicant’s
potential for graduation, later social involvement, and generosity (alumni giving) toward the
alma mater.
Finally, the most useful instrument is both valid and reliable. Proponents of the SAT argue
that it is both. It is a moderately reliable predictor of future success and a moderately valid
measure of a student’s knowledge in Mathematics, Critical Reading, and Writing.
Unit-II
Methods for Literature Reviews
Literature reviews play a critical role in scholarship because science remains, first
and foremost, a cumulative endeavour. As in any academic discipline, rigorous knowledge
syntheses are becoming indispensable in keeping up with an exponentially growing eHealth
literature, assisting practitioners, academics, and graduate students in finding, evaluating,
and synthesizing the contents of many empirical and conceptual papers.
Among other methods, literature reviews are essential for:
a. Identifying what has been written on a subject or topic;
b. Determining the extent to which a specific research area reveals any interpretable
trends or patterns;
c. Aggregating empirical findings related to a narrow research question to support
evidence-based practice;
d. Generating new frameworks and theories; and
e. Identifying topics or questions requiring more investigation.
Literature reviews can take two major forms. The most prevalent one is the
“literature review” or “background” section within a journal paper or a chapter in a graduate
thesis. This section synthesizes the extant literature and usually identifies the gaps in
knowledge that the empirical study addresses. It may also provide a theoretical foundation
for the proposed study, substantiate the presence of the research problem, justify the
research as one that contributes something new to the cumulated knowledge, or validate the
methods and approaches for the proposed study.
The second form of literature review, which is the focus of this chapter, constitutes an
original and valuable work of research in and of itself. Rather than providing a base for a
researcher’s own work, it creates a solid starting point for all members of the community
interested in a particular area or topic. The so-called “review article” is a journal-length
paper which has an overarching purpose to synthesize the literature in a field, without
collecting or analyzing any primary data.
When appropriately conducted, review articles represent powerful information
sources for practitioners looking for state-of-the art evidence to guide their decision-making
and work practices. Further, high-quality reviews become frequently cited pieces of work
which researchers seek out as a first clear outline of the literature when undertaking
empirical studies. Scholars who track and gauge the impact of articles have found that
review papers are cited and downloaded more often than any other type of published article.
The reason for their popularity may be the fact that reading the review enables one to have
an overview, if not a detailed knowledge of the area in question, as well as references to the
most useful primary sources. Although they are not easy to conduct, the commitment to
complete a review article provides a tremendous service to one’s academic community.
Most, if not all, peer-reviewed journals in the fields of medical informatics publish review
articles of some type.
The main objectives of this chapter are fourfold:
(a) to provide an overview of the major steps and activities involved in conducting a standalone literature review;
(b) to describe and contrast the different types of review articles that can contribute to the
eHealth knowledge base;
(c) to illustrate each review type with one or two examples from the eHealth literature; and
(d) to provide a series of recommendations for prospective authors of review articles in this
domain.
Overview of the Literature Review Process and Steps
There are six generic steps involved in conducting a review article:
1. formulating the research question(s) and objective(s),
2. searching the extant literature,
3. screening for inclusion,
4. assessing the quality of primary studies,
5. extracting data, and
6. analyzing data.
Although these steps are presented here in sequential order, one must keep in mind
that the review process can be iterative and that many activities can be initiated during the
planning stage and later refined during subsequent phases.
Formulating the research question(s) and objective(s): As a first step, members of
the review team must appropriately justify the need for the review itself, identify the
review’s main objective(s), and define the concepts or variables at the heart of their
synthesis. Importantly, they also need to articulate the research question(s) they propose to
investigate. In this regard, we concur that clearly articulated research questions are key
ingredients that guide the entire review methodology; they underscore the type of
information that is needed, inform the search for and selection of relevant literature, and
guide or orient the subsequent analysis.
Searching the extant literature: The next step consists of searching the literature
and making decisions about the suitability of material to be considered in the review. There
exist three main coverage strategies. First, exhaustive coverage means an effort is made to
be as comprehensive as possible in order to ensure that all relevant studies, published and
unpublished, are included in the review and, thus, conclusions are based on this all-inclusive
knowledge base. The second type of coverage consists of presenting materials that are
representative of most other works in a given field or area. Often authors who adopt this
strategy will search for relevant articles in a small number of top-tier journals in a field. In
the third strategy, the review team concentrates on prior works that have been central or
pivotal to a particular topic. This may include empirical studies or conceptual papers that
initiated a line of investigation, changed how problems or questions were framed,
introduced new methods or concepts, or engendered important debate.
Screening for inclusion: The following step consists of evaluating the applicability of
the material identified in the preceding step. Once a group of potential studies has been
identified, members of the review team must screen them to determine their relevance. A set
of predetermined rules provides a basis for including or excluding certain studies. This
exercise requires a significant investment on the part of researchers, who must ensure
enhanced objectivity and avoid biases or mistakes. As discussed later in this chapter, for
certain types of reviews there must be at least two independent reviewers involved in the
screening process and a procedure to resolve disagreements must also be in place.
Assessing the quality of primary studies: In addition to screening material for
inclusion, members of the review team may need to assess the scientific quality of the
selected studies, that is, appraise the rigour of the research design and methods. Such formal
assessment, which is usually conducted independently by at least two coders, helps
members of the review team refine which studies to include in the final sample, determine
whether or not the differences in quality may affect their conclusions, or guide how they
analyze the data and interpret the findings. Ascribing quality scores to each primary study or
considering through domain-based evaluations which study components have or have not
been designed and executed appropriately makes it possible to reflect on the extent to which
the selected study addresses possible biases and maximizes validity.
Extracting data: The following step involves gathering or extracting applicable
information from each primary study included in the sample and deciding what is relevant
to the problem of interest. Indeed, the type of data that should be recorded mainly depends
on the initial research questions. However, important information may also be gathered
about how, when, where and by whom the primary study was conducted, the research
design and methods, or qualitative/quantitative results.
Analyzing and synthesizing data: As a final step, members of the review team must
collate, summarize, aggregate, organize, and compare the evidence extracted from the
included studies. The extracted data must be presented in a meaningful way that suggests a
new contribution to the extant literature warn researchers that literature reviews should be
much more than lists of papers and should provide a coherent lens to make sense of extant
knowledge on a given topic. There exist several methods and techniques for synthesizing
quantitative (e.g., frequency analysis, meta-analysis) and qualitative (e.g., grounded theory,
narrative analysis, meta-ethnography) evidence.
Types of Review Articles and Brief Illustrations
EHealth researchers have at their disposal a number of approaches and methods for making
sense out of existing literature, all with the purpose of casting current research findings into
historical contexts or explaining contradictions that might exist among a set of primary
research studies conducted on a particular topic. Our classification scheme is largely
inspired from typology. Below we present and illustrate those review types that we feel are
central to the growth and development of the eHealth domain.
Narrative Reviews
The narrative review is the “traditional” way of reviewing the extant literature and is
skewed towards a qualitative interpretation of prior knowledge. Put simply, a narrative
review attempts to summarize or synthesize what has been written on a particular topic but
does not seek generalization or cumulative knowledge from what is reviewed. Instead, the
review team often undertakes the task of accumulating and synthesizing the literature to
demonstrate the value of a particular point of view. As such, reviewers may selectively
ignore or limit the attention paid to certain studies in order to make a point. In this rather
unsystematic approach, the selection of information from primary articles is subjective,
lacks explicit criteria for inclusion and can lead to biased interpretations or inferences.
There are several narrative reviews in the particular eHealth domain, as in all fields, which
follow such an unstructured approach.
Despite these criticisms, this type of review can be very useful in gathering together a
volume of literature in a specific subject area and synthesizing it. As mentioned above, its
primary purpose is to provide the reader with a comprehensive background for
understanding current knowledge and highlighting the significance of new research. Faculty
like to use narrative reviews in the classroom because they are often more up to date than
textbooks, provide a single source for students to reference, and expose students to peerreviewed literature. For researchers, narrative reviews can inspire research ideas by
identifying gaps or inconsistencies in a body of knowledge, thus helping researchers to
determine research questions or formulate hypotheses. Importantly, narrative reviews can
also be used as educational articles to bring practitioners up to date with certain topics of
issues.
Recently, there have been several efforts to introduce more rigour in narrative reviews that
will elucidate common pitfalls and bring changes into their publication standards.
Information systems researchers, among others, have contributed to advancing knowledge
on how to structure a “traditional” review. For instance, Levy and Ellis (2006) proposed a
generic framework for conducting such reviews. Their model follows the systematic data
processing approach comprised of three steps, namely: (a) literature search and screening;
(b) data extraction and analysis; and (c) writing the literature review. They provide detailed
and very helpful instructions on how to conduct each step of the review process. As another
methodological contribution, vom Brocke et al. (2009) offered a series of guidelines for
conducting literature reviews, with a particular focus on how to search and extract the
relevant body of knowledge. Last, Bandara, Miskon, and Fielt (2011) proposed a structured,
predefined and tool-supported method to identify primary studies within a feasible scope,
extract relevant content from identified articles, synthesize and analyze the findings, and
effectively write and present the results of the literature review. We highly recommend that
prospective authors of narrative reviews consult these useful sources before embarking on
their work.
Darlow and Wen (2015) provide a good example of a highly structured narrative review in
the eHealth field. These authors synthesized published articles that describe the
development process of mobile health (m-health) interventions for patients’ cancer care
self-management. As in most narrative reviews, the scope of the research questions being
investigated is broad: (a) how development of these systems are carried out; (b) which
methods are used to investigate these systems; and (c) what conclusions can be drawn as a
result of the development of these systems. To provide clear answers to these questions, a
literature search was conducted on six electronic databases and Google Scholar. The search
was performed using several terms and free text words, combining them in an appropriate
manner. Four inclusion and three exclusion criteria were utilized during the screening
process. Both authors independently reviewed each of the identified articles to determine
eligibility and extract study information. A flow diagram shows the number of studies
identified, screened, and included or excluded at each stage of study selection. In terms of
contributions, this review provides a series of practical recommendations for m-health
intervention development.
Descriptive or Mapping Reviews
The primary goal of a descriptive review is to determine the extent to which a body of
knowledge in a particular research topic reveals any interpretable pattern or trend with
respect to pre-existing propositions, theories, methodologies or findings. In contrast with
narrative reviews, descriptive reviews follow a systematic and transparent procedure,
including searching, screening and classifying studies. Indeed, structured search methods
are used to form a representative sample of a larger group of published works. Further,
authors of descriptive reviews extract from each study certain characteristics of interest,
such as publication year, research methods, data collection techniques, and direction or
strength of research outcomes (e.g., positive, negative, or non-significant) in the form of
frequency analysis to produce quantitative results. In essence, each study included in a
descriptive review is treated as the unit of analysis and the published literature as a whole
provides a database from which the authors attempt to identify any interpretable trends or
draw overall conclusions about the merits of existing conceptualizations, propositions,
methods or findings. In doing so, a descriptive review may claim that its findings represent
the state of the art in a particular domain.
In the fields of health sciences and medical informatics, reviews that focus on examining the
range, nature and evolution of a topic area are described by as mapping reviews. Like
descriptive reviews, the research questions are generic and usually relate to publication
patterns and trends. There is no preconceived plan to systematically review all of the
literature although this can be done. Instead, researchers often present studies that are
representative of most works published in a particular area and they consider a specific time
frame to be mapped.
An example of this approach in the eHealth domain is offered by DeShazo, Lavallie, and Wolf
(2009). The purpose of this descriptive or mapping review was to characterize publication
trends in the medical informatics literature over a 20-year period (1987 to 2006). To
achieve this ambitious objective, the authors performed a bibliometric analysis of medical
informatics citations indexed in MEDLINE using publication trends, journal frequencies,
impact factors, Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) term frequencies, and characteristics of
citations. Findings revealed that there were over 77,000 medical informatics articles
published during the covered period in numerous journals and that the average annual
growth rate was 12%. The MeSH term analysis also suggested a strong interdisciplinary
trend. Finally, average impact scores increased over time with two notable growth periods.
Overall, patterns in research outputs that seem to characterize the historic trends and
current components of the field of medical informatics suggest it may be a maturing
discipline.
Scoping Reviews
Scoping reviews attempt to provide an initial indication of the potential size and nature of the
extant literature on an emergent topic. A scoping review may be conducted to examine the
extent, range and nature of research activities in a particular area, determine the value of
undertaking a full systematic review (discussed next), or identify research gaps in the extant
literature. In line with their main objective, scoping reviews usually conclude with the
presentation of a detailed research agenda for future works along with potential
implications for both practice and research.
Unlike narrative and descriptive reviews, the whole point of scoping the field is to be as
comprehensive as possible, including grey literature. Inclusion and exclusion criteria must
be established to help researchers eliminate studies that are not aligned with the research
questions. It is also recommended that at least two independent coders review abstracts
yielded from the search strategy and then the full articles for study. The synthesized
evidence from content or thematic analysis is relatively easy to present in tabular form.
One of the most highly cited scoping reviews in the eHealth domain was published
by Archer, Fevrier-Thomas, Lokker, McKibbon, and Straus (2011). These authors reviewed
the existing literature on personal health record (PHR) systems including design,
functionality, implementation, applications, outcomes, and benefits. Seven databases were
searched from 1985 to March 2010. Several search terms relating to PHRs were used during
this process. Two authors independently screened titles and abstracts to determine
inclusion status. A second screen of full-text articles, again by two independent members of
the research team, ensured that the studies described PHRs. All in all, 130 articles met the
criteria and their data were extracted manually into a database. The authors concluded that
although there is a large amount of survey, observational, cohort/panel, and anecdotal
evidence of PHR benefits and satisfaction for patients, more research is needed to evaluate
the results of PHR implementations. Their in-depth analysis of the literature signalled that
there is little solid evidence from randomized controlled trials or other studies through the
use of PHRs. Hence, they suggested that more research is needed that addresses the current
lack of understanding of optimal functionality and usability of these systems, and how they
can play a beneficial role in supporting patient self-management.
Forms of Aggregative Reviews
Healthcare providers, practitioners, and policy-makers are nowadays overwhelmed with
large volumes of information, including research-based evidence from numerous clinical
trials and evaluation studies, assessing the effectiveness of health information technologies
and interventions. It is unrealistic to expect that all these disparate actors will have the time,
skills, and necessary resources to identify the available evidence in the area of their
expertise and consider it when making decisions. Systematic reviews that involve the
rigorous application of scientific strategies aimed at limiting subjectivity and bias (i.e.,
systematic and random errors) can respond to this challenge.
Systematic reviews attempt to aggregate, appraise, and synthesize in a single source all
empirical evidence that meet a set of previously specified eligibility criteria in order to
answer a clearly formulated and often narrow research question on a particular topic of
interest to support evidence-based practice. They adhere closely to explicit scientific
principles and rigorous methodological guidelines aimed at reducing random and systematic
errors that can lead to deviations from the truth in results or inferences. The use of explicit
methods allows systematic reviews to aggregate a large body of research evidence, assess
whether effects or relationships are in the same direction and of the same general
magnitude, explain possible inconsistencies between study results, and determine the
strength of the overall evidence for every outcome of interest based on the quality of
included studies and the general consistency among them.
The main procedures of a systematic review involve:
1. Formulating a review question and developing a search strategy based on explicit
inclusion criteria for the identification of eligible studies (usually described in the
context of a detailed review protocol).
2. Searching for eligible studies using multiple databases and information sources,
including grey literature sources, without any language restrictions.
3. Selecting studies, extracting data, and assessing risk of bias in a duplicate manner
using two independent reviewers to avoid random or systematic errors in the
process.
4. Analyzing data using quantitative or qualitative methods.
5. Presenting results in summary of findings tables.
6. Interpreting results and drawing conclusions.
Many systematic reviews, but not all, use statistical methods to combine the results of
independent studies into a single quantitative estimate or summary effect size. Known
as meta-analyses, these reviews use specific data extraction and statistical techniques (e.g.,
network, frequentist, or Bayesian meta-analyses) to calculate from each study by outcome of
interest an effect size along with a confidence interval that reflects the degree of uncertainty
behind the point estimate of effect. Subsequently, they use fixed or random-effects analysis
models to combine the results of the included studies, assess statistical heterogeneity, and
calculate a weighted average of the effect estimates from the different studies, taking into
account their sample sizes. The summary effect size is a value that reflects the average
magnitude of the intervention effect for a particular outcome of interest or, more generally,
the strength of a relationship between two variables across all studies included in the
systematic review. By statistically combining data from multiple studies, meta-analyses can
create more precise and reliable estimates of intervention effects than those derived from
individual studies alone, when these are examined independently as discrete sources of
information.
The review by Gurol-Urganci, de Jongh, Vodopivec-Jamsek, Atun, and Car (2013) on the
effects of mobile phone messaging reminders for attendance at healthcare appointments is
an illustrative example of a high-quality systematic review with meta-analysis. Missed
appointments are a major cause of inefficiency in healthcare delivery with substantial
monetary costs to health systems. These authors sought to assess whether mobile phonebased appointment reminders delivered through Short Message Service (SMS) or Multimedia
Messaging Service (MMS ) are effective in improving rates of patient attendance and reducing
overall costs. To this end, they conducted a comprehensive search on multiple databases
using highly sensitive search strategies without language or publication-type restrictions to
identify all RCTs that are eligible for inclusion. In order to minimize the risk of omitting
eligible studies not captured by the original search, they supplemented all electronic
searches with manual screening of trial registers and references contained in the included
studies. Study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessments were performed independently by two coders using standardized methods to ensure consistency and to eliminate
potential errors. Findings from eight RCTs involving 6,615 participants were pooled into
meta-analyses to calculate the magnitude of effects that mobile text message reminders have
on the rate of attendance at healthcare appointments compared to no reminders and phone
call reminders.
Meta-analyses are regarded as powerful tools for deriving meaningful conclusions. However,
there are situations in which it is neither reasonable nor appropriate to pool studies
together using meta-analytic methods simply because there is extensive clinical
heterogeneity between the included studies or variation in measurement tools, comparisons,
or outcomes of interest. In these cases, systematic reviews can use qualitative synthesis
methods such as vote counting, content analysis, classification schemes and tabulations, as
an alternative approach to narratively synthesize the results of the independent studies
included in the review. This form of review is known as qualitative systematic review.
A rigorous example of one such review in the eHealth domain is presented by Mickan,
Atherton, Roberts, Heneghan, and Tilson (2014) on the use of handheld computers by
healthcare professionals and their impact on access to information and clinical decisionmaking. In line with the methodological guidelines for systematic reviews, these authors: (a)
developed and registered with PROSPERO (www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO /) an a priori review
protocol; (b) conducted comprehensive searches for eligible studies using multiple
databases and other supplementary strategies (e.g., forward searches); and (c) subsequently
carried out study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessments in a duplicate
manner to eliminate potential errors in the review process. Heterogeneity between the
included studies in terms of reported outcomes and measures precluded the use of metaanalytic methods. To this end, the authors resorted to using narrative analysis and synthesis
to describe the effectiveness of handheld computers on accessing information for clinical
knowledge, adherence to safety and clinical quality guidelines, and diagnostic decisionmaking.
In recent years, the number of systematic reviews in the field of health informatics has
increased considerably. Systematic reviews with discordant findings can cause great
confusion and make it difficult for decision-makers to interpret the review-level evidence
(Moher, 2013). Therefore, there is a growing need for appraisal and synthesis of prior
systematic reviews to ensure that decision-making is constantly informed by the best
available accumulated evidence. Umbrella reviews, also known as overviews of systematic
reviews, are tertiary types of evidence synthesis that aim to accomplish this; that is, they aim
to compare and contrast findings from multiple systematic reviews and meta-analyses
(Becker & Oxman, 2008). Umbrella reviews generally adhere to the same principles and
rigorous methodological guidelines used in systematic reviews. However, the unit of analysis
in umbrella reviews is the systematic review rather than the primary study (Becker &
Oxman, 2008). Unlike systematic reviews that have a narrow focus of inquiry, umbrella
reviews focus on broader research topics for which there are several potential interventions
(Smith, Devane, Begley, & Clarke, 2011). A recent umbrella review on the effects of home
telemonitoring interventions for patients with heart failure critically appraised, compared,
and synthesized evidence from 15 systematic reviews to investigate which types of home
telemonitoring technologies and forms of interventions are more effective in reducing
mortality and hospital admissions (Kitsiou, Paré, & Jaana, 2015).
Realist Reviews
Realist reviews are theory-driven interpretative reviews developed to inform, enhance, or
supplement conventional systematic reviews by making sense of heterogeneous evidence
about complex interventions applied in diverse contexts in a way that informs policy
decision-making (Greenhalgh, Wong, Westhorp, & Pawson, 2011). They originated from
criticisms of positivist systematic reviews which centre on their “simplistic” underlying
assumptions (Oates, 2011). As explained above, systematic reviews seek to identify
causation. Such logic is appropriate for fields like medicine and education where findings of
randomized controlled trials can be aggregated to see whether a new treatment or
intervention does improve outcomes. However, many argue that it is not possible to
establish such direct causal links between interventions and outcomes in fields such as
social policy, management, and information systems where for any intervention there is
unlikely to be a regular or consistent outcome (Oates, 2011; Pawson, 2006; Rousseau,
Manning, & Denyer, 2008).
To circumvent these limitations, Pawson, Greenhalgh, Harvey, and Walshe (2005) have
proposed a new approach for synthesizing knowledge that seeks to unpack the mechanism
of how “complex interventions” work in particular contexts. The basic research question —
what works? — which is usually associated with systematic reviews changes to: what is it
about this intervention that works, for whom, in what circumstances, in what respects and
why? Realist reviews have no particular preference for either quantitative or qualitative
evidence. As a theory-building approach, a realist review usually starts by articulating likely
underlying mechanisms and then scrutinizes available evidence to find out whether and
where these mechanisms are applicable (Shepperd et al., 2009). Primary studies found in the
extant literature are viewed as case studies which can test and modify the initial theories
(Rousseau et al., 2008).
The main objective pursued in the realist review conducted by Otte-Trojel, de Bont, Rundall,
and van de Klundert (2014) was to examine how patient portals contribute to health service
delivery and patient outcomes. The specific goals were to investigate how outcomes are
produced and, most importantly, how variations in outcomes can be explained. The research
team started with an exploratory review of background documents and research studies to
identify ways in which patient portals may contribute to health service delivery and patient
outcomes. The authors identified six main ways which represent “educated guesses” to be
tested against the data in the evaluation studies. These studies were identified through a
formal and systematic search in four databases between 2003 and 2013. Two members of
the research team selected the articles using a pre-established list of inclusion and exclusion
criteria and following a two-step procedure. The authors then extracted data from the
selected articles and created several tables, one for each outcome category. They organized
information to bring forward those mechanisms where patient portals contribute to
outcomes and the variation in outcomes across different contexts.
Critical Reviews
Lastly, critical reviews aim to provide a critical evaluation and interpretive analysis of
existing literature on a particular topic of interest to reveal strengths, weaknesses,
contradictions, controversies, inconsistencies, and/or other important issues with respect to
theories, hypotheses, research methods or results. Unlike other review types, critical
reviews attempt to take a reflective account of the research that has been done in a
particular area of interest, and assess its credibility by using appraisal instruments or critical
interpretive methods. In this way, critical reviews attempt to constructively inform other
scholars about the weaknesses of prior research and strengthen knowledge development by
giving focus and direction to studies for further improvement.
Kitsiou, Paré, and Jaana (2013) provide an example of a critical review that assessed the
methodological quality of prior systematic reviews of home telemonitoring studies for
chronic patients. The authors conducted a comprehensive search on multiple databases to
identify eligible reviews and subsequently used a validated instrument to conduct an indepth quality appraisal. Results indicate that the majority of systematic reviews in this
particular area suffer from important methodological flaws and biases that impair their
internal validity and limit their usefulness for clinical and decision-making purposes. To this
end, they provide a number of recommendations to strengthen knowledge development
towards improving the design and e
Plagiarism
Conditions of adequacy
The conditions of adequacy should identify relevant restrictions on any suggested
definition for the definition to be reasonably adequate for the intended purpose in the
intended context. Partly different criteria may become relevant depending on the intended
use of the definition. The following criteria for adequacy are relevant to a definition of
‘‘plagiarism’’ for our intended use:
• Fitting language use: The definition should not deviate too much from established
language use, which is to say that it should catch basic semantic intuitions and should be
able to handle paradigmatic cases—if acts that are usually considered to be instances of
plagiarism are rarely taken to be so by your definition, then it fulfils this criterion poorly.
The greater the number of such cases it covers, the better. However, it goes without
saying that if there is no uniform language use, a logically consistent definition cannot
cover all uses.
• Precision: The greater the precision of the definition, the better it is. Ideally, for each case
the definition should settle whether or not it is a case of plagiarism.
• Reliability (intersubjectivity): The definition is reliable if different users of it pass the
same judgment on specific cases (‘‘If plagiarism is defined as so-and-so, then this is (or is
not) a case of plagiarism’’). If a definition is reliable, then it produces the same outcome
regardless of who is using it, which means that there is intersubjectivity in the use.
• Theoretical fruitfulness: The definition is more theoretically fruitful if it is better at
distinguishing things that may be important to keep apart; it is better the greater the
‘‘job’’ it can do. For example, it is more theoretically fruitful if it can help to explain claims
about plagiarism, such as why some instances count as plagiarism (or why some aspects
are relevant for settling the issue) whilst others do not.
• Relevance for normative purposes: The definition should as far as possible identify as
plagiarism those events that one would like to single out as morally problematic in this
regard.
• Simplicity: The general idea that it is preferable for a definition to be homogeneous and
ad hoc-free.
Plagiarism
Since it is important to determine what constitutes misconduct in scientific writing,
and ‘‘plagiarism’’ is a much used concept in discussions of scientific misconduct, one could
perhaps expect agreement and a fairly high level of precision regarding what constitutes
plagiarism. However, while there is agreement about paradigmatic cases of plagiarism, there
is less agreement regarding how plagiarism should be defined. In fact, the issue is rarely
discussed in detail. When the concept is explained in a recent newsletter from the US Office
of Research Integrity, it looks deceptively simple: ‘‘It involves stealing someone else’s work
and lying about it afterward’’. Others prefer to speak of ‘‘copying’’ part of someone else’s
published work and using it without showing that it is borrowed from someone else. In the
Longman Contemporary English Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, the act of plagiarism is
defined as ‘‘when someone uses another person’s words, ideas, or work and pretends they
are their own’’. In the scholarly definitions, the more technical notions of ‘‘appropriation’’
and ‘‘credit’’ are central: ‘‘Plagiarism is the appropriation of other people’s material without
giving proper credit’’ (The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity); ‘‘Plagiarism is
the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving
appropriate credit’’ (US Federal Policy on Research Misconduct). So the basic ideas seem to
be that someone deliberately takes someone else’s work, whether in the form of an idea, a
method, data, results, or text, and presents it as their own instead of giving credit to the
person whose ideas, results, or words it is. This is mirrored in the definition given by
Merriam-Webster: ‘‘to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own: use
(another’s production) without crediting the source’’.
Two components of plagiarism
Common to these definitions is that plagiarism is composed of two parts: (1) to appropriate the work
of someone else and (2) passing it off as one’s own by not giving proper credit. Let us first ask what it
means to appropriate someone else’s work. In some definitions, plagiarism is characterised as
stealing. However, if plagiarism by definition concerns stealing, then it is not theft in the traditional
sense of taking a thing, where if person A takes it from person B, then B will no longer have it. What is
appropriated in such instances of plagiarism is intellectual property, as when people download
copyright-protected films or music from the Internet. Thus, to the extent that plagiarism is theft, it is
stealing someone else’s intellectual work by copying.
Related to research papers, it is about copying another’s text, tables, graphs, or pictures into one’s
own paper without having permission to do so (and with certain pretence, a point we shall be
returning to presently). We are, however, disinclined to include stealing in our definition. Although
one may steal intellectual as well as non-intellectual property, and even talk about ‘‘theft of the
recognition due to the original contributor’’, talking about plagiarism as stealing is nevertheless
misguided, at least as part of a definition. This is so because using someone else’s text, say, and
passing it off as one’s own can be done regardless of whether one steals the text or not. One can do it
by finding the text in a journal or book or by using an unpublished paper—or by stealing it from
someone’s computer or drawer. Thus, it seems that stealing is not a constituent part of plagiarising.
In fact, you plagiarise a text even if it was willingly handed to you by a research acquaintance—if
your use of it implies that it was you who created it. However, plagiarism does not preclude that the
text presented as one’s own has been literally stolen from someone else; you may steal a manuscript
in order to plagiarise it (just as you may steal it in order to keep it without showing it to anyone). If
you do, that means that you pass off the stolen manuscript as your own. It may still be argued that
there is a sense of ‘‘stealing’’ that concerns appropriating someone else’s intellectual work and
passing it off as one’s own. In this sense you may steal someone’s song if you play it and claim to have
composed it yourself. This seems to mean that there is a sense of ‘‘stealing’’ that is equivalent to
‘‘plagiarising’’. If so, this second understanding of ‘‘stealing’’, which is distinct from the one discussed
above, cannot contribute anything to a definition of ‘‘plagiarism’’. The conclusion remains: stealing,
or theft, cannot be used as part of the definition of ‘‘plagiarism’’. ‘‘To appropriate’’ does not have to
imply stealing. It could also mean, for instance, acquire, borrow, take, or expropriate. We
nevertheless suggest that ‘‘appropriate’’ should be avoided, just because it is such an ambiguous term
and therefore would introduce obscurity in the definition. We instead suggest that ‘‘use’’ is employed.
It seems, then, that it is the second part of the definition that will distinguish cases of plagiarism from
acceptable cases of using the results of another’s intellectual effort. The second alleged aspect or
component of plagiarism is passing it off as one’s own. This can be done with or without the approval
of the person or persons being plagiarised, so it is not about whether or not the re-use has the
author’s approval, but about what impression is given by that use. Using someone else’s work and
being dishonest or otherwise misleading about where it comes from seems to be what makes the act
an act of plagiarism. But dishonest or misleading in a special way: If person A uses a passage from a
text by B but claims that it was written by C, then, even though it is an incorrect claim, it is not
plagiarism, but simply incorrect referring (if intentional, it is a kind of fraudulent behaviour). It is
when A claims (explicitly or implicitly) to have written the passage him- or herself that it becomes
plagiarism. This was brought out in the definition provided by Merriam-Webster above: it is when
we pass something off as our own, although it isn’t, that we plagiarise. This seems to be the core of
plagiarism.
Research Ethics
Given the importance of ethics for the conduct of research, it should come as no surprise that
many different professional associations, government agencies, and universities have
adopted specific codes, rules, and policies relating to research ethics. Many government
agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation
(NSF), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) have ethics rules for funded researchers.
Other influential research ethics policies include the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts
Submitted to Biomedical Journals (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors), the
Chemist's Code of Conduct (American Chemical Society), Code of Ethics (American Society
for Clinical Laboratory Science) Ethical Principles of Psychologists (American Psychological
Association), Statements on Ethics and Professional Responsibility (American
Anthropological Association), Statement on Professional Ethics (American Association of
University Professors), the Nuremberg Code and the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical
Association). The following is a rough and general summary of some ethical principles that
various codes address*:
1. Honesty: Strive for honesty in all scientific communications. Honestly report data,
results, methods and procedures, and publication status. Do not fabricate, falsify, or
misrepresent data. Do not deceive colleagues, granting agencies, or the public.
2. Objectivity: Strive to avoid bias in experimental design, data analysis, data
interpretation, peer review, personnel decisions, grant writing, expert testimony, and
other aspects of research where objectivity is expected or required. Avoid or minimize
bias or self-deception. Disclose personal or financial interests that may affect research.
3. Integrity: Keep your promises and agreements; act with sincerity; strive for consistency
of thought and action.
4. Carefulness: Avoid careless errors and negligence; carefully and critically examine your
own work and the work of your peers. Keep good records of research activities, such as
data collection, research design, and correspondence with agencies or journals.
5. Openness: Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources. Be open to criticism and new
ideas.
6. Respect for Intellectual Property: Honor patents, copyrights, and other forms of
intellectual property. Do not use unpublished data, methods, or results without
permission. Give credit where credit is due. Give proper acknowledgement or credit for
all contributions to research. Never plagiarize.
7. Confidentiality: Protect confidential communications, such as papers or grants
submitted for publication, personnel records, trade or military secrets, and patient
records.
8. Responsible Publication: Publish in order to advance research and scholarship, not to
advance just your own career. Avoid wasteful and duplicative publication.
9. Responsible Mentoring: Help to educate, mentor, and advise students. Promote their
welfare and allow them to make their own decisions.
10. Respect for colleagues: Respect your colleagues and treat them fairly.
11. Social Responsibility: Strive to promote social good and prevent or mitigate social
harms through research, public education, and advocacy.
12. Non-Discrimination: Avoid discrimination against colleagues or students on the basis
of sex, race, ethnicity, or other factors that are not related to their scientific competence
and integrity.
13. Competence: Maintain and improve your own professional competence and expertise
through lifelong education and learning; take steps to promote competence in science as
a whole.
14. Legality: Know and obey relevant laws and institutional and governmental policies.
15. Animal care: Show proper respect and care for animals when using them in research.
Do not conduct unnecessary or poorly designed animal experiments.
16. Human Subjects Protection: When conducting research on human subjects minimize
harms and risks and maximize benefits; respect human dignity, privacy, and autonomy;
take special precautions with vulnerable populations; and strive to distribute the
benefits and burdens of research fairly.
17. There are many other activities that do not define as "misconduct" but which are still
regarded by most researchers as unethical. These are called "other deviations" from
acceptable research practices and include:



Publishing the same paper in two different journals without telling the editors
Submitting the same paper to different journals without telling the editors
Not informing a collaborator of your intent to file a patent in order to make sure that
you are the sole inventor
 Including a colleague as an author on a paper in return for a favor even though the
colleague did not make a serious contribution to the paper
 Discussing with your colleagues confidential data from a paper that you are
reviewing for a journal
 Trimming outliers from a data set without discussing your reasons in paper
 Using an inappropriate statistical technique in order to enhance the significance of
your research
 Bypassing the peer review process and announcing your results through a press
conference without giving peers adequate information to review your work
 Conducting a review of the literature that fails to acknowledge the contributions of
other people in the field or relevant prior work
 Stretching the truth on a grant application in order to convince reviewers that your
project will make a significant contribution to the field
 Stretching the truth on a job application or curriculum vita
 Giving the same research project to two graduate students in order to see who can do
it the fastest
 Overworking, neglecting, or exploiting graduate or post-doctoral students
 Failing to keep good research records
 Failing to maintain research data for a reasonable period of time
 Making derogatory comments and personal attacks in your review of author's
submission
 Promising a student a better grade for sexual favors
 Using a racist epithet in the laboratory
 Making significant deviations from the research protocol approved by your
institution's Animal Care and Use Committee or Institutional Review Board for
Human Subjects Research without telling the committee or the board
 Not reporting an adverse event in a human research experiment
 Wasting animals in research
 Exposing students and staff to biological risks in violation of your institution's
biosafety rules
 Rejecting a manuscript for publication without even reading it
 Sabotaging someone's work
 Stealing supplies, books, or data
 Rigging an experiment so you know how it will turn out
 Making unauthorized copies of data, papers, or computer programs
 Deliberately overestimating the clinical significance of a new drug in order to obtain
economic benefits.
These actions would be regarded as unethical by most scientists and some might even be
illegal. Most of these would also violate different professional ethics codes or institutional
policies.
Effective Technical Writing
A report is defined as a definitive document which provides information about a task
or exercise. As R & D report states the results of or progress made with a research and
development investigation. A report is an organised, factual and objective information
brought out by a person who has experienced or accumulated (information) and
communicated to a person or persons who need it or want it or entitled to it.
A technical report usually is more detailed than an article published in a journal or a
paper presented at a conference. It contains sufficient data to enable a reader to evaluate the
investigative process of original research or development. It is an end product of an
investigation, survey, research project etc.
Technical report, the primary recording medium for R & D work, has become an
important source of information in recent years. This is mainly because of the time
consuming routines of publication procedures of journals and their preference to publish
completed research as against research in progress. But many a time, the nature of
communication does not require wide dissemination and so a technical report is brought
out. Further, the government-funded research results in the areas of space, nuclear sciences,
and defence is generally shrouded under secrecy and national security and so are circulated
to a very limited people. All these factors have resulted in the emergence of the technical
report, which is issued in different sizes and formats.
Technical reports are characterised by their objectivity and targeted audience. They
define the problem, analyse and assess the current and future conditions, describe the
method/experiment to solve a problem, discuss the results, draw conclusions and
recommend future course of action.
A technical report is prepared for various purposes. Project proposals are submitted
to get grants: periodical reports are made to inform the status of and progress made in a
project; state-of-the-art reports are prepared to make the top management abreast of the
latest developments in a specific field; technical papers are published to inform the outside
world and those working in the field about the new findings and so on. Whatever may be the
form of the technical report, it is written with three main purposes: (a) to inform readers
about the outcome of a study, (b) to record the research findings and test outcome for
posterity, and (c) to recommend appropriate future course of action.
Types of Technical Reports
Technical reports include technical papers, memoranda, proposals, progress and
status reports, feasibility reports, technical manuals, investigation reports etc. A technical
report may be a letter, an article, a research paper, an operational manual, a news bulletin, a
company brochure, a book review etc. Passman includes preprints, institutional reports, and
committee reports also under technical reports literature. Depending on the purpose and
information content, reports can be classified as informal and formal reports.
Informal reports usually present the results of investigations and convey information
of products, methods and equipment. The informal nature makes these more accessible, and
easy to be adapted to any situation. These are generally meant for immediate superiors and
colleagues in an institution. Thea include memoranda, brief analysis reports, trip reports,
laboratory reports, field reports, inspection reports, etc.
Formal reports provide information which is needed by the management for decision
making. Thus a formal report will have a larger target readership as compared to the
informal report, and serve as a main source of information. Formal reports include project
proposals, progress or status reports (half-yearly, annual etc), state-of-the-art reports and
review reports, trend or critical evaluation reports, feasibility reports, etc. Types and
characteristics of some of the above mentioned reports are briefly described in the following
paragraphs.
Committee Reports
Many a time when a major decision is to be taken, the government or its department
constitutes committees to go into various aspects of the issue (for example, the Abid Hussain
Committee of CSIR, Committee on Bhopal Gas Tragedy etc). These issues include policy
formulation, restructuring the organisation, prevention of losses due to hazards, etc. Usually,
all the members in such committees will be experts in their fields and these reports provide
very valuable information, including the pros and cons of an issue and a plan of action.
Feasibility Reports
These reports discuss the practicality, in physical and economic terms, of a new
project (for example, feasibility reports on the establishment of DELNET, CALIBNET etc),
new product development of a new program, purchase of a y w equipment/plant or
machinery, or reallocation of a factory site. A feasibility report generally includes
explanation of the problem, present standards on criteria, subject-items to be analysed,
examination of the scope of analysis, presentation and interpretation of the data, and
conclusions and recommendations. Feasibility reports may also include cost-effective
analysis, alternative routes available to complete the project and a minimum time required
to achieve a breakeven point in cases where returns are expected.
Institutional Reports
These reports describe the activities and progress of projects undertaken by an
institution or establishment. These include technical information on programs, details of
infrastructural and manpower resources, and summaries of research undertaken during the
period of the report. As such these reports provide valuable information not available
elsewhere. The annual reports of the government departments and agencies, private and
public R&D laboratories, and professional societies belong to this category of reports.
Reprints
These can be taken as the informal reports of individual authors. These are circulated
to the colleagues or professionals who are working in the same field for their comments. The
relevant comments made by them, if any, are incorporated and then submitted to a primary
journal or presented in a conference/symposium. The format of the preprint will be that of a
research paper published in a professional periodical.
Project Proposals
Project proposals are chiefly prepared for getting sanction of projects or approval of a
developmental works or getting grants and contracts. These are not circulated before or
after the purpose for which they were prepared. Most of the times, the information included
is proprietary in nature. These are different from other types of reports because they deal
with future plan of action and method of implementation of a project. The main
characteristics of a proposal are the statement of intention, willingness, and qualifications
and expertise to accomplish a task as per a definite time schedule. This may also include
information about the capabilities of existing facilities, financial, infrastructural and
manpower considerations. As these are to be professionally credible, subject knowledge is
necessary to prepare project proposals. Convincing the peers to obtain financial support or
sanction of project is a hidden function of a proposal. Generally, proposals include a letter of
transmittal, title, executive summary, table of contents, introduction, overview and analysis
of the problem, statement of the problem, methodology, infrastructural facilities needed to
complete the project, financial and manpower considerations, duration and summary.
Project Reports
In any R&D organisation, project reports are the most frequently written documents.
Once sanctioned, the project leader is bound by the schedule mentioned in the proposal.
Often, one has to submit periodical progress reports-half-yearly or annual-to the institution
or sponsoring or funding agency for evaluation purposes. By the time the project is
completed, a few technical papers would also have been published. At the end, a detailed
project report including the results and outcome of the project undertaken is to be
submitted. This is a valuable source of primary information on the project. This may include
a letter of transmittal, title, abstract or executive summary, contents, background material
including introduction and objectives, methodology, results and discussion, conclusions,
acknowledgements, references, appendices and list of abbreviations used in the report, if
any.
State-of-the-Art Reports
These are prepared to keep the management or project leaders abreast of the latest
developments in a subject field. These are similar to review articles and can be prepared by a
person having general knowledge in the field. Here the relevant literature published in a
specific subject during a particular period is collected and is grouped into the various subtopics of the subject. This grouped material is presented after careful study of the different
facets and arranging them in a logical sequence. Generalisation of the treatment of the
contents and delimitation of the time are main characteristics of this report.
Status Reports
These are written to contain specified topics for a select and definite group of
readers; hence it is very timely. A status report describes overall subject areas or problems
for enquiry and breaks it down into component areas or problems. Conclusions are given
leading to future course of action which also serve as a spring-board for the introduction of
succeeding status reports. These are also known as preliminary reports, interim reports
progress reports (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly) and so on.
Trend Reports
These are value-added documents. The main characteristics of this kind of report is
the evaluation (of published research) component, assessment of present status and
prediction of the future trend the research may take. The positive aspects and shortfalls of
the research already reported are also identified by the author. As such a trend report can be
written by subject experts or peers only. A trend report includes title, abstract or executive
summary, introduction, review of published literature, critical evaluation of the R&D,
conclusions, and references and appendices.
Format of Reports
Like many publications, technical reports also have a typical format, although all the
elements of the format may not necessarily be included in each and every report.
The informal reports have five basic elements, viz. preliminary material
(background), introduction, discussion, conclusions and recommendations, and summary.
The background material gives the reader an idea of the history of the project, and thus
orients the reader towards the report. In the introduction part, objectives and the context
are discussed; the reader is initiated to the problem, the necessity of writing the report,
purpose of the report and general overview of the contents. Detailed and fb11 information
along with discussion of the method adopted, materials used, and the outcome the
conclusions drawn are presented in the body of the report.
While writing a formal report, the author employs a number of basic elements to
orient the reader to the topic of the report and its organisation. Some of the formats used to
arrange these elements include SIDCRA (summary, introduction, discussion. conclusions,
references and appendices) or IMRAD (CIS) (introduction, materials and methods, results
and discussion and conclusions/summary.).
Format Analysis of Technical Reports
Whatever may be the arrangement of basic elements, a formal technical report should
have the letter of transmittal, cover and title, summary. And/or abstract, table of contents,
list of illustrations, introductions, materials and methods, analysis and discussion of results,
conclusions. Recommendations, acknowledgements, references and bibliography,
appendices, abbreviations, and symbols used in the report. A few of these elements are
discussed briefly in this section.
Letter of Transmittal
This is correspondence (usually a letter) which directs the report to someone. It may
contain the information regarding the title of the report, a general statement of the scope
and purpose of the report, explanation of problems fixed, if any (for example, nonavailability of facilities which might have delayed the project), and acknowledgements.
Preliminary Material
This includes title page, preface, if any, abstract or executive summary, table of contents, list
of illustrations, tables, etc.
Cover and Title
Simple, plain cover page and title layout are used for technical reports. Many a time,
an institution uses same type of cover layout for all the reports it brings out (for example
NASA, RAND Corp, etc). Thus the reader is able to recall and link the institution as soon as
the distinct layout is seen. Bibliographic details of the report like the title name(s) and
address(s) of author(s) or corporate author, contracting agency (if any), the publisher or
issuing authority, and month and year 6f issue are included in the title page. Many report
issuing agencies, for example, NASA, NTIS, RAND Corporation etc, use a unique report
number for each and every report. This number is included on both the cover and title pages.
Most of the reports can be identified by the library if this report number is correctly
provided by the reader. An attractive, well balanced title page makes an everlasting
impression on the reader.
Preface
This is usually written by the project leader or head of the establishment and includes
the historical background to the project. This is excluded when a detailed introduction
including the genesis of the project is provided in the document.
Table of Contents
This is an index which lists titles of all sections and the pages on which they start. The
contents page provides an overview of the report's organisation, depth and emphasis of the
subject dealt. When a report is large, only two levels are used in the contents. The levels of
the divisions, sub-divisions, etc are maintained by following indenting, numbering or
typography styles (caps, bold, italics, etc). The list of illustrations includes all the figures,
flow charts, and tables included in the report.
Abstract
A short account of the contents of a document is called an abstract. It is consulted by a
reader before attempting to read the whole text, and so, is expected to stand alone. Two
types of abstracts are used: indicative and informative. The former is generally short in
length (15dwords) and as the name suggests, outlines the contents of the document. The
latter is long (250 words) and includes the methodology, results and main conclusions,
albeit in brief.
Summary
Summary is a restatement of the major findings and conclusions of a document. This
is placed after the text of the body and is intended to help readers comprehend and review
the text. However, in technical reports, summary is placed before the text of the body.
Summary should include the problem, purpose, major facts, conclusions and
recommendations. Executive summary, provided some times with a report, is a digest of
information intended to provide salient points which generally help in decision making.
These include the financial, material and infrastructural implications, major findings and the
recommendations for further action.
Both abstract and summary are meant to help readers to find out the relevancy and to
ascertain if the document is to be read without actually reading the entire document, keep
abreast of current developments and to get an overview of the document
Body of the Report
Introduction, materials and methods, analysis of the data discussion of results,
conclusions and recommendations form the main body of the report.
Introduction
This forms an important part which orients the reader to the contents of the report.
Introduction includes brief literature survey, the statements of objective and scope. A brief
survey of literature is included to establish the status of the ongoing research on the topic. In
case the report deals with experimentation, the materials and the methodology including
alternative methodologies, if any, are described in detail. If the report deals with surveys,
investigation, etc, the nature of population, the method used for survey and the reasons for
selecting the method are to be described. The data which was collected during the study will
be analysed using various statistical principles. While the objective statement clearly states
the purpose and aim of the report, the scope statement reveals the topics covered and the
boundaries of the study. The methodology describes the procedure or process followed in
the study to meet the objectives of the report. This section is followed by the problem and
background statements, which introduces the reader to the problem and the circumstances
in which the problem originated. A well-written introduction arrests the attention of the
reader and established the tone, subject and its limitations.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Based on the analysis and facts, the conclusions are inferred and recommendations
are suggested. The conclusions section emphasizes the most important, significant data and
ideas in the report. So, all the conclusions should be related to the facts and data presented
in the report. The conclusions should be written in a brief manner devoid of lengthy
commentaries. When the conclusions are precise and clear, the main recommendations are
obvious. Each recommendation is numbered and the first recommendation should deal with
the problem of the report and also its solution.
End Material
Acknowledgements, references/bibliography, abbreviations used in the report and
appendices are regarded as the end material.
Acknowledgements
Author receives help from many sources while writing the technical report. These
include grants from institutions, materials, infrastructural and laboratory facilities from
parent or other collaborating establishments, useful discussions with colleagues, suggestions
from peers for improvement, and help from staff members in data collection or analysis,
typing etc. Author may wish to thank all those who helped and these are included in the
acknowledgements. However, care is to be taken to include only those who have actually and
significantly involved in the preparation of the report.
References
A scientific study is based on already published material, which is used in problem
formulation. These intellectual debts will be paid through citations (in text) and references
(at the end). Sometimes author wishes to suggest documents for further reading, a
bibliography is included. Whereas the sources listed under references are all necessarily
consulted, those listed under bibliography need not necessarily be consulted while
preparing the report. A section discusses later in detail about citing and listing references.
Abbreviations
Abbreviations used are listed at one place, usually at the end. However, the author
should keep their usage to a minimum and avoid using non-familiar and non-standard
abbreviations and symbols.
Appendices
Supportive material like legislative laws and acts which do not form part of the text
but is needed for better understanding of the concepts; long and complicated tables, flow
charts, and questionnaires, the placement of which will not affect the readers' understanding
of the report; computer algorithms, long extracts from other reports, notes, glossaries, and
mathematical proofs which were used in the text but do not hamper the readers
comprehension of the ideas are included as appendices to the report. It is presumed that the
inclusion of these in the text would distract the attention of the reader and so are excluded
from the main text. However, these are to be kept to a minimum: otherwise it would be
construed that the original report has very little content. It should be borne in mind that the
best written report is one which includes only a few or no appendices.
Technical Report Writing Process
Effectiveness of a technical report depends on many factors. These include knowing
the target readers, quality of the contents, structural organisation of the report and clarity of
the communication.
Audience Analysis
The writer should know the readership of the technical report. Depending on the
target readers, the tone and the contents of the report can be modified to suit the purpose.
For example, a proposal is to be written in a different manner compared to a feasibility
report or a final report of an R&D project. The contents and the style of presentation of a
technical communication will surely be different when it is intended for we11 informed
research community from that of a document written for neo-literates and public at large. In
other words, the level of understanding of the audience would decide the 'technicality’ in
writing.
Planning a Report
Before venturing actual writing, the author must first make an outline of the topic and
various sub-topics. This skeletal framework helps in delimiting a topic, i.e., identifying only
those facets, which must be dealt in the report and avoiding those which are peripheral to
the topic. Also, additions and alterations are possible when the author is clear about what is
to be included in the document.
Once the skeleton is decided, the next step is the literature survey and data collection.
The sources could be formal publications (journals, patents, monographs, standards, reports,
electronic data- bases etc), informal communication (personal letters), and non- scientific
literature including trade catalogues, house bulletins, etc.
Quality of Contents
The intrinsic value of a technical report depends upon the quality of information
contained, which in turn depends upon the subject expertise of the author. The currency of
information, the adequacy and authenticity of the data and the facts, the reliability of
methodology followed, and the originality of research enhance the effectiveness of a
technical report.
Clarity of Communication
Clarity of communication depends on two factors. viz. the structural organisation of
the report and the command of the author on the language. Logical organisation of a report
according to a set pattern (say. IMRADS or SIDCRA), effective usage of illustrations and style
of presentation will have a greater impact on the reader.
Drafting and Revision
To make a report readable, a writer has to make drafts and revisions. When the
planning and outlining of a report is completed, the writer has to explain the ideas in a
coherent and logical way. This is very difficult as it demands author's command over the
language and also expertise in the subject field. Thus the first draft may be refined and
revised over and over again until the final draft is ready. At this stage, the writer may add
headings, sub-headings, illustrations, tables, etc for clarity of communication. References
and appendices are also included while revising the draft.
Style of presentation
While clarity of expression, elegance of presentation, and simplicity of format are
powerful means of enhancing understand- ability, consistency of format and style of
presentation enhance readability. Mathew Arnold said "The secret style is to have something to say and say it as clearly as you can".
Text
Usage of simple sentences (with a maximum of 20-25 words), parallel structure for
coordinate elements, and active voice enhances effectiveness of a writing. Accuracy in style
results from precise use of terms and proper sentence structure precision in expression
would eliminate redundancy leading to brevity and clarity. This makes the author use, to a
certain extent technical terms and formal standardised sentence structures. However, over
usage of jargon would result m poor presentation resulting in unreadable and
incomprehensible text. Use of icons, special symbols like bullets, and special typography
enhances elegance, clarity and readability. Abbreviations are to be kept to a minimums as
these distract the attention of the reader.
Language
Confucius said, "If language is not correct then what is said is not what is meant: if
what is said is not what is meant then what ought to be done remains undone". Surely
proper words in proper places makes the communication understandable. The general
principles governing technical writing are avoiding superfluous words: choosing familiar,
short and precise words; avoiding abstract expressions, double negatives and dangling
modifiers; and ensuring the agreement of subject with verb and pronouns with their
antecedents. The author's command over the vocabulary, grammar and diction would help
in achieving better results.
Tables
A table is a simple tool for listing exact data for comparison and analysis. Tables
should supplement, and not duplicate the data and figures. While constructing a table it
should be noted that the information always reads down from the boxhead to the end of the
table; information controlled by stub heads reads across. Also, independent variables should
be taken in the first column (stub). The other columns are taken to denote dependent
variables (column heads).
The essential elements of a table include the stub, stub head, and boxhead (for single
column table). It may have different column heads and spanner heads (a common head for
two or more columns) and field spanner (a common sub-head for all the columns). Tables
should be mentioned by their numbers and not as the below given Table, or the following
Table etc. They should be typed on separate sheets and arranged in the same sequence as
they are referred to in the text.
Usually, numerical data is aligned on the decimal point (when decimals are used) or
units. Zero is before decimals less than unity (for example. 0.35 and not 35). Do not add
zeros on the left side of decimals. It is advisable to use Indo-Arabic numerals and lower case
typography to enhance readability.
Figures and Illustrations
It is said that one picture is worth a thousand words: Visuals arc used for better
communication and understanding. These include line diagrams and photographs. Line
diagrams comprise line graphs, bar charts, pie charts, drawings, flow charts, special
illustrations, etc.
Line Graphs
Line Graphs are used to illustrate trends over a period of time or data with many
successive values, comparison of similar type of data over fixed or variable time period, and
frequency distribution. Bar charts or histograms can be presented to provide a threedimensional view. These are used when one wishes to compare two or more items having at
least one common parameter, or a single item at different points or many items at a single
point.
Pie charts are a variant form wherein the relationship between parts and whole, and their
relative distribution is presented. Drawings are used to illustrate a process, an equipment or
apparatus used in a given study. Flow charts generally show the sequence of stages or steps
involved in completing a task or organisational set-up, or the sequence of operations in a
computer algorithm. Apart from these. Special figures such as NMR. IR. ECG charts or
structural formulae of chemical compounds are also used. Colour or black and white
photographs are used for beauty and esthetics. These are reproduced as half-tones.
Care is to be taken to label each of the figures, providing them with a caption and
adding index or key when abbreviations, etc are used. While preparing the illustrations, the
final reproduction size of the figures is to be kept in mind and 'accordingly the size of letters,
text, symbols and units used are to be drawn in the original figure. It is important to draw
the figures in India ink. The figures are sequentially referred in the text of the report and
numbered accordingly. They should be cited in the text as Figure 1, Figure 2, and Figure 3
and ‘not as the Figure above, the following Figure’ etc.
While table caption precedes the table, figure caption follows a figure and ends with a
full stop. When a table or a figure already published is taken for reproduction in a report,
proper acknowledgement is to be made. Even when author modifies or prepares a new
figure or table out of the already published material, it is important to add, as a footnote, the
statement 'based on data from XYZ' or 'modified version of figure from ABC' and list the
citation under references.
Standard Style for References
According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, a bibliographic reference is "a sequence of
items of information needed for enabling a reader of a work to identify, locate and ascertain
the relevance of a document referred to". International Standards Organisation (ISO) defines
it as "a set of data sufficiently precise and detailed to enable a publication or a part of a
publication to be identified". British Standards Institution (BSI) defines it as "a set of data,
describing a document or a part of a document, and sufficiently precise and detailed to
identify and locate.
The main purpose of providing a reference is to identify, locate and to ascertain if it is
relevant for further study. Therefore, care should be taken that references contain sufficient
information necessary to retrieve a cited document.
Need of References
A research report builds its base upon earlier scholarly work which is done by linking
the reporting paper with related work in the same subject area or field of research which
was reported earlier. This linking is usually done through references, which are designed to
guide readers of new work to sources they may want to consult further. References are
designed to repay intellectual debts through open acknowledgement. Authors refer to
previous material to support, illustrate or elaborate on a particular point. They may also be
referred to contradict or negate the conclusions or findings of a reported article. The basic
idea in referring an already published work is its relevancy and usage.
References play an important role in the life of a technical report. They will enable
readers to understand and decide whether they should read the original publication which is
referred to in the text. If the users want to consult/study it, the reference should enable
them to get easy access with a minim- effort. Hence references ought to be sufficiently
complete, i.e., all the elements of the cited work must be given.
There is a lot of variation in providing references because of confusion over the inclusion
of different elements of references, viz, author(s), title, affiliation, volume number, issue number,
date, month and year, pagination, publishers, etc, their sequence of occurrence and
typographical representation. There are many types of documents, i.e., journal articles,
conference proceedings, monographs, simple and composite books letters, dissertations, theses,
reports, standards, catalogues, etc, which make the problem more complex.
Citing References in Text
There are different practices of citing of references in the test. Some journals give
author's name and year in brackets, for example. (Garfield, 1980). The year only is given in
brackets when the author's name is a part of the sentence. This is known as Harvard style and
also nearer to the Vancouver style followed by biomedical journals. Two or more cited
documents published by the same author in the same Fear are differentiated with alphabetical or
numerical suffixes (for example, Price 1980a, Price 1980b etc). Periodicals such as Journal of
Documentation, IASLIC Bulletin, etc use a sequential number as superscript over the name(s) of
the author(s): the Journal of the American Society for Information Science uses parentheses
within the test for this number.
Listing of References
The listing of references at the end of the main text is usually based on the citing practice in the
text. They are either arranged alphabetically by author's name (Harvard or Vancouver styles) or
in the order of their occurrence in the text. In the Harvard system, the year of publication
follows the author's name. In the alphabetical and sequential systems, the year of
publication comes after the name of the journal or publisher. In the case of a review article,
alphabetisation needs more time because of the large number of references cited.
Standards on References
Many style manuals are available for manuscript preparation which include guidelines for
the preparation of references. However, the do not agree on a single style for references. The
national standards on references suggest two types of references. International Standard
suggests abridged and expanded references. British Standard (BS) recommends minimum
and expanded references. American National Standard suggests abbreviated and
comprehensive references. The Indian Standard (IS) identifies two types of elements-essential and supplementary-and leaves the choice to the user. It recommends the use of any
catalogue code for punctuation. The International Standards Organisation (ISO), the British
Standards Institution (BSI) and the American National Standards Institution (ANSI) do not
enforce any single style but recommend to follow examples given by them.
As regards to typography for a reference, ANSI recommends the use of single type
face for the sake of simplicity and convenience. IS recommends to differentiate the various
items of information and highlight essential items in an entry and advises that a uniform
practice should be followed in the same publication. One marked difference in these
standards is that ANSI prefers to use the author's name(s) in ordinary upper/lower case,
whereas IS, BS and IS0 recommend capitalisation. ANSI limits the maximum number of
authors of a multi-authored work to two, while ISO/BS limit to three. All the four standards
recommend title of journal article to be include in the reference.
Suggestions for preparing References
Standardisation practice in citing and listing references would help authors, readers
and librarians alike. For efficient and unambiguous information retrieval, the following
suggestions are given to arrive at a standard style of references:
a. The main purpose of providing a reference would not be served if the title of the
document being cited (i.e., journal article, a paper from a proceedings, a chapter from
book, the title of a report, etc) is not included. It is important for arriving at a quick
decision whether a cited work is to be consulted or not.
b. Dividing the reference into convenient groups or parts-say three or four-would make
the references unambiguous. For example, author(s)/editor(s); title of the cited
document; title of journal, volume (issue no), year of publication in parentheses,
inclusive pages with appropriate punctuation or conference/symposium name
(preceded by 'paper presented t'), place, month and year; title of the original work
followed by editors' name (in the case of a composite book); place of publication,
publisher, year, etc. are some convenient groupings separated by a full stop.
c. Inclusive pagination also provides the information regarding the size of the document
cited in terms of pages. It helps the user as the librarian in calculating the cost in case the
document is to be procured from a copy supply centre such as INSDOC or BLDSC.
d. Usage of upper and lower typefaces for author's name would be simple and also easy for
typesetting.
e. Giving imprint information in parentheses avoids confusion with place and year of
conference/symposium in the references of conference/symposium proceedings.
Bibliographical Control of Technical Reports
As report literature is difficult to access, technical reports are referred to as 'gray
literature'. This is because, unlike books and periodicals, proper bibliographical control
mechanism does not exist for reports. The nature of contents-security classification like
restricted, confidential, secret-also poses problems making some of them inaccessible. The
policy of the government (or sponsoring agency) in certain areas of R & D (for example
defence. space, atomic energy, etc) does not permit corporate institutions to publish or
disseminate reports brought out in this subject fields. Further very few sources are available
for knowing the existence of a report. The large number of report issuing agencies further
compounds the problems.
Because of all these factors, it has become too difficult to procure technical reports. No
vendor readily takes up supply of these reports. Though the scene has changed in recent
times with the coverage of technical reports in abstracting and indexing periodicals like
Scientific &Technical Aerospace Reports (STAR), International Aerospace Abstracts (IAA),
Government Reports Announcements & Index (GRAI), Nuclear Science Abstracts (NSA), and
to a limited extent, Biological Abstracts and Chemical Abstracts, their coverage is inadequate.
Of late, exclusive periodicals covering R&D reports are being published by national
bibliographical control agencies (for example, the British R & D Reports of British Library
Documents Supply Centre (BLDSC). Though there are agencies (UK: BLDSE: USA: NTIS &
UMI: CANADA: CISTI) dealing with bibliographical control and also supplying technical
reports when demanded, in India, no such central agency is available to cater to the needs of
the users. Though a national document delivery centre for technical reports was suggested
to be created, no action has been taken on it yet. .However Department of Science &
Technology is striving to bring out reference tools in this direction. As technical report
literature can promote greater industrial cross-fertilisation in overcoming the technology
gap, a national centre for the bibliographic control and supply of these reports is very much
needed.
Paper Developing a Research Proposal
PART I: INTRODUCTION
A. Make sure the proposal starts on a general level with some type of introductory remarks
before going into the details of the specific research question you are proposing. This
can be accomplished by providing a frame of reference, a definition, or a discussion of
the significance of the topic in the field.
B. Provide a statement of the question, issue or general problem that you are examining. A
common problem in research proposals is for the author to delay too long in stating the
specific research question. Make sure the research question is stated no later than the
end of the second or third paragraph. Make sure the research question is fully stated in
one place.
C. Discuss what other studies have said about your research topic and how your research
relates to that of other scholars who have written on the topic.
PART II: LITERATURE REVIEW
A. The literature review is written to place your study within the context of existing
knowledge and other studies in your discipline. It gives recognition to other scholars
and it also allows you to point out what is new about your research. Be sure to indicate if
you are building on a previous study or a well-established theory; addressing certain
gaps in knowledge that exist; or adding to existing knowledge by doing a study with a
different or more complete methodology.
B. Ideally, at least five other studies should be discussed in the literature review. After you
have written the literature review read it carefully and make sure it is clear. Notice
whether you can easily determine how the proposal is building on earlier studies, as
well as exploring a line of research that is new.
C. When you mention other studies they are usually cited by the author’s last name and the
date of publication. For example: “Another important study in the area (Chan and Gibbs,
2003) found that…” Later on, in the bibliography, you will provide a full citation to all
the studies you cited in your proposal.
PART III: METHODOLOGY / THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Provide a full description of your general research design, as well as the specific
methods and procedures used in your research project. The methodology should be
sufficiently detailed so that it can be replicated. If you are following a methodological
approach developed by others, cite the relevant studies. Provide diagrams, charts, and
illustrations as appropriate for your discipline. List the instrumentation you used and
provide a diagram of the experimental setup.
B. Describe your theoretical approach or type of analysis, if applicable (feminist, Marxist,
Freudian, etc.). Discuss the types of sources used (primary or secondary texts,
interviews, surveys, personal notes, etc.).
C. Explain the details of your methods. For example: how you made measurements; the
concentrations and amounts you used; how you selected your research subjects;
psychological tests used; a copy of your survey questionnaire; an explanation of
statistics used; a definition of your focus in terms of historical period or framework; etc.
D. Explain any limitations that your study has in terms of the reliability and applicability of
the results.
PART IV: BIBLIOGRAPHY
(Also known as “Works Cited,” “References,” or “Literature Cited”)
A. On a separate sheet, list the articles or books that you have cited in your proposal.
B. Generally this is done in alphabetical order by the last name of the author. However,
each field has different format requirements. If your mentor has not already told you the
style to use, the best thing to do is look at research articles you have been assigned to
read.
Format of research proposal
Writing a research proposal is rightfully considered as one of the most complex tasks and
requires mastery of multiple skills. It is a paper, which aims to deliver a brief information on
the research you want to conduct, explaining the main reasons why it will be useful for the
reader and for the society. A correct research proposal should contain:
1. the main idea of the paper
2. reasons why the research should be conducted
3. used methodology.
Should give an overview of studies and interest others to go on reading. A research
paper is usually the first step for students to get funding for their project, so it is crucial to
create a thoughtful and deep paper.
Should pay attention to the common mistakes and use a research proposal template if
needed in order to avoid them. First, you need to be precise and perform a clear vision of
what you are going to describe (provide a clear idea, time, place and so on). You should
always stay focused on the problem, avoiding too many details on minor issues. You
shouldn’t forget about correcting any grammar or lexical mistakes, which will definitely
spoil the overall impression. Finally, you should pay careful attention to citing other works
in your study to show that you have conducted a thoughtful research and know the subject
perfectly.
In this article, we will give you an overview of how to write a proposal for a research paper
and make it stand out from the rest.
It is impossible to conduct a thorough paper without using a sample research proposal. It
will greatly help to shape research and give its readers the best impression.
A research proposal format consists of six main parts:
 Introduction. It is should be both brief and catchy. You need to grab reader’s interest
and make him go on reading. In this section you should describe the main problem you
are going to work on, the methodology and the importance of your research to persuade
the reader that the results of the study may be useful;
 Background. In this section, you should give a more detailed overview of the problem. It
is not an essay, so you should follow a clear structure and use a research paper example
if needed. In this part you should give more details about the aim of your study, explain
why it is worth completing, enumerate the main problems you want to face and offer a
brief plan of your future research;
 Review of the sources. This section is usually very difficult to complete, as it contains
lots of information and you need to structure it thoughtfully. A research proposal outline
can be of a great use to see how you need to process the literature in order to make the
whole structure clear and simple. Here you need to show that there are researches,
based on your field of interest but they lack the data you are going to perform;
 Research methods. This section is very important, because you need to provide
effective methods that will be used in your research study. Try to list methods that were
not previously used by other researches and order new research design, based on
literature overview;
 Assumptions and consequences. Even though it is a proposal and not a research
proposal sample, it doesn’t mean that you should avoid describing the results of the
project. In this section you need to clarify what impact will your study have, what are the
suggestions and potential changes in the field. You should also give information how it
will influence the lives of others and how the results will be used;
 Conclusion. This section should be brief and straight to the point. You need to
emphasize why your research is important and why it should be done. You should also
write a few sentences on the potential field of its implementation and why people will
benefit from it.
Presentation for assessment by a review committee
The Presentation for assessment review committee consists of the following parts:
 Objective
 Justification
 Introduction
 Background /Review of literature
 Methodology
 Time frame and work schedule/Gantt chart
 Personnel needed / available
 Facilities needed / available
 Budget
Objectives
 This is a very important and pivotal section and everything else in the study is
centered around it
 The objective of the proposed study should be stated very clearly
 The objective stated should be specific, achievable and measurable
 Too many objectives to be avoided
 Even just one clearly stated relevant objective for a study would be good enough
 If there is more than one objective the objectives can be presented in the appropriate
order of importance.
Introduction
 The problem proposed to be studied is introduced in this section
 It should help the reader to acquaint with the topic
 Introduction should be short about one or two pages
 The problem should be stated in such a way that it’s importance and relevance is
realized by anyone who reads it
Background (Review of Literature)
 This section reflects extensive review of literature done by the investigator
 In this section what is already known about the topic is written including the lacunae
 Just quoting the literature verbatim will not serve the purpose
 It is important to make it coherent, relevant and easily readable knowledge
 It helps the investigator to gain good knowledge in that field of inquiry
 It also helps the investigator to have insight on different methodologies that could be
applied
Research methodology
 Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may
be understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically
 It is necessary for the researcher to know not only the research methods/techniques
but also the methodology.
 Researchers not only need to know how to develop certain indices or tests and how
to calculate the mean, the mode, the median or the standard deviation or chi-square
etc.,
 It is essential to discuss procedures clearly and completely with considerable
amount of details
 Study design
 A study design is a specific plan or protocol for conducting the study, which
allows the investigator to translate the conceptual hypothesis into an
operational one.
 The study design should be clearly stated
 The study design to be used should be appropriate for achieving the objective of
the study
 Study population / Sampling specifications
 It is important to describe which would be the study population
 How study subjects would be selected, randomization process and other details
should be given
 Sample size
 It is important to mention in the protocol what would be the minimum sample
required and how it is arrived
 Determination of sample size is a bargain between precision and the price
(Resources & expenses involved)
 Instrumentation
 Specific procedures
 Proposal should include the details of all process to be adopted in the study
 How exposures, outcome variables and other variables are going to be measured
should be described in detail
 A brief description of how the data will be processed and use of statistical
package if any should be given
 What statistical tests of significance would be used?
Time Frame & Work Schedule
The proposal should include the sequence of tasks to be performed, the anticipated
length of time required for its completion and the personnel required
 It can be presented in tabular or graphic form (Gantt chart)
 Flow charts and other diagrams are often useful for highlighting the sequencing and
interrelationship of different activities in the study
Facilities needed / available
The proposal should also include the important facilities required / available for the
study namely computers, laboratories, special equipment etc.
Personnel needed / available
 Proposal should include who are the primary investigators and co- investigators,
their qualifications, research experience etc
 The proposal may also include the Major roles to be taken up by different
investigators
Budget
 The budget translates project activities into monetary terms
 It is a statement of how much money will be required to accomplish the various
tasks
 Major items
 Salary for staff
 Travel
 Purchase of equipment
 Printing / Xeroxing
 Consultancy charges
 Institutional overheads
UNIT-III
Nature of Intellectual Property
Intellectual property Right (IPR) is a term used for various legal entitlements which
attach to certain types of information, ideas, or other intangibles in their expressed form.
The holder of this legal entitlement is generally entitled to exercise various exclusive rights
in relation to the subject matter of the Intellectual Property. The term intellectual property
reflects the idea that this subject matter is the product of the mind or the intellect, and that
Intellectual Property rights may be protected at law in the same way as any other form of
property. Intellectual property laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, such that the
acquisition, registration or enforcement of IP rights must be pursued or obtained separately
in each territory of interest.
Intellectual property rights (IPR) can be defined as the rights given to people over the
creation of their minds. They usually give the creator an exclusive right over the use of
his/her creations for a certain period of time.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property is an intangible creation of the human mind, usually expressed
or translated into a tangible form that is assigned certain rights of property. Examples of
intellectual property include an author's copyright on a book or article, a distinctive logo
design representing a soft drink company and its products, unique design elements of a web
site, or a patent on the process to manufacture chewing gum.
Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual property rights (IPR) can be defined as the rights given to people over the
creation of their minds. They usually give the creator an exclusive right over the use of
his/her creations for a certain period of time.
Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic
works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce.
Categories of Intellectual Property
One can broadly classify the various forms of IPRs into two categories:
• IPRs that stimulate inventive and creative activities (patents, utility models, industrial
designs, copyright, plant breeders’ rights and layout designs for integrated circuits) and
• IPRs that offer information to consumers (trademarks and geographical indications).
IPRs in both categories seek to address certain failures of private markets to provide
for an efficient allocation of resources
IP is divided into two categories for ease of understanding:
1. Industrial Property
2. Copyright
Industrial property, which includes inventions (patents), trademarks, industrial designs,
and geographic indications of source; and
Copyright, which includes literary and artistic works such as novels, poems and plays, films,
musical works, artistic works such as drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures, and
architectural designs. Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists in their
performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings, and those of broadcasters in
their radio and television programs
Intellectual property shall include the right relating to:
i. Literary, artistic and scientific works;
ii. Performance of performing artists;
iii. Inventions in all fields of human endeavour;
iv. Scientific discoveries;
v. Industrial designs;
vi. rademarks, service marks and etc;
vii. Protection against unfair competition.
Property
Property designates those things that are commonly recognized as being the
possessions of an individual or a group. A right of ownership is associated with property that
establishes the good as being "one's own thing" in relation to other individuals or groups,
assuring the owner the right to dispense with the property in a manner he or she deems fit,
whether to use or not use, exclude others from using, or to transfer ownership.
Properties are of two types - tangible property and intangible property i.e. one that is
physically present and the other which is not in any physical form. Building, land, house,
cash, jewellery are few examples of tangible properties which can be seen and felt physically.
On the other hand there is a kind of valuable property that cannot be felt physically as it does
not have a physical form. Intellectual property is one of the forms of intangible property
which commands a material value which can also be higher than the value of a tangible asset
or property.
Rights protected under Intellectual Property
The different types of Intellectual Property Rights are:
i. Patents
ii. Copyrights
iii. Trademarks
iv. Industrial designs
v. Protection of Integrated Circuits layout design
vi. Geographical indications of goods
vii. Biological diversity
viii. Plant varieties and farmers rights
ix. Undisclosed information
a. Intellectual Property
1. Inventions
2. Trademarks
3. Industrial design
4. Geographical indications
b. Copyright
1. Writings
2. Paintings
3. Musical works
4. Dramatics works
5. Audio-visual works
6. Sound recordings
7. Photographic works
8. Broadcast
9. Sculpture
10. Drawings
11. Architectural works etc.
IPR as Instruments of Development
a. Key drivers of economic performance in R&D based growth models
b. Intellectual property policies do affect the extent and nature of investments
undertaken by multinational enterprises. At the same time, relative to other factors
determining foreign investment decisions, IPRs seem to be of relatively minor
importance.
Duration of Intellectual Property Rights in a nutshell
1) Term of every patent will be 20 years from the date of filing of patent application,
irrespective of whether it is filed with provisional or complete specification. Date of
patent is the date on which the application for patent is filed.
2) Term of every trademark registration is 10 years from the date of making of the
application which is deemed to be the date of registration.
3) Copyright generally lasts for a period of sixty years.
4) The registration of a geographical indication is valid for a period of 10 years.
5) The duration of registration of Chip Layout Design is for a period of 10 years counted
from the date of filing an application for registration or from the date of first
commercial exploitation anywhere in India or in any convention country or country
specified by Government of India whichever is earlier.
6) The duration of protection of registered varieties is different for different crops namely
18 years for trees and vines, 15 years for other crops and extant varieties.
PATENTS
Patent
Patent is a grant for an invention by the Government to the inventor in exchange for
full disclosure of the invention. A patent is an exclusive right granted by law to applicants /
assignees to make use of and exploit their inventions for a limited period of time (generally
20 years from filing). The patent holder has the legal right to exclude others from
commercially exploiting his invention for the duration of this period. In return for exclusive
rights, the applicant is obliged to disclose the invention to the public in a manner that
enables others, skilled in the art, to replicate the invention. The patent system is designed to
balance the interests of applicants / assignees (exclusive rights) and the interests of society
(disclosure of invention).
Meaning of ‘Invention’ under Patent Law
Sec.2(1)(J)- Invention” means a new product or process involving an inventive step
and capable of industrial application
What is not an ‘Invention’?
According to Sec 3 of the Patent Act, 1970
 Frivolous inventions
 Inventions contrary to well established natural laws
 Commercial exploitation or primary use of inventions,
 which is contrary to public order or morality
 which causes serious prejudice to health or human, animal, plant life or to the
environment
 Mere Discovery of a Scientific Principle or
 Formulation of an Abstract Theory or
 Discovery of any living thing or
 Discovery of non–living substance occurring in nature
 Mere discovery of any new property or new use for a known substance or of the mere
use of a known process, machine or apparatus, unless such known process results in a
new product or employs at least one new reactant.
 Substance obtained by mere admixture resulting only in the aggregation of the
properties of the components thereof or a process for producing such substance
 Mere arrangement or re-arrangement or
duplication of known devices, each
functioning independently of one another in a known way
 Method of Agriculture or Horticulture
 Any process for medicinal, surgical, curative, prophylactic, diagnostic, therapeutic or
other treatment of human beings or a similar treatment of animals to render them free
of disease or to increase their economic value or that of their products
 Plants & animals in whole or any part thereof other than micro- organisms, but including
seeds, varieties an d species and essentially biological process for production or
propagation of plants & animals
 mathematical method or
 business method or
 algorithms or
 computer programme per se
 A literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or any other aesthetic creation including
cinematographic work and television productions
 Presentation of information
 Topography of integrated circuits.
 Inventions which are Traditional Knowledge or an aggregation or duplication of known
properties of traditionally known component or components.
What is meant by ‘New”?
The invention to be patented must not be published in India or elsewhere, or in prior
public knowledge or prior public use with in India or claimed before in any specification in
India
A feature of an invention that involves technical advance as compared to the existing
knowledge or have economic significance or both and makes the invention not obvious to a
person skilled in the art.
What can be patented?
Any invention concerning with composition, construction or manufacture of a
substance, of an article or of an apparatus or an industrial type of process.
What cannot be patented?
Inventions falling within Section 20(1) of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962
Who are the beneficiaries of the patent grant?
1. The inventor is secure from competition and can exploit the invention for his gain.
2. For the public the invention becomes public knowledge. The technology is freely
available after expiry of patent and cheaper and better products become available.
Patent System in India
The Patent System in India is governed by the Patents Act, 1970 as amended by the
Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005 and the Patents Rules, 2003, as amended by the Patents
(Amendment) Rules 2006 effective from 05-05-2006.
Administration
Patent system in India is administered under the superintendence of the
Controller General of Patents, Designs, Trademarks and Geographical Indications.
The Office of the Controller General functions under the Department of
Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. There are four
patent offices in India. The Head Office is located at Kolkata and other Patent Offices
are located at Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. The Controller General delegates his
powers to Sr. Joint Controller, Joint Controllers, Deputy Controllers and Assistant
Controllers. Examiners of patents in each office discharge their duties according to
the direction of the Controllers.
The Patent Information system (PIS) at Nagpur has been functioning as patent
information base for the users. The PIS maintains a comprehensive collection of
patent specification and patent related literature, on a world-wide basis and provides
technological information contained in patent or patent related literature through
search services and patent copy supply services to various users of R&D
establishments, Government offices, private industries, business, inventors and other
users within India.
Hierarchy of Officers in Patent office
 Controller General of Patents, Designs, Trademarks & GI
 Examiners of Patents & Designs
 Assistant Controller of Patents & Designs
 Deputy Controller of Patents & Designs
 Joint Controller of Patents & Designs
 Senior Joint Controller of Patents & Designs
Jurisdiction of Patent offices in India
An applicant or first mentioned applicant in case of joint applicants can file
application for patent at the appropriate Patent Office under whose jurisdiction he
normally resides or has his domicile or has a place of business or the place from
where the invention actually originated. For the applicant, who is non-resident or has
no domicile or has no place of business in India, the address for service in India or
place of business of his patent agent determines the appropriate patent office where
applications for patent can be filed.
Types of Patent Applications
1. Ordinary Application
2. Application for Patent of Addition (granted for Improvement or Modification of
the already patented invention, for an unexpired term of the main patent).
3. Divisional Application (in case of plurality of inventions disclosed in the main
application).
4. Convention application, claiming priority date on the basis of filing in
Convention Countries.
5. National Phase Application under PCT.
Who can apply for Patent?
The inventor may make an application, either alone or jointly with another, or
his/their assignee or legal representative of any deceased inventor or his assignee.
How is a patent obtained?
 File an application for patent
 With one of the patent offices based on territorial jurisdiction of the place of
office or residence of the applicant /agent
 Pay the required fee
 Information concerning application form and details of fee available at
www.ipindia.nic.in
 Guidelines for applicants also available on this website
The Patent Office then
 Conducts searches to ascertain the prerequisites
 Publishes the application
 Conducts in-depth examination
 Raises objection to the application - Grants the patent
General precautions for an applicant
The first to file system is employed, in which, among persons having filed the
same invention, first one is granted a patent, therefore, a patent application should be
filed promptly after conceiving the invention. It is common experience that through
ignorance of patent law, inventors act unknowingly and jeopardize the chance of
obtaining patents for their inventions. The most common of these indiscretions is to
publish their inventions in newspapers or scientific and technical journals, before
applying for patents. Publication of an invention, even by the inventor himself, would
(except under certain rare circumstances) constitute a bar for the subsequent
patenting of it. Similarly, the use of the invention in Public, or the commercial use of
the invention, prior to the date of filing patent application would be a fatal objection
to the grant of a patent for such invention, thereafter. There is, however, no objection
to the secret working of the invention by way of reasonable trial or experiment, or to
the disclosure of the invention to others, confidentially.
Another mistake, which is frequently made by the inventors, is to wait until
their inventions are fully developed for commercial working, before applying for
patents. It is, therefore, advisable to apply for a patent as soon as the inventor's idea
of the nature of the invention has taken a definite shape.
It is permissible to file an application for a patent accompanied by a
"Provisional Specification" describing the invention. The application may, therefore,
be made even before the full details of working of the invention are developed. The
filing of an application for a patent disclosing the invention would secure priority
date of the invention, and thereby, enable the inventor to work out the practical
details of the invention and to file complete specification within 12 months from the
date of filing of provisional specification.
What is meant by patentable invention?
A new product or process, involving an inventive step and capable of being
made or used in an industry. It means the invention to be patentable should be
technical in nature and should meet the following criteria –
 Novelty: The matter disclosed in the specification is not published in India or
elsewhere before the date of filing of the patent application in India.
 Inventive Step: The invention is not obvious to a person skilled in the art in the
light of the prior publication/knowledge/ document.
 Industrially applicable: Invention should possess utility, so that it can be made or
used in an industry.
What is not patentable?
The following are Non-Patentable inventions within the meaning of Section 3
of Patents Act, 1970 a. an invention which is frivolous or which claims anything obviously contrary to
well established natural laws;
b. an invention the primary or intended use or commercial exploitation of which
could be contrary to public order or morality or which causes serious prejudice
to human, animal or plant life or health or to the environment; (For e.g. process of
making brown sugar will not be patented.)
c. The mere discovery of a scientific principle or the formulation of an abstract
theory (or discovery of any living thing or non-living substances occurring in
nature);
d. the mere discovery of a new form of a known substance which does not result in
the enhancement of the known efficacy of that substance or the mere discovery of
any new property or mere new use for a known substance or of the mere use of a
known process, machine or apparatus unless such known process results in a
new product or employs at least one new reactant;
e. a substance obtained by a mere admixture resulting only in the aggregation of the
properties of the components thereof or a process for producing such substance;
f. the mere arrangement or re-arrangement or duplication of known devices each
functioning independently of one another in a known way;
g. a method of agriculture or horticulture; (For e.g. the method of terrace farming
cannot be patented.)
h. any process for the medicinal, surgical, curative, prophylactic, diagnostic,
therapeutic or other treatment of human beings or any process for a similar
treatment of animals to render them free of disease or to increase their economic
value or that of their products; (For e.g. any new technique of hand surgery is not
patentable)
i. plants and animals in whole or any part thereof other than micro-organisms but
including seeds, varieties and species and essentially biological processes for
production or propagation of plants and animals;
j. a mathematical or business method or a computer programme per se or
algorithms;
k. a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or any other aesthetic creation
whatsoever including cinematographic works and television productions;
l. a mere scheme or rule or method of performing mental act or method of playing
game;
m. a presentation of information;
n. topography of integrated circuits;
o. an invention which in effect, is traditional knowledge or which is an aggregation
or duplication of known properties of traditionally known component or
components.
p. Inventions relating to atomic energy and the inventions prejudicial to the interest
of security of India.
Appropriate office for filing an application & for other Proceedings
Application is required to be filed according to the territorial limits where the
applicant or the first mentioned applicant in case of joint applicants, for a patent
normally resides or has domicile or has a place of business or the place from where
the invention actually originated. If the applicant for the patent or party in a
proceeding having no business place or domicile in India, the appropriate office will
be according to the address for service in India given by the applicant or party in a
proceeding . The appropriate office once decided in respect of any proceedings under
the Act shall not ordinarily be changed. The four patent offices are located at Kolkatta,
Mumbai, Delhi & Chennai.
From 20th July, 2007 the Indian Patent Office has put in place an online filing system
for patent application.
Publication and Examination of Patent Applications
Publication: All the applications for patent, except the applications prejudicial to the
defence of India or abandoned due to non-filing of complete specification within 12
months after filing the provisional or withdrawn within 15 months of filing the
application, are published in the Patent Office Journal just after 18 months from the
date of filing of the application or the date of priority whichever is earlier. The
publication includes the particulars of the date of the application, application number,
name and address of the applicant along with the abstract. The applications for patent
are not open for public inspection before publication. After the date of publication of
the application, as stated above, the complete specification along with provisional and
drawing, if any, abstract, application on any form or on plain paper and any
correspondence between the office and applicant may be inspected at the appropriate
office by making a written request to the Controller in the prescribed manner and on
the payment of prescribed fee.
Request for examination An application for patent will not be examined if no
request is made by the applicant or by any other interested person in Form-18 with
prescribed fee of Rs.2,500/- or Rs.10,000/- for natural person and other than natural
person respectively, within a period of 48 months from the date of priority of the
application or from the date of filing of the application, whichever is earlier. Where no
request for examination of the application for patent has been filed within the
prescribed period, the aforesaid application will be treated as withdrawn and,
thereafter, application cannot be revived.
Examination Application for patent, where request has been made by the applicant
or by any other interested person, will be taken up for examination, according to the
serial number of the requests received on Form 18. A First Examination Report (FER)
stating the objections/requirements is communicated to the applicant or his agent
according to the address for service ordinarily within six (06) months from the date
of request for examination or date of publication whichever is later. Application or
complete specification should be amended in order to meet the
objections/requirements within a period of 12 months from the date of First
Examination Report (FER). No further extension of time is available in this regard. If
all the objections are not complied with within the period of 12 months, the
application shall be deemed to have been abandoned. When all the requirements are
met the patent is granted, after 6 months from the date of publication, the letter
patent is issued, entry is made in the register of patents and it is notified in the Patent
Office, Journal.
Withdrawal of patent application
The application for patent can be withdrawn at least 3 (Three) months before
the first publication which will be 18 (Eighteen) months from the date of filing or date
of priority whichever is earlier. The application can also be withdrawn at any time
before the grant of the patent. The application withdrawn after the date of publication
cannot be filed again as it is already laid open for public inspection. However,
application withdrawn before the publication can be filed again provided it is not
opened to public otherwise.
Opposition proceedings to grant of patents
Where an application for a patent has been published but a patent has not
been granted, any person may, in writing represent by way of opposition to the
Controller against the grant of any Patent. The representation shall be filed at the
appropriate office and shall include a statement and evidence, if any, in support of the
representation and a request for hearing if so desired. The above representation may
be made on the following grounds
a. that the applicant for the patent or the person under or through whom he claims,
wrongfully obtained the invention or any part thereof from him or from a person
under or through whom he claims;
b. that the invention so far as claimed in any claim of the complete specification has
been published before the priority date of the claim—
1. in any specification filed in pursuance of an application for a patent made in
India on or after the 1st day of January, 1912; or
2. in India or elsewhere, in any other document: Provided that the ground
specified in sub-clause
3. shall not be available where such publication does not constitute an anticipation
of the invention by virtue of sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) of section 29;
c. that the invention so far as claimed in any claim of the complete specification is
claimed in a claim of a complete specification published on or after the priority
date of the applicant's claim and filed in pursuance of an application for a patent in
India, being a claim of which the priority date is earlier than that of the applicant's
claim;
d. that the invention so far as claimed in any claim of the complete specification was
publicly known or publicly used in India before the priority date of that claim.
Explanation —For the purposes of this clause, an invention relating to a process
for which a patent is claimed shall be deemed to have been publicly known or
publicly used in India before the priority date of the claim if a product made by
that process had already been imported into India before that date except where
such importation has been for the purpose of reasonable trial or experiment only;
e. that the invention so far as claimed in any claim of the complete specification is
obvious and clearly does not involve any inventive step, having regard to the
matter published as mentioned in clause (b) or having regard to what was used in
India before the priority date of the applicant's claim;
f. that the subject of any claim of the complete specification is not an invention
within the meaning of this Act, or is not patentable under this Act
g. that the complete specification does not sufficiently and clearly describe the
invention or the method by which it is to be performed;
h. that the applicant has failed to disclose to the Controller the information required
by section 8 or has furnished the information which in any material particular was
false to his knowledge;
i. that in the case of convention application, the application was not made within
twelve months from the date of the first application for protection for the
invention made in a convention country by the applicant or a person from whom
he derives title;
j. that the complete specification does not disclose or wrongly mentions the source
or geographical origin of biological material used for the invention;
k. that the invention so far as claimed in any claim of the complete specification is
anticipated having regard to the knowledge, oral or otherwise, available within any
local or indigenous community in India or elsewhere, but on no other ground.
The Controller shall, if requested by such person for being heard, hear him and
dispose of such representation. If the opposition is decided in favour of the applicant,
the patent is granted and the grant of Patent is published in the Patent Office Journal
thereby opening the application, specification and other related documents for public
inspection on payment of prescribed fee.
Post grant opposition - Any interested person can file notice of opposition
(along with written statement and evidence, if any) any time after the grant of Patent
but before the expiry of a period of one year from the date of publication of grant of a
Patent in the Patent Office Journal .The above notice under Section 25(2) should be
filed on Form-7 along with a fee of Rs. 1500/ or Rs 6000/- for natural person and
other than natural person respectively, in duplicate at the appropriate office. The
grounds of opposition under section 25 (2) are the same as given before in case of pre
grant opposition. The post grant opposition is decided by an Opposition Board
followed by a hearing and the reasoned decision by the Controller.
Grant of Patent
When all the requirements are met or in case of opposition under section
25(1), if the opposition is decided in favour of the applicant, the patent is granted,
after 6 months from the date of publication under section 11 A, the letter patent is
issued, entry is made in the register of patents and it is notified in the Patent Office,
Journal, thereafter opening the application, specification and other related documents
for public inspection on payment of prescribed fee.
Term and Date of Patent
Term of every patent will be 20 years from the date of filing of patent
application, irrespective of whether it is filed with provisional or complete
specification. Date of patent is the date on which the application for patent is filed.
The term of patent in case of International applications filed under the Patent
Cooperation Treaty designating India, will be 20 years from the International filing
date accorded under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. A patent will have cease to effect
on the expiration of the period prescribed for the payment of any renewal fee, if that
fee is not paid within the prescribed period.
Renewal and restoration
To keep the patent in force, Renewal fee is to be paid every year. The first
renewal fee is payable for the third year and must be paid before the expiration of the
second year from the date of patent If the patent has not been granted within two
years the renewal fees may be accumulated and paid immediately after the patent is
granted, or within three months of its record in Register of Patents or within
extended period of 9 months, by paying extension fees of six month on Form 4, from
the date of record. If the renewal fee is not paid within the prescribed time, the patent
will cease to have effect. However, provision to restore the patent is possible
provided application is made within eighteen months from the date of cessation.
Renewal fee is counted from the date of filing of the Patent application. Six
month's grace time is available with extension fee for payment of renewal fee. No
renewal fees is payable on Patents of Addition, unless the original patent is revoked
and if the Patent of Addition is converted into an independent patent; renewal fee,
then, becomes payable for the remainder of the term of the main patent. Application
for restoration of a patent that lapses due to non-payment of renewal fees must be
made within 18 months of lapse. The application is to be filed in the appropriate
office according to the jurisdiction.
Designs
What is Design?
A Design refers to the features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornamentation or
composition of lines or colours applied to any article, whether in two or three dimensional
(or both) forms. This may be applied by any industrial process or means (manual,
mechanical or chemical) separately or by a combined process, which in the finished article
appeals to and judged solely by the eye. Design does not include any mode or principle of
construction or anything which is mere mechanical device. It also does not include any trade
mark or any artistic work. An industrial design registration protects the ornamental or
aesthetic aspect of an article. Designs may consist of three-dimensional features, such as the
shape or surface of an article, or of two dimensional features, such as patterns, lines or color.
Designs are applied to a wide variety of products of different industries like handicrafts,
medical instruments, watches, jewellery, house wares, electrical appliances, vehicles and
architectural structures. An industrial design is primarily for aesthetic features.
Design law in India
The essential purpose of design law it to promote and protect the design element of
industrial production. It is also intended to promote innovative activity in the field of
industries.
The Designs Act, 2000 and the Designs Rules, 2001 presently govern the design law in
India. The Act came into force on 25th May 2000 while the Rules came into effect on 11th
May 2001. The object of the Designs Act to protect new or original designs so created to be
applied or applicable to particular article to be manufactured by Industrial Process or
means. Sometimes purchase of articles for use is influenced not only by their practical
efficiency but also by their appearance.
Need for registration of Design
The registration of a design confers upon the registered proprietor the exclusive right
to apply a design to the article in the class in which the design has been registered. A
registered proprietor of the design is entitled to a better protection of his intellectual
property. He can sue for infringement, if his right is infringed by any person. He can license
or sell his design as legal property for a consideration or royalty. Registration initially
confers this right for ten years from the date of registration. It is renewable for a further
period of five years. If the fee for extension is not paid for the further period of registration
within the period of initial registration, this right will cease. There is provision for the
restoration of a lapsed design if the application for restoration is filed within one year from
the date of cessation in the prescribed manner.
Essential requirements for registration of Design
A design should  Be new or original
 Not be disclosed to the public anywhere by publication in tangible form or by use or in
any other way prior to the filling date, or where applicable, the priority date of the
application for registration.
 Be significantly distinguishable from known Designs or combination of known designs.
 Not comprise or contain scandalous or obscene matter.
 Not be a mere mechanical contrivance.
 Be applied to an article and should appeal to the eye.
 Not be contrary to public order or morality.
Exclusion from scope of Design
Designs that are primarily literary or artistic in character are not protected under the
Designs Act. These will include:
 Books, jackets, calendars, certificates, forms-and other documents, dressmaking
patterns, greeting cards, leaflets, maps and plan cards, postcards, stamps, medals.
 Labels, tokens, cards, cartoons.
 Any principle or mode of construction of an article.
 Mere mechanical contrivance.
 Buildings and structures.
 Parts of articles not manufactured and sold separately.
 Variations commonly used in the trade.
 Mere workshop alterations of components of an assembly.
 Mere change in size of article.
 Flags, emblems or signs of any country.
 Layout designs of integrated circuits.
Who can apply for registration?
Any person or the legal representative or the assignee can apply separately or jointly
for the registration of a design. The term "person" includes firm, partnership and a body
corporate. An application may also be filed through an agent in which case a power of
attorney is required to be filed. An Application for registration of design may be prepared
either by the applicant or with the professional help of attorneys.
Register of Design
The Register of Designs is a document maintained by the Patent Office, Kolkata as a
statutory requirement. It contains the design number, date of filing and reciprocity date (if
any), name and address of proprietor and such other matters as would affect the validity of
proprietorship of the design such as notifications of assignments and of transmissions of
registered designs, etc. and it is open for public inspection on payment of prescribed fee and
extract from register may also be obtained on request with the prescribed fee.
Procedure for submission of application of registration
Any person who desires to register a design is required to submit the following
documents to the Design Wing of the Patent Office at "Intellectual Property Office", CP-2,
Sector V, Salt Lake, Kolkata - 700 091 or any of the Branch Offices of the Patent Office at
Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. The applications received by the Branch Offices will be
transmitted to the Head Office for processing and prosecuting.
i. Application duly filed in on the prescribed form (Form-I) along with the prescribed fees,
stating name in full, address, nationality, name of the article, class number, address for
service in India. The application should also be signed either by the applicant or by his
authorized agent.
ii. Representation (in quadruplicate of size 33 cm x 20.5 cm with a suitable margin) of the
article. Drawings \ sketches should clearly show the features of the design from
different views and state the view (e.g. front or Side).
iii. A statement of novelty and disclaimer (if any) in respect of mechanical action,
trademark, work, letter, numerals should be endorsed on each representation sheet
which should be duly signed and dated.
iv. Power of attorney (if necessary).
v. Priority documents (if any) in case of convention application claimed under Section 44
of the Designs Act, 2000.
Cancellation of registration of Design
The registration of a design may be cancelled at any time after the registration of
design on a petition for cancellation in form 8 with a fee of Rs. 1,500/-to the Controller of
Designs on the following grounds:
1. That the design has been previously registered in India or
2. That it has been published in India or elsewhere prior to date of registration or
3. The design is not new or original or
4. Design is not registrable or
5. It is not a design under Clause (d) of Section 2.
Piracy of registered design
During the existence of copyright over any design, other persons are prohibited from
using the design except or with the permission of the proprietor, his licensee or assignee.
The following activities are considered to be infringement.
 To apply the design or any fraudulent imitation of it to any article for sale;
 To import for sale any article to which the design or fraudulent or obvious imitation of it,
has been applied;
 To publish or to expose for sale knowing that the design or any fraudulent or obvious
imitation of it has been applied to it.
Administration
The Patent Office, under the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of
Commerce & Industry, performs the statutory duties in connection with the grant of patents
for new inventions and registration of industrial designs. Patent Offices are located at
Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi to deal with the applications for patents originating
within their respective territorial jurisdictions.
Copyright
What is Copyright?
Copyright is the set of exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original
work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. Copyright lasts for a certain
time period after which the work is said to enter the public domain. Copyright gives
protection for the expression of an idea and not for the idea itself. For example, many
authors write textbooks on physics covering various aspects like mechanics, heat, optics etc.
Even though these topics are covered in several books by different authors, each author will
have a copyright on the book written by him / her, provided the book is not a copy of some
other book published earlier.
Copyright ensures certain minimum safeguards of the rights of authors over their
creations, thereby protecting and rewarding creativity. Creativity being the keystone of
progress, no civilized society can afford to ignore the basic requirement of encouraging the
same. Economic and social development of a society is dependent on creativity. The
protection provided by copyright to the efforts of writers, artists, designers, dramatists,
musicians, architects and producers of sound recordings, cinematograph films and computer
software, creates an atmosphere conducive to creativity, which induces them to create more
and motivates others to create.
Copyright law in India
The Copyright Act of 1957, The Copyright Rules, 1958 and the International
Copyright Order, 1999 governs the copyright protection in India. It came into effect from
January 1958. The Act has been amended in 1983, 1984, 1992, 1994 and 1999. Before the
Act of 1957, copyright protection was governed by the Copyright Act of 1914 which was the
extension of British Copyright Act, 1911. The Copyright Act, 1957 consists of 79 sections
under 15 chapters while the Copyright Rules, 1958 consists of 28 rules under 9 chapters and
2 schedules.
Meaning of copyright
According to Section 14 of the Act, “copyright” means the exclusive right subject to the
provisions of this Act, to do or authorise the doing of any of the following acts in respect of a
work or any substantial part thereof, namely:a. in the case of a literary, dramatic or musical work, not being a computer programme, i. to reproduce the work in any material form including the storing of it in any medium
by electronic means;
ii. to issue copies of the work to the public not being copies already in circulation;
iii. to perform the work in public, or communicate it to the public;
iv. to make any cinematograph film or sound recording in respect of the work;
v. to make any translation of the work;
vi. to make any adaptation of the work;
vii. to do, in relation to a translation or an adaptation of the work, any of the acts
specified in relation to the work in sub-clauses (i) to (vi);
b. in the case of a computer programme,i. to do any of the acts specified in clause (a);
ii. to sell or give on commercial rental or offer for sale or for commercial rental any copy
of the computer programme:
Provided that such commercial rental does not apply in respect of computer
programmes where the programme itself is not the essential object of the rental.
c. in the case of an artistic work,i. to reproduce the work in any material form including depiction in three dimensions
of a two dimensional work or in two dimensions of a three dimensional work;
ii. to communicate the work to the public;
iii. to issue copies of the work to the public not being copies already in circulation; (iv) to
include the work in any cinematograph film;
iv. to make any adaptation of the work;
v. to do in relation to an adaptation of the work any of the acts specified in relation to
the work in sub-clauses (i) to (iv);
d. In the case of cinematograph film, i. to make a copy of the film, including a photograph of any image forming part thereof;
ii. to sell or give on hire, or offer for sale or hire, any copy of the film, regardless of
whether such copy has been sold or given on hire on earlier occasions;
iii. to communicate the film to the public;
e. In the case of sound recording, i. to make any other sound recording embodying it;
ii. to sell or give on hire, or offer for sale or hire, any copy of the sound recording
regardless of whether such copy has been sold or given on hire on earlier occasions;
iii. to communicate the sound recording to the public.
Explanation: For the purposes of this section, a copy which has been sold once shall be
deemed to be a copy already in circulation.
Classes of works for which copyright protection is available
Indian Copyright Act affords separate and exclusive copyright protection to the
following 7 clauses of work:
1. Original Literary Work
2. Original Dramatic Work
3. Original Musical Work
4. Original Artistic Work
5. Cinematograph Films
6. Sound recording
7. Computer Programme
Copyright will not subsist in any cinematograph film if a substantial part of the film is
an infringement of the copyright in any other work or in any sound recording made in
respect of a literary, dramatic or musical work, if in making the sound recording, copyright
in such work has been infringed. In case of work of architecture, copyright will subsist only
in the artistic character and design and will not extend to processes or methods of
construction.
Ownership of Copyright
The author of the work will be the first owner of the copyright in the following instances:
i. In the case of a literary, dramatic or artistic work made by the author in the course of his
employment by the proprietor of a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical under a
contract of service or apprenticeship, for the purpose of publication in a newspaper,
magazine or similar periodical, the said proprietor will, in the absence of any agreement
to the contrary, be the first owner of the copyright in the work in so far as the copyright
relates to the publication of the work in any newspaper, magazine or similar periodical,
or to the reproduction of the work for the purpose of its being so published, but in all
other respects the author will be the first owner of the copyright in the work.
ii.
In the case of a photograph taken, or a painting or portrait drawn, or an engraving or a
cinematograph film made, for valuable consideration at the instance of any person, such
person will, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of the
copyright therein.
iii. In the case of a work made in the course of the author’s employment under a contract of
service or apprenticeship, the employer will, in the absence of any agreement to the
contrary, be the first owner of the copyright therein.
iv. In the case of any address or speech delivered in public, the person who has delivered
such address or speech or if such person has delivered such address or speech on behalf
of any other person, such other person will be the first owner of the copyright therein
notwithstanding that the person who delivers such address or speech, or, as the case
may be, the person on whose behalf such address or speech is delivered, is employed by
any other person who arranges such address or speech or on whose behalf or premises
such address or speech is delivered.
v. In the case of a government work, government in the absence of any agreement to the
contrary, will be the first owner of the copyright therein.
vi. In the case of a work made or first published by or under the direction or control of any
public undertaking, such public undertaking in the absence of any agreement to the
contrary, will be the first owner of the copyright therein.
vii. In case of any work which is made or first published by or under the directions or
control of any international organisation, such international organisation will be the first
owner of the copyright therein.
Assignment of copyright
Sec.18 of the Copyright Act, 1957 deals with assignment of copyright. The owner of
the copyright in an existing work or the prospective owner of the copyright in a future work
may assign to any person the copyright either wholly or partially and either generally or
subject to limitations and either for the whole term of the copyright or any part thereof.
The mode of assignment should be in the following manner:
 Assignment should be given in writing and signed by the assignor or by his duly
authorized agent.
 The assignment should indentify the work and specify the rights assigned and the
duration and territorial extent of such assignment.
 The assignment should also specify the amount of royalty payable, if any, to the author
or his legal heirs during the currency of the assignment and the assignment may be
subject to revision, extension or termination on terms mutually agreed upon by the
parties.
 Where the assignee does not exercise the rights assigned to him within a period of one
year from the date of assignment, the assignment in respect of such rights will be
deemed to have lapsed after the expiry of the said period unless otherwise specified in
the assignment.
The period of assignment will be deemed to be 5 years from the date of assignment
unless specifically mentioned. If the territorial extent of assignment of the rights is not
specified, it will be presumed to extend within India.
If any dispute arises with respect to the assignment of any copyright the Copyright
Board may, on receipt of a complaint from the aggrieved party and after holding such
inquiry as it considers necessary, pass such order as it may deem fit including an order for
the recovery of any royalty payable, provided that the Copyright Board may not pass any
order to revoke the assignment unless it is satisfied that the terms of assignment are harsh
to the assignor, in case the assignor is also the author, provided further that no order of
revocation of assignment, be made within a period of five years from the date of such
assignment.
Transmission of copyright by testamentary disposition
Where under a bequest a person is entitled to the manuscript of a literary, dramatic
or musical work, or to an artistic work, and the work was not published before the death of
the testator, the bequest can, unless the contrary intention is indicated in the testator's will
or any codicil thereto, be construed as including the copyright in the work in so far as the
testator was the owner of the copyright immediately before his death. Manuscript means the
original document embodying the work, whether written by hand or not.
Relinquish copyright
The author of a work can relinquish all or any of the rights comprised in the copyright
in the work by giving notice in Form I to the Registrar of Copyrights and thereupon such
rights will cease to exist from the date of the notice. On receipt of notice the Registrar of
Copyrights will publish it in the Official Gazette and in such other manner as he may deem
fit. The relinquishment of all or any of the rights comprised in the copyright in a work will
not affect any rights subsisting in favour of any person on the date of the notice given to the
Registrar.
Term of copyright
Section 22 to 29 of the Copyright Act, 1957 deals with the term of copyright.
Copyright generally lasts for a period of sixty years.
 In the case of literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works, the sixty year period is
counted from the year following the death of the author.
 In the case of cinematograph films, sound recordings, photographs, posthumous
publications, anonymous and pseudonymous publications, works of government and
public undertakings and works of international organisations, the 60-year period is
counted from the date of publication.
 In case of Broadcast reproduction right - 25 years from the beginning of the calendar
year next following the year in which the broadcast is made
 In case of Performers right - 25 years from the beginning of the calendar year next
following the year in which the performance is made.
Rights of Broadcasting Organisation and of Performers
Every broadcasting organisation will have a special right to be known as 'broadcast
reproduction right' in respect of its broadcasts. The broadcast reproduction right will subsist
until twenty-five years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in
which the broadcast in made.
This would prevent any person other than the broadcasting organisation from:
 Re-broadcasting what has already been broadcasted
 Causing the broadcast to be seen or heard by the public on payment of charges
 Making any sound/visual recording of the broadcast
 Making any reproduction of such sound recording ro visual recording where such initial
recording was done without licence or, where it was licensed, for any purpose not
envisaged by such licence
 Selling or hiring or offering to sell or hire sound/visual recordings.
Where any performer appears or engages in any performance, he will have a special
right known as the 'performer's right' in relation to such performance. The performer's right
will subsist until fifty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year
in which the performance is made. These rights are:
 No person may make a sound/visual recording of the performer’s performances
 Reproduce a sound/visual recording
 Broadcast the performance
 Communicate to the public otherwise than by broadcast
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of Computer Software
In India, the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of computer software is covered under
the Copyright Law. Accordingly, the copyright of computer software is protected under the
provisions of Indian Copyright Act 1957. Major changes to Indian Copyright Law were
introduced in 1994 and came into effect from 10 May 1995. These changes or amendments
made the Indian Copyright law one of the toughest in the world.
The amendments to the Copyright Act introduced in June 1994 were, in themselves, a
landmark in the India's copyright arena. For the first time in India, the Copyright Law clearly
explained:
 The rights of a copyright holder
 Position on rentals of software
 The rights of the user to make backup copies
Since most software is easy to duplicate, and the copy is usually as good as original, the
Copyright Act was needed.
Some of the key aspects of the law are:
 According to section 14 of this Act, it is illegal to make or distribute copies of
copyrighted software without proper or specific authorization.
 The violator can be tried under both civil and criminal law.
 A civil and criminal action may be instituted for injunction, actual damages (including
violator's profits) or statutory damages per infringement etc.
 Heavy punishment and fines for infringement of software copyright.
 Section 63 B stipulates a minimum jail term of 7 days, which can be extended up to 3
years
Copyright Infringements
Some of the commonly known acts involving infringement of copyright:
 Making infringing copies for sale or hire or selling or letting them for hire;
 Permitting any place for the performance of works in public where such performance
constitutes infringement of copyright;
 Distributing infringing copies for the purpose of trade or to such an extent so as to
affect prejudicially the interest of the owner of copyright;
 Public exhibition of infringing copies by way of trade; and o Importation of infringing
copies into India.
Civil Remedies for Copyright Infringement
A copyright owner can take legal action against any person who infringes the
copyright in the work. The copyright owner is entitled to remedies by way of injunctions,
damages and accounts.
The Criminal Offence
Any person who knowingly infringes or abets the infringement of the copyright in
any work commits criminal offence under Section 63 of the Copyright Act. The minimum
punishment for infringement of copyright is imprisonment for six months with the minimum
fine of Rs. 50,000/. In the case of a second and subsequent conviction the minimum
punishment is imprisonment for one year and fine of Rs. one lakh.
International Copyright
Copyrights of works of the countries mentioned in the International Copyright Order
are protected in India, as if such works are Indian works. Copyright of nationals of countries
who are members of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works,
Universal Copyright Convention and the TRIPS Agreement are protected in India through the
International Copyright Order. The list of such countries is mentioned in the schedule of the
International Copyright Order, 1999.
Licences
Provisions with regard to licences are detailed in Chapter VI of the Copyright Act,
1957.
Copyright Licence is granted by the owner of the copyright in any existing work or the
prospective owner of the copyright in any future work in writing signed by him or by his
duly authorized agent. In the case of a licence relating to copyright in any future work, the
licence will take effect only when the work comes into existence. Where a person to whom a
licence relating to copyright in any future work is granted dies before the work comes into
existence, his legal representatives, in the absence of any provision to the contrary in the
licence, will be entitled to the benefit of the licence.
Any person can apply for the grant of copyright licence in Form II to produce and
publish translation of a literary or dramatic work in any language in general use in India
after a period of three years from the publication of such work, if such translation is required
for the purpose of teaching, scholarship or research.
The Copyright Board after holding an enquiry may direct the registrar to grant
copyright licence to the person to publish the work or translation thereof in the language
mentioned in the application. The applicant should deposit the amount of royalty as
specified by the Copyright Board in the account of the original owner of the work.
The copyright licence will be terminated at any time after the granting of a licence to
produce and publish the translation of a work in any language, if the owner of the copyright
in the work or any person authorized by him publishes a translation of such work in the
same language and which is substantially the same in content at a price reasonably related
to the price normally charged in India for the translation of works of the same standard on
the same or similar subject.
No termination will take effect until after the expiry of a period of three months from
the date of service of a notice in Form IIB on the person holding such licence by the owner of
the right of translation intimating the publication of the translation as aforesaid
Registration of a work under the Copyright Act, 1957
Copyright comes into existence as soon as a work is created and no formality is
required to be completed for acquiring copyright. However, facilities exist for having the
work registered in the Register of Copyrights maintained in the Copyright Office of the
Department of Education. The entries made in the Register of Copyrights serve as primafacie evidence in the court of law.
Procedure for registration of a work is covered under Chapter VI of the Copyright Rules,
1958
Procedure for registration
a. Application for registration is to be made on Form IV (Including Statement of Particulars
and Statement of Further Particulars) as prescribed in the first schedule to the Rules;
b. Separate applications should be made for registration of each work;
c. Each application should be accompanied by the requisite fee prescribed in the second
schedule to the Rules; and
d. The applications should be signed by the applicant or the advocate in whose favour a
Vakalatnama or Power of Attorney has been executed. The Power of Attorney signed by
the party and accepted by the advocate should also be enclosed.
The following Statement of Further Particulars should be submitted in triplicate along
with the Application for Registration of Copyright (Form IV) 1. Is the work is to be registered
a. an original work?
b. a translation of a work in the public domain?
c. A translation of a work in which Copyright subsists?
d. an adaptation of a work in the public domain?
e. an adaptation of a work in which Copyright subsists?
2. If the work is a translation or adaptation of a work in which Copyright subsists:
a. Title of the original work
b. Language of the original work
c. Name, address and nationality of the author of the original work and if the author
is deceased, the date of decease
d. Name, address and nationality of the publisher, if any, of the original work
e. Particulars of the authorization for a translation or adaptation including the name,
address and nationality of the party authorizing.
Second schedule to the Copyright Rules, 1958 - Fee payable under the Copyright Act, 1957
Time taken for registration
After filing application and receiving diary number the applicant should wait for a
mandatory period of 30 days so that no objection is filed in the Copyright office against the
claim that particular work is created by the applicant. If such objection is filed it may take
another one month time to decide as to whether the work could be registered by the
Registrar of Copyrights after giving an opportunity of hearing the matter from both the
parties. If no objection is filed the application goes for scrutiny from the examiners. If any
discrepancy is found the applicant is given 30 days time to remove the same. Therefore, it
may take 2 to 3 months time for registration of any work in the normal course. The
cooperation of the applicant in providing necessary information is the key for speedy
disposal the matter. Any person aggrieved by the final decision or order of the Registrar of
Copyrights may, within three months from the date of the order or decision, appeal to the
Copyright Board.
Copyright Board
The Copyright Board, a quasi-judicial body, was constituted in September 1958. The
jurisdiction of the Copyright Board extends to the whole of India. The Board is entrusted
with the task of adjudication of disputes pertaining to copyright registration, assignment of
copyright, grant of Licenses in respect of works withheld from public, unpublished Indian
works, production and publication of translations and works for certain specified purposes.
It also hears cases in other miscellaneous matters instituted before it under the Copyright
Act, 1957. The meetings of the Board are held in five different zones of the country. This
facilitates administration of justice to authors, creators and owners of intellectual property
including IP attorney’s near their place of location or occupation.
Powers of the Copyright Board
The Copyright Board consists of a Chairman and two or more, but not exceeding
fourteen, other members for adjudicating certain kinds of copyright cases. The Chairman of
the Board is of the level of a judge of a High Court. The Board has the power to:
i. hear appeals against the orders of the Registrar of Copyright;
ii. hear applications for rectification of entries in the Register of Copyrights;
iii. adjudicate upon disputes on assignment of copyright;
iv. grant compulsory licences to publish or republish works (in certain circumstances);
v. grant compulsory licence to produce and publish a translation of a literary or dramatic
work in any language after a period of seven years from the first publication of the
work; vi. hear and decide disputes as to whether a work has been published or about
the date of publication or about the term of copyright of a work in another country;
vi. fix rates of royalties in respect of sound recordings under the cover-version provision;
and
vii. fix the resale share right in original copies of a painting, a sculpture or a drawing and of
original manuscripts of a literary or dramatic or musical work.
Copyright Enforcement Advisory Council (CEAC)
The Government has set up on November 6, 1991 a Copyright Enforcement Advisory
Council (CEAC) to review the progress of enforcement of Copyright Act periodically and to
advise the Government regarding measures for improving the enforcement of the Act.
The Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2012
The Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2010 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 19th
April, 2010. In pursuance of Rule 270 relating to Department-related Parliamentary
Standing Committees, the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, referred the Bill to the Standing
Committee on Human Resource Development on 23rd April, 2010 for examination and
report. The Standing Committee headed by Mr.Oscar Fernandes submitted its 227th report
on ‘The Copyright Amendment Bill of 2010’ on November 23rd 2010.
Pursuant to the recommendations of the Standing Committee, the Copyright
Amendment Bill of 2012 was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 17th May 2012. Some of the
changes made in the Bill, 2012 pursuant to the recommendations of the Committee are –
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
Definition given in the Bill of 2010 has been retained but an additional paragraph for
explanation has been added. "Commercial rental" does not include the rental, lease or
lending of a lawfully acquired copy of a computer programme, sound recording, visual
recording or cinematograph film for nonprofit purposes by a non-profit library or
nonprofit educational institution. Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause, a
“nonprofit library or nonprofit educational institution” means a library or educational
institution which receives grants from the Government or exempted from payment of tax
under the Income-Tax Act, 1961.
Amendment to Section 11 and 12 of the Copyright Act, 1957 has been added.
The provisions with regard to joint ownership of copyright of principal director along
with the producer have been deleted in the Bill of 2012.
Amendment of Section 18 allowed composers and lyricists to retain their rights over
the work which may have been incorporated into a cinematograph work. Thus
although the producer of the movie is the first owner with respect to the music when it
is used as part of the cinematograph work, the lyricist or the composer will be
considered first owner for all other purposes. On the basis of the recommendation of
the committee, the following provisos have also been added to Section 18 in the Bill of
2012 –
Provided also that the author of the literary or musical work included in a cinematograph
film shall not assign or waive the right to receive royalties to be shared on an equal basis
with the assignee of copyright for the utilisation of such work in any form other than for
the communication to the public of the work along with the cinematograph film in a
cinema hall, except to the author's legal heirs or to a copyright society for collection and
distribution and any agreement to contrary shall be void. Provided also that the author of
the literary or musical work included in the sound recording but not forming part of any
cinematograph film shall not assign or waive the right to receive royalties to be shared on
an equal basis with the assignee of copyright for any utilization of such work except to
the legal heirs of the authors or to a collecting society for collection and distribution and
any assignment to the contrary shall be void.
Section 19 that deals with mode of assignment has been modified in the Bill of 2012 as
follows –
No assignment of copyright in any work to make a cinematograph film shall affect the
right of the author of the work to claim an equal share of royalties and consideration
payable in case of utilization of the work in any form other than for the communication to
the public of the work, along with the cinematograph film in a cinema hall. No
assignment of the copyright in any work to make a sound recording which does not form
part of any cinematograph film shall affect the right of the author of the work to claim an
equal share of royalties and consideration payable for any utilization of such work in any
form.
Additional clause has been added in Section 19A wherein the Copyright Board has to
pass the final order in case of complaints with regard to assignment of copyright within
6 months from the date of receipt of the complaint and reasons for any delay in
compliance of the same should be recorded in writing.
Amendment made to Section 26 has been deleted in Bill of 2012. In bill of 2010,
proviso with regard to rights of principal director was added with regard to term of
copyright in cinematograph films.
New sections 31B, 31C and 31D had been inserted in the Bill of 2010 also. Some
modifications have been made to the same. For example – clause 5 given in Bill, 2010
has been deleted in Bill, 2012. Clause 3 has been added in Section 31D in Bill, 2012.
Section 33 deals with registration of copyright societies. Amendments made to sec.33
under the Bill of 2010 have been modified in Bill of 2012. New clause 3A has been
added wherein the registration granted to a copyright society shall be for a period of 5
years and be renewed from time to time before the end of every five years on a request
in the prescribed form and the Central Government may renew the registration after
considering the report of Registrar of Copyrights on the working of the copyright
society under section 36. Provided that the renewal of the registration of a copyright
society shall be subject to the continued collective control of the copyright society
being shared with the authors of works in their capacity as owners of copyright or of
the right to receive royalty. Provided further that every copyright society already
registered before the coming into force of the copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 shall
get itself registered under this Chapter within a period of one year from the date of
commencement of the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012.
x. Section 35 deals with control over the copyright society by the owner of rights.
Additional sub sections have been added in Bill of 2012 – Every copyright society shall
have a governing body with such number of persons elected from among the members of
the society consisting of equal number of authors and owners of work for the purpose of
the administration of the society as may be specified. All members of copyrights society
shall enjoy equal membership rights and there shall be no discrimination between
authors and owners of rights in the distribution of royalties.
Trademark
What is Trademark?
A trade mark (popularly known as brand name) in layman’s language is a visual
symbol which may be a word signature, name, device, label, numerals or combination of
colours used by one undertaking on goods or services or other articles of commerce to
distinguish it from other similar goods or services originating from a different undertaking.
 The selected mark should be capable of being represented graphically (that is in the
paper form).
 It should be capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from
those of others.
 It should be used or proposed to be used mark in relation to goods or services for the
purpose of indicating or so as to indicate a connection in the course of trade between the
goods or services and some person have the right to use the mark with or without
identity of that person.
Trade Marks are distinctive symbols, signs, logos that help consumer to distinguish
between competing goods or services. A trade name is the name of an enterprise which
individualizes the enterprise in consumer’s mind. It is legally not linked to quality. But,
linked in consumer’s mind to quality expectation.
Key Features of Trademark
 Trademark must be Distinctive
 Trademark must be used in Commerce
Types of Trademark
 Trademark,
 Servicemark,
 Collectivemark,
 Certification Mark
Functions of Trademark
Trademark performs four functions –
 It identifies the goods / or services and its origin;
 It guarantees its unchanged quality;
 It advertises the goods/services;
 It creates an image for the goods/ services.
Trademarks law of India
The Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the Trade Marks Rules, 2002 govern the law relating
to Trade Marks in India. The Trade Marks Act, 1999 (TMA) protects the trademarks and
their infringement can be challenged by a passing off or/and infringement action. The Act
protects a trade mark for goods or services, on the basis of either use or registration or on
basis of both elements.
Who can apply for Trademark?
Any person claiming to be the proprietor of a trade mark used or proposed to
be used by him may apply in writing in Form TM-1 for registration. The application
should contain the trade mark, the goods/services, name and address of applicant and
agent (if any) with power of attorney, period of use of the mark and signature. The
application should be in English or Hindi. It should be filed at the appropriate office.
Jurisdiction for filing application
A trade mark application should be filed at the appropriate office of the
Registry within whose territorial limits, the principal place of business in India of the
applicant is situate. In the case of joint applicants, the principal place of business in
India of the applicant will be that of the person whose name is first mentioned as
having a place of business. If the applicant has no principal place of business in India,
he should file the application at that office within whose territorial jurisdiction, the
address for service in India given by him is located. No change in the principal place of
business in India or in the address for service in India shall affect the jurisdiction of the
appropriate office once entered.
Location and Jurisdiction of Trademarks Office
1) Trade Marks Registry, Mumbai (Head Office)
Jurisdiction: State of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Goa.
2) Trade Marks Registry, Delhi
Jurisdiction: State of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh, Union Territory of Delhi and Chandigarh
3) Trade Marks Registry, Kolkata
Jurisdiction: State of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal,
Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Sikkim , Tripura and Union Territory of
Nagaland, Andamar & Nicobar Island.
4) Trade Marks Registry, Ahmedabad
Jurisdiction: The state of Gujarat and Rajasthan and Union Territory of
Damman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli
5) Trade Marks Registry, Chennai
Jurisdiction: The state of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and
Union Territory of Pondicherry and Lakshadweep Island.
Particulars to be filed with application for registration
The application should be filed in triplicate with the following particulars –
 Graphic representation of the trademark.
 Five Additional representations are to be provided corresponding exactly with
one another.
 In the case of three dimensional mark, the reproduction of the mark should
consist of a two dimensional or photographic reproduction.
 Where the trade mark contains a word or words in scripts other than Hindi or
English, a transliteration and translation of each word in English or in Hindi
should be given indicating the language to which the word belongs, at the time of
filing the application to facilitate completion of data entry at the initial stage
itself.
 The application may contain a declaration claiming priority as per the Paris
Convention.
Procedure for series registration
Section 15 (3) makes provision for registration of trade mark as series in
respect of the same or similar goods /services where the marks, while resembling each
other in the material particulars thereof and yet differ in respect of –
1. Statement of goods or services in relation to which they are respectively used or
proposed to be used; or
2. Statement of number, price, quality or names of places; or
3. Other matter of a non-distinctive character which does not substantially affect the
identity of the trade mark; or
4. Colour
Application for registration of series marks is to be on form TM-8 or TM-37 as
the case may be. Though it is permissible to file a single application for registration of
trade mark in more than one class, it is to be noted that each series marks must be in
respect of the same goods or services or description of goods/services. Where a group
of marks are applied for registration as series in one registration and the Registrar
does not consider them eligible for registration of series marks under section 15 the
applicant will be required to delete any of the mark which is under objection. It is also
open to the applicant to apply on form TM-53 for division of the application to conform
to the provision of section 22. All trademarks registered as series in one registration
are deemed to be registered as associated trade mark.
Registration of Collective Marks
Special provisions have been made for registration of collective marks in section 61 to
68 of the Act. “Collective mark” is defined to mean a trade mark distinguishing the
goods or services of members of an association of persons (not being a partnership
within the meaning of Indian Partnership Act, 1932) which is the proprietor of the
mark from those of others”- section 2(1)(g). To be registerable, the collective mark
must be capable of being represented graphically and meet other requirements as are
applicable to registration of trade marks in general. The following points should be
noted for registering collective marks –
 The collective mark is owned by an association of persons not being a partnership.
 The collective marks belong to a group and its use thereof is reserved for members
of the group.
 The association may not use itself the collective mark but it ensures compliance of
certain quality standards by its members who may use the collective mark.
 The primary function of a collective mark is to indicate a trade connection with the
association or organization who is the proprietor of the mark.
Application for registration as collective mark should be made on form TM-3. Where
appropriate form TM-66, 64 or TM-67 can be used.
Administrative procedure of registration of trademarks
An application for registration of trademarks is received at the Head office of
Trademark Registry, Mumbai and its branches according to territorial jurisdiction.
Applications are then examined mainly with regard to the distinctiveness, possibility of
deceptiveness and conflicting trademarks. The registrar on consideration of the
application and any evidence of use or distinctiveness decides whether the application
should be accepted for registration or not, and if accepted, publishes the same in the
official gazette i.e. Trade Marks Journal (published in CD-Rom). Within a prescribed
period any person can file an opposition, a copy of which is served to the applicants
who is required to file a counterstatement within two months failing which the
application shall be treated as abandoned.
Thereafter, the opponent leads evidence in support of his case by way of
affidavit followed by the applicant’s evidence also by way of affidavit in support of the
application. After that the opponent files evidence by way of rebuttal. On completion of
evidence, the matter is set down for a hearing and the case is decided by a Hearing
officer. The registrar’s decision is appealable to the Intellectual Property Appellate
Board. Almost all functions of the Registry have now been decentralized and executed
by respective offices except publication of journal, issuance of Registration Certificate
and post registration activities including renewal which is done at TMR, Mumbai (Head
Office).
Correction and amendment of registration application
An applicant for registration of a trade mark can before the registration of the
mark, apply in Form TM-16 for correction of any error in connection with his
application. But the correction should not alter the trade mark that has been applied
for or substitute a new specification of goods or services not included in the
application.
Renewal of registration
The period of registration which was 7 years until recently under 1958 Act,
has been increased to 10 years under the present Act. The 10 year period of
registration is reckoned from the date of making of the application which is deemed to
be the date of registration. Registrations can be renewed by payment of prescribed
renewal fees in all cases (trademark / collective marks/certification marks) on form
TM-12. The application is filed by the proprietor of the registered trade mark or his
agent. If there is any change in the proprietorship of the mark, and it has not been
brought on record, proof of title should be filed in the first instance.
Offences & Penalties
There are mainly two classes of Offences relating to Trademarks –
a. Falsification of Trademark
b. Falsely applying the trademark to goods or services
The punishment for the above offences shall not be less than 6 months
imprisonment which may extend to three years and a fine which shall not be less
50,000/-, but may extend to Rupees Two Lakh. Wherever the court proposes a lower
punishment than the minimum, it has to record, adequate and special reasons for the
same.
However second and subsequent offences shall be more severely punished. There shall
be an Imprisonment of not less than one year which may extend to three years and a
fine which shall not be less Rupees One lakh, but may extend to Rupees Two Lakh. The
court can propose a lower punishment than the minimum, only after recording
adequate and special reasons for the same.
E-filing of Trademark application
E-filing is the service provided by the Trademark Registry in order to enable customers
to apply for a Trade Mark on-line allowing from the applicant’s browser to:
 Complete an electronic application form;
 Provide the associated attachments;
 Complete the necessary payment details
Procedure for e-filing
In order to submit an electronic application form, following steps should be followed 1. Acquire Class 3 Digital Signatures from (n)Code Solutions or Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS) or SafeScrypt from Sify . The Procedure for getting the Digital
Signature and the location of their Offices is available at their website.
2. For users (Proprietors/Agents or Attorneys), already registered with TMR
(Trademark Registry) Office India can complete online registration by providing a
desired User ID, their User Type (Proprietor/Agent/Attorney) and User Code.
3. For Users who are not registered as Proprietor / Attorney with TMR Office, they
can search and fill online form to obtain User code (Party Code).
4. Secure Login into the system with created User Id and the Digital Signatures.
5. Obtain a New Reference Number for New Application. Use this option when the
applicant wants to apply for a new Trademarks Application.
6. Update Application Details: Use this option to edit / update the application details
along with relevant images and attached documents. Final Submission to TMR-
India with Digital Signature is included in this option after which application
cannot be edited.
7. The Cases which are Digitally Submitted to TMR, India are available for online
payment. The applicant can pay for more than one application in a single
transaction. Once the payment is realized as confirmed by the Payment Gateway,
an acknowledgement receipt for the fees paid is generated by the system
indicating the Receipt Number, Application Number and Date of Filing.
8. An applicant can also view online History and status of the applications filed by
him / her by clicking Status of Filed Application.
9. An applicant can also view the online status of e-Payments.
International cooperation on Intellectual Property
WIPO’s development cooperation aims to assist developing countries — including the least
developed countries (LDCs), for which a special unit has been established in the WIPO
Secretariat — to attain levels of socio-economic development through their intellectual
property systems, which enable them to enter into effective partnership with more
developed countries and generally to take their place in the world.
Objectives
 The objectives of WIPO’s cooperation for development program are achieved either
directly, by providing legal, practical and administrative information, advice and training
for governments and organizations in developing countries, or indirectly, by facilitating
their contacts with public and private bodies worldwide which can also thus assist them.
 The major objectives of the cooperation for development program are to assist
developing countries in:
 the establishment of intellectual property systems which are modern and function
well, with regard to legislation and administration, and with personnel adequately
trained and using up-to-date equipment;
 the development of human resources, especially by the WIPO Worldwide
Academy;
 the adoption of timely and informed policies to meet existing and new intellectual
property challenges such as the preservation, conservation and dissemination of
biological diversity, the use of traditional knowledge to benefit the holders of it, the
improved protection of expressions of folklore and the implications of electronic
commerce;
 the promotion of cooperation among developing countries, in particular by the use
of the WIPO Global Information Network (WIPONET), in order to pool all available
useful technological information resources at sub-regional and regional levels;
 the development and adjustment of information technology, in both its legal and
practical aspects, to harmonize and enhance its intellectual property application
worldwide.
 The creation and use of intellectual property through the setting up of innovation
support structures and technology transfer.
 In order to carry out activities to fulfil these aims, WIPO undertakes projects and
activities tailored to the needs of particular groups of developing countries.
 A single Permanent Committee on Cooperation for Development Related to Intellectual
Property was established in 1999, to direct Permanent Programs in the fields of both
industrial property and copyright and related rights. Its membership is open to any
Member State of WIPO, as well as to intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations with observer status.
 The Permanent Committee is a forum for debating policy and practice in intellectual
property matters of particular concern to developing countries. It has focused on all the
new challenges described above (see at the beginning of this chapter the section on the
Objectives of Developing Countries). Its sessions have especially reviewed WIPO’s newer
initiatives to help developing countries to meet those challenges: the major subjects of
discussion have been, among other things, the development of human resources in the
context of the work of WIPO’s Worldwide Academy, assistance to the Least Developed
Countries (LDCs), the promotion and development of collective management of
copyright and related rights (notably in connection with the development of a regional
system), the promotion of innovation in all fields of intellectual property to stimulate
economic growth and culture, new approaches to traditional knowledge, genetic
resources and folklore and, in support of all these and other activities, measures
required to enable developing countries to benefit fully from the latest information
technology. The Permanent Committee will continue to meet biennially.
Development Cooperation in Relation to Intellectual Property
WIPO’s development cooperation activities in the field of intellectual property are aimed at
helping developing countries in the following respects
 training of government officials and representatives of the private sector, such as
lawyers, agents and staff of collective management organizations working in the fields of
copyright and related rights;
 providing legal advice and assistance in drafting new, or revising existing, intellectual
property legislation;
 establishing or strengthening intellectual property offices and other related institutions;
 promoting indigenous innovative, inventive and creative activities;
 using the technological information contained in patent documents;
 establishing programs for legislators and the judiciary;
 promoting awareness of intellectual property protection in local enterprises and
educational institutions.
Training
 WIPO’s training program consists of various regular general and specialized courses
organized each year, in a number of developed and developing countries, for the
collective training of government officials and others, and periodical seminars, workshops
and other types of meeting at national, sub-regional and regional level in which
government officials and other personnel from developing countries participate. In
addition, government officials are attached to intellectual property offices and other
institutions in developed or developing countries for practical training, and middle and
senior level officials are sent on observation visits to such offices. WIPO also organizes onthe-job training in some countries by international experts. The level of training ranges
from basic, introductory courses to refresher or specialization courses for officials in
responsible positions in intellectual property administrations.
 Training programs have been extended to other categories of beneficiaries, in addition to
the government officials working in the national intellectual property administrations.
These categories include private lawyers and practitioners, staff of research and
development institutions, of enterprises and of collective management organizations,
representatives of the judiciary, officials of enforcement agencies such as police and
customs, of ministries of trade and foreign affairs and other persons dealing with
questions related to intellectual property matters.
 It is also desirable that the teaching of intellectual property law should be developed in a
number of universities in developing countries. The International Bureau has already
awarded fellowships for this purpose to university teachers from developing countries to
enable such personnel to examine the course and curriculum content in order to
introduce or strengthen teaching at the university level. This means a more intensive
involvement in the training of trainers.
 The aim of the training activities is to enable government officials and other personnel
from developing countries to acquire knowledge and practice in the various aspects of
intellectual property, so that they may effectively organize and administer the intellectual
property system of their own countries. Training activities occupy a preeminent place
within WIPO’s development cooperation program because laws and institutions, however
good they may be, are of little use without qualified staff to administer them.
Legal Advice and Assistance
 In recent years, there have been many instances of a growing interest, on the part of
governments of developing countries in various parts of the world, in making intellectual
property an effective tool in the development process. The existence of intellectual
property laws suited to the needs of the country concerned is a precondition of an
effective intellectual property system.
 For this reason, WIPO has received many requests for advice in drafting intellectual
property laws where they do not exist, and in revising existing laws that are inadequate
for the country’s economic needs and priorities. In addition, adherence to international
treaties oblige countries to adapt their legislation in order to meet the protection
requirements established in those treaties
 At the request of a government, WIPO comments on draft legislation prepared by the
government or prepares draft legislation with due regard to the wishes of the government
and the needs of the country concerned. Those wishes and needs would have been
ascertained through consultations and surveys made on the spot by WIPO experts. The
draft texts are then submitted to the authorities for study and comment. What follows is
often an exchange of letters and visits between the authorities and WIPO experts to clarify
and improve the texts.
 Legal assistance is provided by the International Bureau of WIPO in two forms — the
drafting of model laws and assistance in the drafting of national legislation. The
International Bureau has already drawn up a number of model laws for the use of
developing countries. These texts are prepared by meetings of experts from developing
countries and developed countries, working on the basis of drafts prepared by the
International Bureau and, in all cases, submitted to the States for their comments and
subsequently adopted by meetings of governmental experts.
 In addition, WIPO has produced model laws or guides for developing countries dealing
with such subjects as patents, trademarks, industrial designs and industrial property
licensing, copyright and related rights, the implementation of treaties, the
implementation of licensing procedures for translation and reproduction licensing under
the Berne Convention, and the protection of traditional knowledge and expressions of
folklore.
Institutional Assistance
 A law is not an end in itself for the country concerned. It provides an important
framework within which its industrial property system will function. The law must be
administered and used, and for that purpose suitable administrative machinery and
procedures are required.
 Here again, WIPO has considerable expertise to offer governments and institutions. WIPO
experts are sent, at the request of countries, in order to give on-the-spot advice, on such
matters as the establishment, streamlining and automation of procedures, preparation of
organigrams, acquisition of appropriate equipment including computer hardware and
software, acquisition of the required technical documentation, establishment of links with
external institutions, assessment of staff requirements and training needs, utilization of
office space and the determination of suitable fee schedules. In the copyright and related
rights fields, WIPO has paid special attention to the establishment and reinforcement of
collective management systems, which undertake the safeguarding of the rights and
interests of authors, composers and performers, and the collection and distribution of
their royalties, and which also contribute to the promotion of education and culture, as
well as assisting in participation in international cultural exchange.
 Often, such administrative improvements and changes are planned, for implementation
over a period of time, by WIPO in consultation with the authorities concerned, depending
on priorities and available resources.
 For an intellectual property administration system to be useful, it must serve the public.
In many countries, the intellectual property system has not been used to full advantage
partly because the public, including creators and business circles, are unaware of the
advantages the system has to offer and its role in the development process. WIPO
therefore organizes meetings which aim at building, to start with, awareness of
intellectual property by answering such basic questions as what is intellectual property,
what are its constituent elements, how does intellectual property help trade,
technological development and cultural development, and how to use and protect
intellectual property rights at the national level?
Promotion of Indigenous Creativity, Innovation and Inventiveness
 As observed earlier, the role that the intellectual property system can play in
technological, economic and cultural development has long been recognized in
developing countries. The protection afforded by intellectual property laws results in
more creations, innovations and inventions, more investment and effort in research and
development (R&D) in technical fields, leading to technological improvements, and
thereby to improvement in the quality of industrial output, and by greater access to
creations of foreign origin, in an educational and cultural climate that promotes
development in general.
 Without a national intellectual property system, it is difficult for a country to stimulate
and protect the results of indigenous creativity and innovation. Governments can, with
the help of WIPO experts, devise ways and means of encouraging local entrepreneurs and
enterprises, the creation of national associations in the field, the provision of legal advice
on protection procedures, financial support and incentives, public recognition of creators
and inventors, the award of prizes through competitions, etc. Through mass participation
in nationwide events and competitions, and in clubs in schools, public consciousness and
use of the intellectual property system is stimulated. One example is that since 1979,
WIPO has established an award for inventors and innovators that is widely used by
developing countries to encourage inventive activity.
 Following this, since 2001 two new Awards were added to the Awards program. First, the
WIPO Creativity Award gave due recognition to individuals or groups of individuals
whose creativity, artistic skills and imagination have resulted in original works,
performances or productions connected with the field of copyright and related rights,
including original works developed and used in the digital environment and related fields.
There is also the WIPO Trophy for Innovative Enterprises, which encourages enterprises
and companies in all Member States to actively use the intellectual property system in
their production and commercial activities.
Use of Patent Information
 One of the activities of WIPO in assisting the development process in developing countries
is directed at improving access by those countries to the technological information
contained in patent documents, by the provision of the necessary patent documentation
and training in methods of retrieval and dissemination.
 A program, now called the WIPO Patent Information Services for Developing Countries,
began in 1975. Its aim is to provide free-of-charge patent information services to
institutions in developing countries under agreements concluded between the
International Bureau of WIPO and contributing industrial property offices in some 20
countries (both industrialized and developing countries).
 WIPO gives assistance and advice, and is the executing agency for several UNDP projects,
concerning the planning and establishment of patent information and documentation
centers which serve the needs of national or regional institutions in developing countries.
Such centers may be created within an existing or planned industrial property office, or
within a scientific and technological information center.
Programs for Legislators and the Judiciary
 WIPO cooperates in promoting the exchange of experience and other information among
legislators so that they are better prepared to consider the needs of their own countries,
and find solutions to such needs, when engaged in the adaptation of their intellectual
property legislations to the changing economic and technological situation, both on the
domestic level and in international relations. This cooperation may take the form of
national and regional seminars and study trips.
 In addition, WIPO works to promote the exchange of experience and information among
members of the judicial branch (judges of courts of all levels) so that they are better
prepared to interpret and apply domestic laws and international treaties in the field of
intellectual property law and to order measures that would prevent the continuation of
infringement of intellectual property rights. Such cooperation may also take the form of
national and regional seminars, simulated trials and study trips.
Promotion of Awareness in Local Enterprises and Educational Institutions
 It is increasingly recognized that efficient use of the intellectual property protection
system can significantly contribute to economic growth. The Small and Medium-Sized
Enterprises (SMEs) Division, established in October 2000 following unanimous support
by WIPO’s General Assembly, seeks to raise awareness of the relevance of intellectual
property for small business and promotes initiatives to make the intellectual property
system more accessible, less cumbersome and more affordable for SMEs.
 The activities carried out by the SMEs Division of WIPO recognize the important role
played by such enterprises in strengthening the economic wellbeing of a country.
Research has shown that SMEs can and should contribute considerably to employment
creation and trade, which ultimately promote economic growth. It has also been shown
that, given the opportunity, SMEs are innovative and competitive. However, SMEs need to
be encouraged to take full advantage of the existing intellectual property protection
system in order to compete more successfully in the global economy.
 One of the priorities of this program is to raise awareness of the potential benefits for
SMEs so that they effectively use this system. The awareness-building activities are for
government institutions responsible for SMEs, other institutions supporting SMEs and,
through information made available on the Internet, for SMEs themselves. These include
international, regional and national seminars organized by WIPO, distance learning
courses offered by the WIPO Worldwide Academy and joint activities in cooperation with
other international or regional organizations or institutions which deal with matters
concerning SMEs.
 WIPO has already been active in raising awareness of the value of the intellectual
property system in higher education, through cooperation activities with universities and
similar institutions to include intellectual property in teaching programs. A number of
cooperation agreements have been concluded with universities and regional training
centers towards this aim (see under the WIPO Academy below).
Procedure for grant of a patent
Patent rights do not arise automatically. A patent can be obtained only by following the
procedure set out in the Patents Act and Patents Regulations. An understanding of the
procedure for obtaining a patent is important to understanding Australian patent law
generally. The steps in obtaining an Australian patent are described below. A flow chart
outlining the stages in the patent application process is included in s 4 of the Patents Act and
was reprinted in DP 68.
Filing an application
For a patent to be granted, an eligible person must file an application in the form
prescribed by the Patent Office. Eligible persons are the inventor of the invention claimed in
the application, or a person to whom the inventor has assigned his or her rights in the
invention. A patent application must include a specification of the invention, which contains
instructions adequate to enable a skilled person in the relevant area of technology to
produce or perform the invention. The specification must also indicate the ‘claims’ that
define the invention; that is, the scope of protection that the applicant is seeking.
Australian patent law recognises two types of patent applications—provisional and
complete. Provisional and complete applications may be filed to obtain either a standard
patent or an innovation patent.
A provisional application need only contain a description of the invention. Often, an
inventor files a provisional application before all the details of an invention are known. The
applicant then has 12 months to file a complete application.
A complete application must contain a full description of the invention, together with
claims, and an abstract summarising the invention being disclosed. A complete application
may be based on one or more provisional applications, and only those claims that are ‘fairly
based on the relevant provisional application will be entitled to the priority date of the
provisional application.
The ‘priority date’ of a patent claim is important in determining whether the
requirements for patentability of an invention have been met. As discussed in Chapter 6, the
requirements of novelty and inventive step are assessed against the prior art as it existed
before the priority date. The priority date is typically the date on which a provisional
application is filed in Australia, or the date on which an application is filed in another
participating jurisdiction.
An applicant may also elect to file a complete application with the Patent Office under
the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). As discussed in Chapter 4, a PCT application designates
all the jurisdictions that are parties to the PCT (including Australia), and secures an
international priority date.
PCT applications that have entered the national phase (and will be processed as a
complete application) are the main type of applications received by IP Australia. In 2002–03,
16,278 PCT applications selected Australia as one of the jurisdictions in which an applicant
wished to obtain patent protection and entered the national phase in Australia. During the
same period, 5,694 non-PCT applications for standard patents were filed with IP Australia
Divisional applications
Each patent application may claim protection only for a single invention. If, following
assessment of a patent application, a patent examiner finds that an applicant has claimed
more than one invention in the application, the applicant may elect to file a ‘divisional
application’—that is, a new application divided from the original or parent application. A
divisional application allows an applicant to continue to benefit from the priority date of the
original application.
Divisional applications may claim subject matter not contained in the original
application so long as all the features of at least one of the claims were disclosed in the
original application. There are no statutory limits on the number of divisional applications
that may arise from a single complete application.
The Patents Act restricts the subject matter that may be claimed in a divisional
application, depending on the time at which it is filed. However, a divisional application,
once filed, is subject to the same procedural requirements, including examination, as any
other complete patent application.
In its submissions to the Inquiry, IP Australia indicated that divisional applications
are currently ‘open to abuse’. In practice, such abuse may occur only in a small number of
cases. However, IP Australia suggested that patent applicants are able to make strategic use
of divisional applications in order to delay determinations by the Patent Office as to the
proper scope of patent claims, or as to whether a patent should be granted. IP Australia
commented that the Patents Act allows an applicant to use a divisional application to obtain
a de facto monopoly by extending the period within which to respond to an examiner’s
adverse report. While this use of divisional applications may be legitimate in some
circumstances, IP Australia suggested that it might be used tactically by an applicant in
‘newly developing areas of technology, such as genetics, where there is a question of [the]
patentability of the subject matter’. Further, an applicant might avoid a decision in an
opposition proceeding by withdrawing the opposed application and refiling it as a divisional
application. To address these issues, IP Australia suggested that limitations could be
imposed on the circumstances in which divisional applications are available.
However, the majority of submissions and consultations on this issue did not support
imposing additional limitations either on the period within which a divisional application
may be filed or on the subject matter that may be claimed in a divisional
application. Submissions and consultations questioned whether divisional applications are
being misused, and commented on the lack of evidence that divisional applications claiming
genetic inventions present a special case.
The ALRC does not consider that reform of the Patents Act relating to divisional
applications is required to address particular issues raised by patents over genetic materials
and technologies. The concerns expressed by IP Australia about divisional applications are
not limited to genetic inventions. Further, the weight of submissions considered that the
current provisions are operating well and should not be amended without firm evidence of a
problem.
Examination
Once an application has been filed with the Patent Office, a number of additional
steps must be followed before a patent may be issued. An applicant must file a request that
the Patent Office examine the application. Examination is not automatic and a request for
examination must generally be filed within five years of the date of filing a complete
specification. However, IP Australia’s standard practice is to direct applicants to file a
request for examination, if no request has been received, at approximately 32 months from
the priority date, although this period may vary according to IP Australia’s workload. An
abbreviated examination may be requested if an Australian patent application is related to a
patent that has already been granted by the patent office in a prescribed foreign jurisdiction.
The purpose of examination is to determine whether the invention meets the
statutory requirements for patentability set out in the Patents Act. The Patent Office carries
out searches of previously published documents—including scientific and patent literature
(‘prior art information’)—to determine the prior art material relevant to the claimed
invention. In addition, an applicant must disclose to the Patent Office the results of searches
carried out by or on behalf of foreign patent offices in respect of the invention claimed in an
Australian application, or in a corresponding patent application filed overseas. An examiner
with expertise in the relevant area of technology then examines the application, taking into
account the information contained in the results of these searches and any other prior art
information.
Examination of a patent application typically involves an exchange between the
examiner and the applicant about the appropriate scope of the specification and the claims
in light of the relevant prior art. This process is known as ‘prosecution’ of a patent
application.
Following receipt of a request for examination, an examiner will make an initial
assessment of an application for a standard patent and either accept the application as filed
or issue a ‘first report’ detailing the procedural and substantive grounds for objecting to the
application. An applicant then has a period of 21 months to address the objections raised by
the examiner. The examiner may issue further reports for each response by the applicant
that does not satisfy the objections raised. An application for a standard patent will generally
lapse if it is not in order for acceptance within 21 months after the date of the first report.
Acceptance, publication and sealing
The Commissioner of Patents must notify an applicant of the decision to accept or
refuse a patent application, and must publish notice of the decision in the Official Journal of
Patents (Official Journal). Formal refusal of an application is rare. More commonly,
applications for standard patents lapse for failure to obtain acceptance within the prescribed
21 month period following a first report. The Official Journal also publishes notices of lapsed
applications.
Publication of a notice of acceptance in the Official Journal should be distinguished
from the publication of a complete specification for a standard patent. This typically occurs
18 months after the earliest priority date for the application, and is also advertised in
the Official Journal. An application is confidential prior to publication of the complete
specification, and only bibliographic details—such as the applicant’s name and title of the
invention—are made available by the Patent Office.
patent is granted when the Commissioner of Patents causes the patent to be sealed
with the seal of the Patent Office. For a standard patent, this will occur within six months of
the date of publication in the Official Journal of the notice of acceptance of the application,
unless the application is opposed.
Patenting under PCT
Generally, one cannot obtain a single patent that is effective in every country in the
world. Patent protection must generally be secured in each foreign country or jurisdiction
through a local patent in that country or jurisdiction. However, regional patents exist that
span across multiple countries. One example of a regional patent is a European patent,
where European member countries of the European Patent Office (EPO) recognize EPO
patents.
Apart from regional patents, there exists an international patent application called
a PCT patent application that provides a process for reserving your right to file patent
applications in foreign countries and participating regions, such as the EPO.
Paris Convention v. PCT
For member countries of the Paris Convention, generally foreign patent applications
must be filed within 12 months of the earliest national application filed in a member
country. Therefore if the applicant first filed a patent application in the United States, the
applicant would have 12 months from the U.S. filing to file foreign applications in Paris
Convention member countries claiming priority and receiving the benefit of the filing date of
the U.S. patent application.
The PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) application process generally gives the
applicant an additional 18 months to consider whether and in which countries to pursue
patent protection. If the applicant first filed a patent application in the United States, then
filed a PCT application within 12 months of the U.S. filing, the applicant would generally have
an additional 18 months to nationalize the PCT application in the foreign countries in which
the applicant desired patent protection.
However some PCT member countries do not provide the full 18 months for
nationalization, but instead require nationalization at a much sooner time. It is important to
consult early in the process with an attorney regarding the deadlines that would be
applicable to your case.
PCT Member Countries
Over 140 countries are PCT member countries. Therefore by filing a PCT application,
you can reserve your option to pursue patents in over 140 countries. Not all countries
are PCT member countries. The PCT application process has two steps, the international
stage and the national stage. Residents or nationals of any PCT member country are eligible
to file a PCT application.
International Stage
A PCT patent application must be filed within 12 months of the first filing of a
national patent application (such as a U.S. provisional or non-provisional patent application).
An example application process flow is provided in figure 1 below.
The example of in figure 1 shows that at point A a U.S. Patent Application was filed.
Then 12 months later at point B a PCT application was filed claiming priority to the U.S.
Patent Application. It is also possible to file the PCT application first before any national
application.
The PCT application can be filed through a receiving office in PCT member countries,
such as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or through the international bureau at WIPO.
After the PCT application is filed, an International Searching Authority (ISA) will
perform a patentability search and issue an international search report. The ISA will also
issue a written opinion on patentability. The applicant has the option to withdraw the
application in light of the search report or written opinion, if this is not done the application
and the international search report will be published. The PCT application will generally be
published 18 months after the earliest priority filing date (such as the first national
application filing date).
The PCT applicant can request a second or supplementary international search which
may be carried out by one or more of the ISAs (other than the one that carried out the main
international search) resulting in a supplementary international search report. The PCT
applicant has the opportunity to amend the claims in the patent application in response to
the search report.
Optionally, the PCT applicant can request a Chapter II Examination international
preliminary examination resulting in an international preliminary report on patentability.
National Stage
The PCT application must be “nationalized” (entered into the national phase) into the
particular foreign countries or jurisdictions that you would like to have patent protection in.
Once the application is nationalized in a particular country, the application will be examined
under the local laws of that country to determine whether a patent should be granted.
Therefore if you wanted to have foreign patent protection in China, Australia, and in
Europe, you would need to nationalize the PCT application in each of those jurisdictions by
the nationalization deadline (see below) in order to seek patent protection there.
The deadline for nationalizing the PCT application depends on the country. Most
countries or jurisdictions require the application to be nationalized within 30 months of the
earliest filing date (the earliest claimed priority application filing date) other countries or
jurisdictions require nationalization within 31 months. However, as explained above, some
PCT member countries do not provide the full 18 months for nationalization, but instead
require nationalization at a much sooner time. It is important to consult early in the process
with an attorney regarding the deadlines that would be applicable to your case.
The earliest claimed priority date in the example of Figure 1 is the date that the US
application was filed, not the date that the PCT application was filed.
At point C in figure 1, nationalization occurs regarding Countries 1 and 2 at the 30
month deadline. At point D in figure 1, nationalization occurs regarding Countries 3 and 4 at
the 31 month deadline. Nationalization might occur into a regional patent organization, such
as the European Patent Office, rather than a country.
Individual countries or regional patent organizations many provide a grace period or
revival period allowing the nationalization even after the deadline. Therefore if you have
missed the nationalization deadline, you should inquire with an attorney whether there are
still options for nationalizing your application in the countries you choose.
Nationalization usually involves the payment of nationalization fee, filing of certain
documents, and in some cases, filing of a translation of the application. Then the nationalized
application will be considered under the local laws of the jurisdiction to determine whether
a patent should be granted. Local attorney representation will likely be needed in the
nationalized jurisdictions to prosecute the application under their local laws. Generally your
U.S. lawyer can work with foreign attorneys during the local prosecution of the application
in the national stage.
Cost
Pursuing patent protection by nationalizing a PCT application in every PCT country is
generally not economically feasible. The need to hire local attorneys and prosecute the
applications in each of 140 countries would be an very expensive endeavor.
Instead, clients often, at or before the nationalization deadline, choose to nationalize
the PCT application in countries where they have (1) actual or anticipate sales or (2) actual
or anticipated licensing or business opportunities sufficient to justify the foreign patenting
expense.
The PCT international patent application filing fee is around $4000. The
nationalization fees can range from $2000-$7000 per country to file. After that there are
prosecution costs in each country until the application hopefully issues within a few years as
a patent. There are also yearly patent application fees and patent annuity fees to be paid in
each country.
Conclusion
Seeking foreign patent protection involves considerable costs. However, foreign
patenting can be valuable when undertaken with a targeted approach that is aligned with
the appropriate business case.
UNIT-IV
Patent Rights
Scope of Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual property rights include copyright, patent, trademark, geographic indication of
origin, industrial design, trade secrets, database protection laws, publicity rights laws, laws
for the protection of plant varieties, laws for the protection of semi-conductor chips (which
store information for later retrieval), etc.
There is a conventional mode of classification of intellectual property as industrial property
and copyrights. Industrial properties include inventions (patent), property interest on minor
invention (Utility model certificate) and commercial interests (Trade Marks, trade names,
geographical indications, and industrial design), plant breeder rights, biodiversity, etc.
Patents
A patent is a type of intellectual property right which allows the holder of the right to
exclusively make use of and sale an invention when one develops an invention. Invention is a
new process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter. It is not an obvious derivation of
the prior art (It should involve an inventive step). A person who has got a patent right has an
exclusive right. The exclusive right is a true monopoly but its grant involves an
administrative process.
Copyright
It is an intellectual property which does not essentially grant an exclusive right over an idea
but the expressions of ideas which makes if different from patent law. Patent is related with
invention - technical solution to technical problems. Copyright is a field which has gone with
artistic, literary creativity- creativity in scientific works, audio-visual works, musical works,
software and others. There are neighbouring rights. These are different from copyright but
related with it – performers in a theatre, dancers, actors, broadcasters, producers of sound
recorders, etc. It protects not ideas but expressions of ideas as opposed to patent.
Copyright protects original expression of ideas, the ways the works are done; the language
used, etc. It applies for all copyrightable works. Copyright lasts for a longer period of time.
The practice is life of author plus 50 years after his/her life. Administrative procedures are
not required, unlike patent laws, in most laws but in America depositing the work was
necessary and was certified thereon but now it is abolished.
Industrial Design Law
Some call this design right (European) and some call it patentable design, industrial design
(WIPO and other international organization). A design is a kind of intellectual property
which gives an exclusive right to a person who has created a novel appearance of a product.
It deals with appearance: how they look like. Appearance is important because consumers
are interested in the outer appearance of a product. It is exclusively concerned with
appearance, not quality.
The principles which have been utilized in developing industrial design law are from
experiences of patent and copyright laws. It shares copyright laws because the design is
artistic. It shares patent law because there are scientific considerations. Design law subsists
in a work upon registration and communication. It makes them close to patent law since
they are also founded in patent law. Duration is most of the time 20 years like the patent law
trademark Rights law.
Trademarks Rights Law
It is a regime of the law giving protection to graphic representation to words or logos or
depending on the jurisdiction question such as sound or smells which are distinctive in
nature and serve as source identification. There is also a recent phenomenon which is
representing goods in their smell and sound. It is to be found on the goods associated with
them. It enables the customer to identify the goods from others. They serve as a source
identifier. Trademarks perform communication function. Once there is a valid
representation, it gives the mark owner an exclusive right. It begins with registration and
publication of the mark. But there are exceptions which serve what trademarks registered
serve which are not registered. It means they deserve protection even though they are not
registered. They exist forever so long as the good with which they are associated continue to
be sold. But they require renewal.
Right of Publicity
It protects the right to use one’s own name or likeness for commercial purposes.
Geographic Indication
It is indications on products of the geographic origin of the goods. It indicates the general
source. The indication relates to the quality or reputation or other characteristics of the
good. For example, “made in Ethiopia” is not influenced by the geographical Indication.
Geographical indications are sometimes called appellations of origin. For example, “Sheno
lega”, “Shampagne” (name of a region in France) are geographical indications.
Trade Secrets
It gives the owner of commercial information that provides a competitive edge the right to
keep others from using such information if the information was improperly disclosed to or
acquired by a competitor and the owner of the information took reasonable precautions to
keep it secret. It protects confidential secrets of some commercial value. The holder of the
secret wants this information to be protected; some protect the holder from an unauthorized
disclosure of the information. A tort law, unfair competition or contract law can protect such
information which is secret /confidential information/. The holder (owner) has to do
his/her best to keep the information secret. Trade secrets exist without registration as it is
to make the information public, for example, the formula of Coca Cola. Information that are
protected in trade secrets can be patentable if they are novel and non-obvious. But it is, most
of the time, not to make the secret public. However, their full-fledged IP rights are
contestable.
Licensing and transfer of technology
Introduction
Technology Transfer (also called Transfer of Technology (TOT) and Technology
Commercialization) are the processes by which the information or knowledge related to the
technological aspects travel within the group or between the organizations or entity. Taking
this to the broader scenario, give rise to International technology transfer in which the
knowledge travels in between the countries, which is not only limited to the Knowledge and
information, rather includes skill transferring, methods of manufacturing, physical assets,
know-how, and other technical aspects, and henceforth helps in further development of the
technology and innovation, by effectively utilizing the technology transferred and finally
incorporating it.
Technology transfer has been used in the movements of technology from the
laboratory to industry or from one application to another domain application or taking
developing countries into consideration technology transfer helps in growing access to
technologies which are related to other developed countries and henceforth helps in
approaching towards the newer technologies and inventions i.e. from Developed to
developing countries.
On the other hand licensing is allowance granted by the patent owner to another
person or organization for using the patented invention on agreed terms and conditions,
while the patent owner continues maintaining his ownership to the patent and hereafter
becomes the source of income by receiving the predetermined royalties or as per the
condition.
So by combining the concept of the technology transfer with the licensing one can
help in taking the benefit of the technology research that has been done previously, as
licensing creates the permissible structure for the transfer of the technology to a larger
assembly of researchers and engineers, which will help in saving the expenses of conducting
the research and the costs of maintaining development activities or facilities and hence will
help in the further development of the technology which has already been done.
As now a days in the era of the advancement in the technologies there are many
technologies which with the combination with the other technologies is giving birth to the
other new advent technologies. so here the licensing do play the important role in providing
the legal platform to utilize the combination of the technologies made or discovered by the
other persons or the organization which has been created earlier, and hereafter prevents
from wastage of the time and the research cost incurred in developing the earlier inventions.
Forms of Technology Transfer:
Technology transfer can be classified into vertical and horizontal technology transfer
Vertical transfer refers to transfer of technology where transmission of new
technologies is done from the generation of new technology during the research and
development programs into the science and technology organizations, for instance, to the
application related to the industrial and agricultural sectors, or we can say that vertical
transfer is the technology transfer commencing from basic research to applied research,
from applied research to development followed by development to production.
While the horizontal technology transfer is the movement of a well-known
technology from one equipped environment to another (from one company to another) or
say refers to the transfer and use of technology used in one place or organization to another
place or organization.
As discussed above generally developed countries follow the route:Research -> Development -> Design -> Production
While less advanced and developing countries follow the route:Production -> Design -> Development -> Research
Generally there are the reverse trends in the developing countries because the path to be
followed depends upon the transfer, absorption, and adaptation of existing technology
Today in the era of advent in technology one could choose any of the routes of the
technology transfer which depends upon how the technology advancement chains of the
transferor and transferee are associated.
Advantages Related To Technology Transfer:
The advantages related to technology transfer comprises of the essential gain to the
public who benefits from the manufactured goods that get to the market and ultimately the
availability of the jobs which results from the improvement and sale of the products so
formed. And hence it encourages use of technology developed and the benefiting to the
society development which comes from the revenue of the tax payers. And escalating
visibility to researchers and allows researcher to generate and earn royalty income and
henceforth attaining financial profits for the government and the employees from royalty
payments for those technology transfers that involve patent licenses.
Moreover resulting in commercialization of the researches and the discoveries made,
which was the course of the investment done for the development and being protected by
the patent. Hereafter all the Investments done in the course of the development in
intellectual property are returned to the public through products made for the public,
opportunity of more employment, and revenue in the form of taxes.
Technology transfer strengthens industry by identifying new business opportunities
which contributes to enhancing the know-how and competitiveness of the technology
providers, which ultimately results in broadening the business area and re-focusing to the
technologies and systems to serve several different fields. In addition, technology transfer
promotes the wider use and awareness of technology and systems.
Technology transfer brings economic benefits by increasing revenues for both
technology donors and receiver's benefits with new and better products, processes, and
services that lead to increased efficiency and effectiveness, greater market share and
increased profits.
Moreover technology transfer helps in earning rewards which is above and beyond
the regular salary which is received through patents, licenses, and other technology transfer
awards which help in benefiting intellectually and professionally through working
collaboratively with their peers in the industrial sector.
Disadvantages Related To Technology Transfer
As technology transfer is keen or meant for the business oriented activity, hence forth
there can be the chances to have financial or commercial risk, as we are well aware that
Licences can generate the income, but patent application which are not licensed will only
cost money.
Even when the transfer programme related to the technology transfer is successful or
in particular after technology transfer institutional tensions may arise within the
organization which may be in between the recipient of licensing income and those who
know they will never make utilizable inventions. For the sake of remedy in those
circumstances Institutional policies can be made aiming to have partial rearrangement of
income received by license between all research groups but, using this strategy may not
eradicate the problem rather in most of the cases discoverer will be frustrated or
disappointed because the income that they have earned is given to other groups. Technology
transfer activities may put researchers in conflict of interest situations, especially when the
transfer involves the creation of the spin- off company, hence Institutions should be aware of
these possible dangers.
Moreover problem can be because of non-performance of licensee. And may be the
licensee has limited chances beyond the license scope unless future enhancements to patent
included in initial agreement and Unrealistic expectations and demands from licensor.
Indian Scenario Regarding the Licensing and Technology Transfer
Technology in India is growing exponentially and has played an important role in all
round development and growth of economy in the country, India has opted for a wise mix of
original and imported technology. Henceforth "Technology transfer" plays a very important
role and is generally covered by a technology transfer agreement.
Developing countries like India generally not follow the usual path for development
with regard to technologies but use their advantage in the cutting edge technology options
which is now available and put the tools to use this modern technology.
Technology transfer is assumed to get benefits from R&D which is shared with the
developing and underdeveloped countries , so taking this to the point of consideration
National research laboratories is been constructed by the Indian government for the
purpose of R&D which is yet to be commenced by the private sectors.
India generally comprises of Small and medium enterprises and is growing since
liberalization, which has resulted in growth of The multinational enterprises, which in turn
is competing with the international companies which has enhanced the confidence of India.
Not only confined to the pharmaceuticals but is broadly categorized in other areas too such
as agriculture, dairy and other technologies.
Government of India is in the verge to open Technology Transfer Offices, Universities,
institutions which will be funded by central government and will acts as mechanism for
transferring or exporting the research conducted and its outcome to the desired place.
Though some of the Indian Institutes have been already commercializing their
research and are successful in technology transfer in which they have been licensed as
technologies to industry. Moreover, numerous cases of technology transfer are seen in India
by various well-known institutions.
Conclusion
Technology transfer and its licensing have played a crucial role in all round
development and the advent of the technology which in results help in the development of
the economy of the country. Hence forth helps in creating the wealth to the country. India as
a developing country need to work on the technology development and technology transfer
and needs to make a building strategy comprising of the construction of new offices related
to technology transfer and to make youngsters aware to the benefits related to the
technology transfer, by establishing the specified universities and henceforth increasing the
pace of the technology transfer and technical research and development in technical
perspective.
Finally as discussed we can conclude that there is the possible advantage and disadvantage
of the technology transfer. But we have to see this in the broader aspect so that our country
as well as the citizen of our country should be benefited.
Patent Databases
It is a repository of data related to the issued patents and published applications. All the
relevant data related to patents, i.e. patent number, claims, specification, review, reference
etc., are collected and maintained in a patent database. The first large public patent database
was launched by USPTO in November 1995. The USPTO database now contains information
regarding 326,033 granted patents and 615,243 patent applications as per United States
(US) Patent Statistics Chart, 2014. The database is updated weekly on every Tuesday when
new patents are issued. The EPO’s ESPACENET system is the largest public database, which
contains more than 90 million patent documents from 80 countries, containing information
about inventions and technical developments from 1836 onwards. The commercial online
patent databases appeared in the early 1980s, followed by Compact Disc-Read Only Memory
(CD-ROMs) a few years later. Currently there are more than 100 free and subscription patent
and patent-related databases on the World Wide Web. The list of different types of patent
databases available.
National and Multinational Patent Databases
Patent offices of various countries collect, maintain and store all the information about the
patent applications filed and granted in their respective areas. This information is stored in
patent databases which is freely available online. These databases also contains link to
patent database of other countries. They provide full text, CD ROMs, and search tools for
accessing the patent information stored in patent database. Multinational patent databases
are the most comprehensive database of patent documents available in the world. They
provide access to patent-related publications; provide multilingual support, contains
bibliographic collections, co-citation analysis, machine translations, PDFs, drawings,
simple/extended families with legal status, corporate tree, etc. The various regional, national
and multinational patent databases are freely available and their websites are listed.
Commercial Patent Databases
There are many commercial patent databases that offer more useful services, such as,
translations of patent information, additional systematic classification based on chemical
structures, reactions, biological sequences, etc. These commercial databases provide value
added services such as patent family based data, manually corrected bibliographic data,
graphical patent family analysis, identification of top assignees, top classifications, and top
countries of filing, etc. The major commercial fee based patent databases are listed in Table.
Patent Databases in Indian Context
In India, the IPR related issues came into prominence after a while when global community
started implementing it. As India started moving into a global trade regime, the necessity of
Indian patent databases also rose into prominence. There are few relevant patent databases
in Indian context. The major databases in this regard are:
INPAIRS Version 2 – It is freely accessible online patent search engine maintained by
Government of India to search Indian patents. The patents filed and granted in India can be
accessed through INPAIRS. The database also provides information on published
applications and application status. We can also access the Patent Agent Register and the
Patent validity with renewal fee. The database also provides access to PCT patents using the
international patent number. There is patent search engine help tool, which helps to easily
access the database for patent information.
MCPaIRS (Molecular Connections Patent Information Retrieval System) – It is a
commercial patent database maintained by Molecular Connections. MCPaIRS helps to search
the full text of patents published in India. The data is processed by experts and is available
for use through web interface. The database comprises an elegant front page with
bibliographic details, application status, legal status information, etc. for all patents. The
database contains patent information from 1981 and is updated weekly. It is also supported
by commercial patent literature databases i.e. PatBase, Thomson Innovation, Questel Orbit,
STN, SciFinder, Lexis Nexis, etc. and Non-Patent Literature databases.
EKASWA A, B and C Database – These are the first Indian patent searchable databases
available in CDROM and Web. Ekaswa A contains patent applications filed in India from
January 1995 to December 2004. Ekaswa B contains patent applications notified for
opposition in India from January 1995 to December 2004. Ekaswa C has access to patent
applications published in Official Journal of Patent Office published from January 2005 to
June 2007. This database is managed by Technology Information, Forecasting and
Assessment Council (TIFAC)
INPAT(Indian Patent Database)– It is a bibliographic database which provides information
on 52,624 patents granted in India during the period spanning between 1975-2002. The
database delivers information on patent title, applicant(s) name(s), inventor(s) name(s),
patent number, application number, application date, publication date, IPC code, etc.
Searching a Patent Database The awareness on how to search a patent database is
essential in order to get maximum information on several areas of patent search. There are
different tasks for which patent search are conducted, such as:
(i) Patentability search – This is the first step in patent search in order to check whether
your invention is valid, original and also to check whether there exist inventions
similar to yours. Thus it would be best if we conduct patentability search before the
development of the invention.
(ii) State-of-the-art search – The search is done to get information related to prior
technology in particular fields. The researcher or the inventor will get a better idea
about prior inventions in their new technical field of research. The state of the art
search will help to widen scope or to conduct more effective and strategic research
work.
(iii) Monitoring/legal status search – It helps to monitor the legal status of a granted
patent or patent application.
(iv) Bibliographic search – The search is done to get background information on the work
done in the specified area in chronological order. The search is performed as personal
background search, history search, and chronological search.
(v) Infringement search – An infringement search is done to check whether our patented
product can infringe already existing patents in other countries. It will monitor the
claims of non-terminated patent to check for infringement.
(vi) Validity search – It helps the inventor to monitor the validity of non-terminated
patents. The search will also help to get knowledge on the technological defects in the
patent which can hamper its validity before termination. The validity search requires
the usage of advanced analysis techniques in order to determine the relevance of
patent claims and its originality.
(vii) Patent to product mapping search – This is a comprehensive method to get
information on technology development trends, competitor styles, market
involvement, product growth, and determining the scope and utilization of
information for patent procurement through examination and mapping of data to
enable research and development.
For an effective prior art search in various patent databases, the patentee should have
a basic idea about the terms and techniques related to the invention. This awareness will
ease patent search. The several search criteria’s to retrieve patent information are keywords
or phrases, patent classification Systems i.e., International Patent Classification (IPC),
Coopérative Patent Classification (CPC), etc., date of filling/grant/publication etc., patent
reference or identification numbers (application number, patent number, PCT number) and
names of applicants/ assignees or inventors and invention title.
The detailed patent search will help the applicant/patentee to answers various
questions regarding his invention like what does the invention do? What should be the end
result of the invention? How does it work? etc. The patent databases can be searched
normally using keywords or phrases describing the technology or invention. However,
keyword searching in patent databases is sometimes problematic. When we search using
English keywords in patent databases using foreign languages we won’t get accurate search
result, e.g. If we conduct a keyword search in JPO patent documents about half the total
issued patents are undetectable to keyword searches. Multinational patent databases like
PatentScope and Espacenet cover patents in many languages hence it would be more useful
for keyword searches.
The best way to search in patent database without any error is to perform
classification search. The patent offices worldwide have developed classification systems - a
standard system to identify technology groups to which the innovation belongs. The three
commonly used patent classifications are the U.S. Patent Classification, International Patent
Classification and the European Classification. The Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC)
up-to-date and internationally compatible classification scheme covers the USPTO and EPO
patent documents. These classification systems are based on the international nature of the
patents and hence are independent of languages. Searching patent documents by patent
classification will help to overcome the pitfalls caused by keyword searching.
Searching of patent documents is a step-by-step process; initially the search should
be done in broad and related area followed by fine and more focused searches. Patent
information is obtained through various patent databases and there are patent search
tutorials available in most free online patent databases. To begin with patent search; the
major patent databases i.e. USPTO, WIPO (PatentScope), EPO (Espacenet) and JPO should be
accessed. Similar searches should also be done in different regional and national patent
databases to do a comparative study and get more information related to our invention at
regional level. For value added services such as, patent family based data, manually
corrected bibliographic data, graphical patent family analysis, identification of top assignees,
top classifications, top countries of filing, etc. it would be better to access commercial fee
based databases.
Geographical Indications of Goods
Geographical Indications of Goods are defined as that aspect of industrial property which
refers to the geographical indication referring to a country or to a place situated therein as
being the country or place of origin of that product.
What is a Geographical Indication?
 It is an indication
 It originates from a definite geographical territory.
 It is used to identify agricultural, natural or manufactured goods
 The manufactured goods should be produced or processed or prepared in that
territory.
 It should have a special quality or reputation or other characteristics
Examples of Indian Geographical Indications –
 Solapur Chaddar
 Solapur Terry Towel
 Basmati Rice
 Darjeeling Tea
 Kanchipuram Silk Saree
 Alphanso Mango
 Nagpur Orange
Laws relating to Geographical Indication of Goods;
Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 and The
Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Rules, 2002 deal with
registration and better protection of geographical indications relating to goods. The primary
purpose of this Act is to provide legal protection to Indian Geographical Indications which in
turn boost exports. Registration of Geographical indication promotes economic prosperity of
producers of goods produced in a geographical territory.
According to the Act, the term 'geographical indication' (in relation to goods) means
"an indication which identifies such goods as agricultural goods, natural goods or
manufactured goods as originating, or manufactured in the territory of a country, or a region
or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of such
goods is essentially attributable to its geographical origin and in case where such goods are
manufactured goods, one of the activities of either the production or of processing or
preparation of the goods concerned takes place in such territory, region or locality, as the
case may be".
Registration of Geographical Indication
The registration of a geographical indication is not compulsory; however, it offers
better legal protection to facilitate an action for infringement. The registered proprietor and
authorized users can initiate infringement actions. The authorized users can exercise the
exclusive right to use the geographical indication.
The registration of a geographical indication is valid for a period of 10 years. It can be
renewed from time to time for further period of 10 years each. If a registered geographical
indication is not renewed it is liable to be removed from the register.
Procedure for Filing application for registration of Geographical Indication
I. Form and signing of application
1. Every application for the registration of a geographical indication should be made in
the prescribed form (GI-1A to ID) accompanied by the prescribed fee (Rs.5,000).
2. It should be signed by the applicant or his agent.
3. It must be made in triplicate along with three copies of a Statement of Case
accompanied by five additional representations.
II. Fees
1. Fees may be paid in cash or sent by money order or by a bank draft or by a cheque.
2. Bank Drafts or cheques should be crossed and be made payable to the Registrar at
the appropriate office of the Geographical Indication Registry.
3. It should be drawn by a scheduled bank at the place where the appropriate office of
the Geographical Indications Registry is situated.
4. Where a document is filed without fee or with insufficient fee such document will be
deemed to have not been filed.
III. Sizes
1. All applications should be typewritten, lithographed or printed in Hindi or in English.
2. It should in large and legible characters with deep permanent ink upon strong paper,
on one side only.
3. The size should be approximately 33 cms by 20 cms and shall have on the left and
part thereof a margin of not less than 4 centimeters.
IV. Signing of documents
1. In case of –
i. An association of persons or producers shall be signed by the authorized
signatory.
ii. A body corporate or any organization or any authority established by or under
any law for the time being in force shall be signed by the Chief Executive, or the
Managing Director or the secretary or other principal officer.
iii. In case of partnership it shall be signed by at least one of the partners.
2. The capacity in which an individual signs a document should be stated below his
signature.
3. Signatures should be accompanied by the name of the signatory in English or in
Hindi and in capital letters.
V. Principal place of business in India
1. Every application for registration of a G.I should state the principal place of business
in India.
2. A body corporate should state the full name and nationality of the Board of
Directors.
3. Foreign applicants and persons having principal place of business, in their home
country should furnish an address for service in India.
4. In the case of a body corporate or any organization or authority established by or
under any law for the time being in force, the country of incorporation or the nature
of registration, if any as the case may be should be given.
VI. Convention Application should contain the following
1. A certificate by the Registry or competent authority of the Geographical Indications
Office of the convention country.
2. The particulars of the geographical indication, the country and the date or dates of
filing of the first application.
3. The application must be the applicants’ first application in a convention country for
the same geographical indications and for all or some of the goods.
4. The application must include a statement indicating the filing date of the foreign
application, the convention country where it was filed, the serial number, if
available.
VII. Statement of user in applications an application to register a geographical indication
should contain a statement of user along with an affidavit.
VIII.Content of Application Every application should be made in the prescribed forms and
shall contain the following:
1. A statement as to how the geographical indication serves to designate the goods as
originating from the concerned territory in respect of specific quality, reputation or
other characteristics.
2. The three certified copies of class of goods to which the geographical indication
relates.
3. The geographical map of the territory.
4. The particulars of the appearance of the geographical indication words or figurative
elements or both;
5. A statement containing such particulars of the producers of the concerned goods
proposed to be initially resisted. Including a collective reference to all the producers
of the goods in respect of which the application is made.
6. The statement contained in the application should also include the following:
An affidavit as to how the applicant claim to represent the interest of the
association of persons or producers or any organization or authority established
under any law;
The standard benchmark for the use of the geographical indication or the
industry standard as regards the production, exploitation, making or manufacture of
the goods having specific quality, reputation or other characteristic of such goods
that is essentially attributable to its geographical origin with the detailed
description of the human creativity involved, if any or other characteristic;
The particulars of the mechanism to ensure that the standards, quality,
integrity and consistency or other special characteristic are maintained by the
producers, or manufacturers of the goods; Three certified copies of the map of the
territory, region or locality; The particulars of special human skill involved or the
uniqueness of the geographical environment or other inherent characteristics
associated with the geographical indication; The full name and address of the
association of persons or organization or authority representing the interest of the
producers of the concerned goods; Particulars of the inspection structure; In case of
a homonymous indication, the material factors differentiating the application from
the registered geographical indications and particulars of protective measures
adopted.
IX. Acknowledgement of receipt of application:
1. Every application of the registration of a geographical indication in respect of any
goods shall, on receipt be acknowledged by the Registrar.
2. The acknowledgement will be by way of return of one of the additional
representations with the official number of the application duly entered thereon
Infringement of Geographical Indication
A registered geographical indication is infringed if an unauthorized user uses it to
indicate or suggests that certain goods originate from a geographical area other than the
true place of origin in a manner which misleads the public as to the geographical origin of
the goods, or when use of the geographical indication results in unfair competition. This
includes passing off in respect of a registered geographical indication, or when the use of
another geographical indication results in false representation to the public that goods
originate from a territory in respect of which there is a registered geographical indication.
The registered proprietor or the authorized users of a registered geographical indication can
initiate an infringement action.
UNIT-V
Administration of Industrial Property (Patent System)
Introduction
The organizational structures which need to be established by the government of a
country for industrial property laws to operate effectively fall into three categories:
 bodies operated directly as part of the government machinery — namely an
Industrial Property Office and a Policy Unit;
 bodies outside the government machinery but which may call for government
supervision namely patent and trademark agents;
 special arrangements in the courts.
The Industrial Property Office is often called the Patent Office for short, even though
it handles trademarks and designs as well as patents. In some countries the three functions
are, for historical or other reasons, operated independently by separate offices, but it is
usually more efficient to combine the functions in one office.
The Industrial Property Office is essentially a government institution. Its precise
position in the government organization as a whole can vary according to the administrative
structure of the government of the country in question.
The Office may be integrated completely into a Ministry concerned, being staffed by
civil servants who can be transferred into and out of the Office from other parts of the
Ministry. The advantage of frequent transfers is that the Office receives a regular intake of
staff with wider experience and perhaps fresh ideas; the disadvantage is that experienced
officials are lost as they move elsewhere.
The Office may be organized as a semi-autonomous body, able to recruit and train its
own staff on its own terms, to control its own fees and other charges and to manage its own
finances. It may then have a management board representing both the government and the
people who use the Office’s services. The advantages are freedom from general government
restrictions on manpower and spending, more freedom to finance investment in new
developments, greater ease in responding to user and consumer interests, and more
retention of experienced staff. The disadvantage, particularly for a small Office, is that the
staff’s career is more restricted and that might affect the quality of the recruits to the Office.
Whatever administrative structure is adopted the Office must be judicially
autonomous. The decisions of the Office to grant, refuse or revoke an industrial property
right, or to resolve disputes between parties, are quasi-judicial decisions, not administrative
ones. The Office must, therefore, be free from any interference in particular decisions, being
answerable only to the court in so far as there is a right of appeal from an Office decision to
the court
The Office must be subject to administrative supervision by the Ministry in charge of
its general performance, on the level of its fees and on the appointment of the head of the
Office or members of any management board. In addition, it is highly desirable to establish
an advisory committee of representatives of user organizations (such as patent and
trademark agents’ institutes, chambers of commerce, industrial federations and consumer
groups).
Administrative Structure in the Industrial Property Office
The managers of many of today’s Industrial Property Offices are increasingly called
upon to plan and organize their operations with optimum efficiency in mind. In recent years,
Industrial Property Offices have become much more active in the promotion and delivery of
services related to the role of industrial property information as important factors for
technological development, in addition to the carrying out of the traditional functions of
search and examination related to the granting of industrial property rights.
Most Industrial Property Offices have also experienced, in recent years, substantial
increases in workloads because of rises in filing rates, which have not always been
accompanied by corresponding increases in human resources. Consequently, managers have
been looking at various ways and means, including automation, to increase the efficiency of
their operations and deliver more with the same or fewer resources. In this context,
managers have been studying different organizational set-ups in order to promote the most
efficient use of their human resources.
The current trend is to group all the industrial property activities under one
authority, since this results in the more efficient use of management skills and the
interchangeability of a certain number of employees, particularly in the support areas. Such
an organizational structure allows having managers with specific technical and operational
knowledge and experience at certain levels but liberates others to concentrate on primarily
management issues. The structure also reduces the number of managers requiring in-depth
knowledge of industrial property. Other advantages are:
 providing a variety of advancement paths for employees;
 possibility of amalgamation of certain functions and avoidance of duplication of certain
others;
 management teams with a variety of experience and background;
 making optimum use of management skills by having them applied over wider areas;
 presents the possibility of shared services, often reducing costs and the amount of
equipment and office space required.
This structure also has some disadvantages — of certain employees having to become
generalists rather than acquiring in-depth experience in any one field, and of certain
managers being called upon to deal with a multitude of areas that are quite different in
nature. Others are:
 because the educational requirements are different in the different sectors, the
employees of one sector can tend to dominate the managerial levels;
 because of fewer management positions at certain levels, there are fewer prospects of
advancement to those levels.
There is also an increasing tendency to merge the industrial property administration with
the copyright administration, as in Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore and Thailand.
Directorate General
The Directorate General is the authority to which all the organizational centers
report. The actual title of this position may vary as, for instance, Commissioner of Patents,
Registrar of Trademarks, etc., as well as that of Director General. The officer holding this
position is responsible for the management of all operations related to industrial property.
In practically every Industrial Property Office, this responsibility would be too vast
for only one manager. The situation may be handled by the appointment of Deputy Directors
General who are responsible for specific operations, or by dividing the Directorate General
into legal and administrative areas of responsibility.
Industrial Property Operations
Industrial property operations are managed by the various centers under the
Directorate General. These centers are the ones which are involved with the activities
leading to the grant of industrial property rights: they deal as appropriate with patent
examination, trademark examination, industrial design examination, support services,
appeals and oppositions, PCT, documentation and information, automation and programs
and research.
New developments in IPR
Besides to the most recent developments, in order to bring progressive changes
towards a free market society, rapid liberalization of international trade practices and
demonstrating its commitments to the WTO under the Trade Related Intellectual Property
Rights Agreement (TRIPS), the Government of India undertook a series of steps, to conform
India IP legislation to acceptable international standards. The regulations relating to all
forms of IP have been amended or reissued in recent years, mainly in response to India’s
accession to the WTO. Here are some of these developments in IP legislation in India.
1. Trademark law brought at par with international practices
To bring Indian trademarks law in line with international practices and to
ensure implementation of India's commitments under the TRIPS Agreement, India
replaced the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958, with the Trade Marks Act, 1999.
Some changes under the 1999 Act are as follows:
 Service marks, for the first time, made protectable through registration.
 The definition of "trade mark" now includes graphic representations, shapes,
packaging and combinations of colours, thereby widening IPR protection.
 The procedure for registration of trademarks expedited by removing the earlier
system of Part A and B registration. In addition, only a single application need
now be filed for registration of a trademark in different classes. The 1999 Act
also provides for the classification in conformity with recognized International
Classification of Goods and Services.
 The period of registration and renewal has been increased from seven to ten
years.
 The definition of "trademark infringement" has been broadened to give
protection beyond the use of identical/deceptively similar marks in relation to
goods for which they are registered.
 An action for infringement of trademark/passing-off can be filed in a district
court within whose jurisdiction the plaintiff (trademark proprietor) resides or
carries on business, as against the earlier law which required the suit to be filed
at the defendant's place.
 Under the new law, both registered and unregistered trademarks can be
assigned with or without the goodwill of the business.
 Recently, by way of the Trademarks (Amendments) Rules, 2014, the fee with
respect to trademark filing has been increased in certain cases. The fee for an
expedited examination have also been increased. Further, the Trade Marks
Registry recently issued an Office Order little with respect to alterations that
may be made to an application for trademark registration. This Order enlists
certain ‘substantial alterations’, which would not be allowed; and other
alterations, primarily clerical in nature that would continue to be accepted by
the Registrar.
2. Protection to Geographical Indications Provided
India has enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and
Protection) Act, 1999 (the GIG Act). The GIG Act provides for registration and better
protection of geographical indications relating to goods to help identify the place of
origin of goods, quality, reputation and other distinctive characteristics of these goods.
The GIG Act now helps in protecting unique.
Indian products linked to some geographical region of India, such as Basmati
Rice, Darjeerling Tea, Alphonso Mangoes, Malabar Pepper, Cardamom and Hyderabad
Grapes, which are all well known in the international market. For many years, these
products have been exported on a regular basis, demonstrating India's reputation of
high quality of these products and, therefore, require such protection. Under the GIG
Act, assignment of geographical indications is prohibited, being public property. The
GIG Act also lays down provisions for infringement actions. The GIG Act helps prevent
geographical indications of goods becoming generic which may otherwise lead to a loss
of distinctiveness and consequently loss of protection.
3. Copyright Law Modified
The 2012 amendments in copyright law, which were made to make Indian
copyright law compliant with the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and WIPO
Performances and Phonograms Treaty, introduced technological protection
measures, ensured that fair use survives in the digital era by providing special fair use
provisions, made many author-friendly amendments, special provisions for disabled,
amendments facilitating access to works and other amendments to streamline
copyright administration.
The Government is considering further amendments to the Indian Copyright
Act to help deter continuing piracy. Future amendments would provide for greater
deterrents against infringement through more effective legislative and administrative
frameworks. These amendments would also offer the police wider powers to conduct
secret raids, seize and destroy infringing products, provide faster criminal
proceedings and increased punishment for piracy.
4. Patents Law more aligned with TRIPS
Modifications in Indian patent laws have been made in accordance with TRIPS
by widening the list of inventions not patentable, incorporating greater rights of the
patentee, reversing the burden of proof in an infringement suit on process patents
and creating a uniform period of patent protection of twenty years for all categories
of invention.
During 2014, the Indian Patent Office released guidelines pertaining to
issuance of pharmaceutical patents. These guidelines primarily incorporate features
of various court decisions so as to assist the Patent Office in establishing uniform
standards of patent grant/examination. These guidelines are expected to bring in
uniformity with regard to examinations of the patent applications across all Patent
Offices in India and by different responsible officers, in addition to giving to the
inventors and corporates much desired certainty on how their application will be
examined by the Indian Patent Office. Furthermore, in the recent past, various
administrative and procedural mechanisms have been improved in the field of
intellectual property law. The infrastructure of the Indian Patent Office has been
improved greatly, so as to develop facilities for proper management of International
Searching Authority/International Preliminary Examining Authority operation under
the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
Indian Patent (Amendment) Rules 2014 recently introduced a third category
of applicant being of "small entity", and provided procedural rules for governing the
same. Furthermore, the fee for basic patent filing have been revised due to the
introduction of the e-filing system of patents wherein the rates for e-filing are lower
than those involved in physical filing.
5. Protection for Plant Varieties and Rights of Farmers established
India, in giving effect to the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement, enacted the
Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act, 2001, to provide for the
establishment of an effective system for protection of plant varieties. The 2001 Act
recognizes and protects the rights of farmers for their contributions made in
conserving, improving and making available plant genetic resources for the
development of new plant varieties. A variety that conforms to the criteria of novelty,
distinctiveness, uniformity and stability is registrable under law. The 2001 Act
provides for a total eighteen years protection for trees and vines and fifteen years for
other plants.
6. New Designs Law
India enacted a separate law for the protection of copyrights in an industrial
design. The Designs Act, 2000 repealed the earlier Designs Act, 1911. The new law
protects proprietors of novel or original designs and enforces those rights against
infringers. The new law incorporates the definition of the term "original" to specify
what is a registrable design. In relation to a design, the term "original" includes
designs, which though old in themselves, are new in their application. Any design
which is new or original, not previously published in any country, whether India or
outside India, and which is not contrary to public order or morality is registrable
under the Act. The new Act amplified the definitions of "article" and "design" to bring
them in conformity with internationally accepted definitions for providing wider
protection. Designs do not need to be registered in more than one class, which was
not the case under the earlier law. In view of India's accession to the Paris Convention
and India being a signatory to the WTO, the right of priority has been extended to
countries under the Paris Convention. The initial period for copyright in registered
designs has been extended from 5 to 10 years. The new Act removes the earlier
provisions regarding period of secrecy of the design for two years and enables the
public to inspect any registered design during initial period of existence of the
registration.
7. Integrated Circuits Provisions adopted
In compliance with obligations under the TRIPS Agreement, India has enacted
the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Act, 2000. This Act provides for
registration of original, inherently distinctive and not yet exploited layout-designs.
Any misuse of a registered layout-design can be prevented by way of an infringement
action. The Act provides a term of protection for 10 years.
Although the Indian IP laws are still in the stages of development but the same
are very much in conformity with the international IP laws as India is a signatory to
international conventions and treaties including Paris Convention for the Protection
of Industrial Property, Berne Convention on Copyright and TRIPS Agreement.
Generally speaking, other than period of protection available and the time and cost
taken to register an IP, there are but a few major differences between Indian and
European IP laws and even those primarily relate to less significant procedural
aspects. However, there have been significant concerns over IP enforcement, with a
backlog of cases at both the civil and criminal courts and IP Offices, and this is the
area where Indian needs to work.
IPR of Biological Systems, Computer Software etc.
“Some 200 million Indigenous people (4 percent of the world population) live in
environments ranging from polar ice and snow to tropical deserts and rain forests. They are
distinct cultural communities with land and other rights based on historical use and
occupancy. Their cultures, economies and identities are inextricably tied to their traditional
lands and resources. Hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, herding or cultivation continue to
be carried out for subsistence—food and materials—as well as for income” (World
Conservation Union, 2001).
Indigenous Peoples also provide valuable resources and knowledge, about plant and
animal use, including methods of preparation, storage and management, which is of global
economic significance. Their biogenetic resources already form the basis of sizeable seed,
pharmaceutical and natural product industries. Natural resource management, soil fertility
maintenance, stream and coastal conservation and forest and agricultural system models
provide viable, time-tested options for sustainable development adapted to microclimate
variations and local socio-political ecosystems.
Yet Indigenous Peoples confront increasing external pressures on their lands,
territories, resources, knowledge, innovations and practices. Even the recognition of their
past endowments to world food and medicinal sources, as well as their significant
contributions to agriculture, water and forest management, has done little to offset their
political marginalisation.
Role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (Tek) In Conserving Biodiversity
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), as defined by Johnson, covers “a body of
knowledge built by a group of people through generations living in close contact with nature.
It includes a system of classification, a set of empirical observations about the local
environment, and a system of self-management that governs resource use” (Johnson, 1992).
TEK not only refers to Indigenous communities, but also incorporates the knowledge
base of hundreds of millions of members of predominately rural societies who depend on
the natural environment for their livelihood. Their knowledge has been passed on over
many thousands of years, accumulating intricate, detailed and sacred understandings of the
local land to form their cultures and knowledge systems (IUCN, 1997). Traditional
communities relationship with nature is such that the concepts of biodiversity and
conservation are not foreign to them. Instead it is an “integral part of human existence, in
which utilisation is part of the celebration of life” (Posey, 1999). These include notions of
stewardship and totems that are fundamental to biodiversity conservation.
It is vital to incorporate TEK into international law and policy, as it will assist
preservation of local knowledge, encourage participation by these communities in
environmental management and (with prior informed consent) provide a framework for
access and equitable benefit sharing. Age-old practices are not only beneficial to these
communities but also provide examples of appropriate sustainable conservation strategies
displaying efficient management techniques for soil, water, fisheries and forestries, which
have wider applications.
Ownership and Protection of Tek
Ownership and property are Western legal concepts that do not easily transpose into
traditional and Indigenous systems. The notion of transferability is the least compatible
element of property. This is because traditional and Indigenous Peoples identify themselves
within communities who are tied to the land, often based on spiritual connections. There is
often no single identifiable individual that could stand as the property owner of lands and
biological resources.
Hansen and VanFleet (2003), argue that traditional knowledge is usually collective in
nature and is often considered to be the property of the community as a whole:
It is transmitted through specific cultural and traditional information exchange
mechanisms, for example, maintained and transmitted orally through elders and specialists
(breeders, healers, etc.), and often to only a select few people within a community.
The rich and complex systems of traditional knowledge protected and transmitted
through customary law regimes are often undermined by dominant legal systems. Attempts
by Indigenous Peoples to assert and protect their own approaches to TEK, in an increasingly
globalised world, has often taken the form of a debate about the appropriateness, use and
abuse of intellectual and cultural property rights.
Source Code and Object Code
Computers do not understand our language. They only understand 'machine language' or
'machine code' i.e. instructions which consist of a series of 0s and 1s; the language of 'yes'
and 'no'. In the earlier days a computer program used to be written in machine code by
punching a punchcard. The punched slot or unpunched slot indicated requisite information
to the computer. This process was slow and tedious. Such a programme, although intelligible
to the computer, was virtually unintelligible to any one except an equally skilled
programmer.
As the computer science progressed, so did the method of writing computer
programmes. It developed 'assembler languages' and then high-level languages—such as
Basic, Fortran, Cobol, Pascal, c++ etc. They simplify the work of a programmer. The use of
these high level languages enables a programmer to write a programme in terms that nearly
resembles ordinary English, unlike those used in the lower level languages. They also permit
complex operations for the computer to be written by a relatively compact commands. Such
writing of the programme―as written by a programmer―are known as the source code.
The source code is compiled by a compiler―converting it into the language that
computers understand. It is then known as the object code or machine code or binary code
or machine language.
Protection of Source Code
Source code is a kind of description; a description of the computer program. If it is
published then it is a literary work within the Copyright Act and is so protected. If it is not
published then it is protected as a trade secret though only, the writer/ owner of the work
has the right/copyright to publish it.
Proprietary Software
In proprietary software, the source code is generally never published; it is secret: it is
protected as a trade secret.
Copylefted and Open Source Software (OSS)
Everyone is not using copyright or trade secret to prevent others from using computer
software without their permission or preserve their rights. They are using copyright in such
a way that it does not become the exclusive property of anyone. They are not copyrighting
but copylefting it. Copylefting is a new word, new concept.
In order to copyleft a software, the copyright holder publishes the source code with
the declaration that everyone has the right to copy, distribute, and modify the software
without any payment of royalty or fee provided in case of redistribution of the same
software or distribution of the modified software, the source code is also disclosed and
similar freedom—as given by the original copyright holder—is given to the others.
Copylefted software is also called free software as there is freedom to modify it. It is
also called GPLed software as general public license (GPL) has a condition that copylefts a
software.
Software where the source code is disclosed may or may not be copylefted and there
can be degrees of copyleftness: it all depends on the terms of the licence under which it is
released.
In 1997 free software enthusiast got together to start 'Open Source Initiative' (OSI) a
non-profit public organisation. It has come out with ten guidelines. In case license
conditions, under which that software is released, satisfies them then that software is
copylefted to some degree. Software released under the licenses satisfying these guidelines
are known as 'Open Source Software' (OSS).
OSI has also identified licenses that satisfy these condition. Among them, in one
extreme is the GPL that copylefts the software to the maximum and is viral. At other end is
Berkeley Software Distributions (BSD); it copylefts the software to the minimum.
All 'GPLed software’/ ‘Free software’/ ‘copylefted software' are also OSS; they lie
within the sphere of OSS but reverse is not true. In OSS source code is always published: it is
always protected as copyright―subject to the conditions of the license under which, it is
published. In case license conditions are violated then it will also amount to copyright
violation.
Protection of Object Code
The question as to how an object code is protected was debateable. The High Court of
Australia considered this question in Computer Edge Pty Ltd v. Apple Computer Inc, (1986)
161 CLR 171. The court held that the object code is not protected as a copyright. Justice
Gibbs, one of the judges in the majority Observed,
‘I have not found anything … that has persuaded me that [the object code] a sequence
of electrical impulses in a silicon chip not capable itself of communicating anything directly
to a human recipient, and designed only to operate a computer, is itself a literary work, or is
the translation of a literary work within the Copyright Act.’
In India legal provisions were similar. However, before this question could be raised
in our courts, we sorted it out by amending the Copyright Act in pursuance of TRIPS by two
amending Acts namely Act no. 38 of 1994 and Act no. 49 of 1999. The definition of the
'literary work' in section 2(o) of the Copyright Act was amended to include computer
programme as well as computer database. The result is that not only the computer
programme (subject code as well as object code) but computer database is also protected as
a copyright.
Patents
Patentability of computer software is controversial as well as debatable.
Patents can be granted for inventions. The word ‘invention’ {section 2(1)(j) of the
Patents Act} read with the word ‘inventive step’ {Section (1)(ga) of the Patents Act} means a
new product or process that is capable of industrial application. Invention must be novel and
useful. It should not be obvious to a person skilled in the art. It must be a significant advance
in the state of the art; it should not be an obvious change from what is already known.
Generally this is the global law but is being applied differently in different countries (see
Endnote-1, for relevant part of TRIPS).
Law – US
Section 3 of the Indian Patents Act explains what are not inventions. Patents cannot
be granted for discoveries and inventions mentioned in section 3 of the Patent Act. There is
no such limitation in the US law as the Congress intended to include anything under the sun
that is made by man, but the US Supreme Court in Diamond vs. Chakrabarty, 447 US 303: 65
L Ed 2d 144 (the Chakrabarty case) (for the facts, see end note-2) held,
‘This is not to suggest that … [law] has no limits or that it embraces every discovery.
The laws of nature, physical phenomena, and abstract ideas have been held not patentable.
Thus a new mineral discovered in the earth or a new plant found in the wild is not a
patentable subject matter. Likewise, Einstein could not patent his celebrated law that
E=mc2; nor could Newton have patented the law of gravity. Such discoveries are
manifestation of nature, free to all men and reserved exclusively to none.’
The US Supreme Court in Parker v. Flook (437 US 584: 57 L Ed 2d 451) also held that
a method for updating alarm limits during catalytic conversion, which is a mathematical
formula, is not patentable.
The US Patents Act neither specifically refers to programmes for computers, nor to
the business methods. The US Supreme Court in Gottschalk v. Benson, 409 US 63: 34 L Ed 2d
273 (the Gottschalk case) held that a computer program—involving a method to convert
binary-coded-decimal numerals into pure binary numerals — cannot be patented for the
reason,
 The method was so abstract as to cover both known and unknown uses of the binarycoded-decimal to pure binary conversion;
 The end use could vary and could be performed through any existing machinery or
future-devised machinery or without any apparatus;
 The mathematical formula involved had no substantial practical application except in
connection with a digital computer; and
 The result of granting a patent would be to improperly issue a patent for an idea.
 In short, algorithm cannot be patented. A computer program — standing alone or by
itself — cannot be patented in the US, but what would be the position if it were a part of
an industrial or business process?
Industrial Process
Diamond v. Diehr, (1981) 450 US 175: 67 L Ed 2d 155 (the Diehr case) was a case
involving a process for curing rubber that included a computer programme. Rubber in a
mould is to be heated for a given time according to the Arrhenius equation, named after its
discoverer Svante Arrhenius. The inventor had found a process for constantly measuring
temperature inside the mould, which was fed to a computer that opened the mould at the
right time. The court by a five to four decision held that a patentable claim does not become
unpatentable merely if it uses a mathematical formula, or a computer programme, or a
computer. In short, a computer programme may not be patentable as such but may be
patentable as a part of an industrial process.
Business Methods
Traditionally, the processes concerned with technology only could be patented. Many
other activities including business methods, or data analysis which one would consider
processes, were excluded from patents. However, since the Diehr case, there has been a shift
in the US. US Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) has issued a Manual of Patent Examining
Procedures containing guidelines for patenting inventions. Its earlier policy for computer
related inventions {Paragraph 706.03(a)} was as follows {See Hotel Security Checking Co. v.
Lorraine Co., 160 F. 467 (2nd Cir. 1908) and In re Wait, 24 USPQ 88, 22 CCPA 822 (1934)}:
‘Though seemingly within the category of a process or method, a method of doing
business can be rejected as not being within the statutory classes.’
This was deleted and a new paragraph {706.03(a)} was added,
‘Office personnel have had difficulty in properly treating claims directed to methods
of doing business. Claims should not be categorized as methods of doing business. Instead
such claims should be treated like any other process claims’.
The aforesaid change was noticed by the US court of appeal in State Street Bank v.
Signature Financial Group, 149 F. 3d 1352 (the StateStreet case) (for facts see Endnote-3)
and the court held that,
‘Whether the claims are [patentable or not] should not turn on whether the claimed
subject matter does “business“ instead of something else.’
The court also held that,
‘To be patentable an algorithm must be applied in a “useful“ way.
…
We hold that the transformation of data, representing discrete dollar amounts, by a
machine through a series of mathematical calculations into a final share price, constitutes a
practical application of a mathematical algorithm, formula, or calculation, because it
produces a useful, concrete and tangible result’
In short, at present the law in the US is that, an abstract idea by itself never satisfies the
requirements of the Patents law. However an abstract idea when practically applied to
produce a useful, concrete and tangible result satisfies it.
Today, USPTO has one chapter on Patent Business Methods and is granting patents to
software techniques for business methods and data analysis, if they are useful. Australia and
Japan have also followed suit. Some examples of patents of business methods granted in the
US are:
 Single click to order goods in an on-line transaction. This is famous Amazon 1-click
patent. It was ruled invalid by USPTO on 9.10.07 {To read the original document, go
to USPTO PAIR, choose the "Control Number" radio button, enter 90/007,946 and
submit. Choose 'Image File Wrapper' and select 'Reexam - Non-Final Action' of the date
and download).
 An on-line system of accounting;
 In-line rewards incentive system;
 On-line frequent buyer programme; and
 Programmes letting customers set their own prices for hotel booking etc.
However in US, the law whether a computer programme, in conjunction of business methods
is patentable or not, is far from settled. The Federal circuit Court in 'In re Bilski case' has on
1st October 2007 ordered rehearing of the State Street Case framing the following five
questions:
1. Whether claim 1 of the 08/833,892 patent application claims patent-eligible subject
matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101?
2. What standard should govern in determining whether a process is patent-eligible
subject matter under section 101?
3. Whether the claimed subject matter is not patent-eligible because it constitutes an
abstract idea or mental process; when does a claim that contains both mental and
physical steps create patent-eligible subject matter?
4. Whether a method or process must result in a physical transformation of an article or
be tied to a machine to be patent-eligible subject matter under section 101?
5. Whether it is appropriate to reconsider State Street Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature
Financial Group, Inc., 149 F.3d 1368 (Fed. Cir. 1998), and AT&T Corp. v. Excel
Communications, Inc., 172 F.3d 1352 (Fed. Cir. 1999), in this case and, if so, whether
those cases should be overruled in any respect?
Law – Europe
Article 52(2)(2) of the European Patent Convention 1973 (EPC) specifically states
that ‘schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing games or doing
business, and programmes for computers’ will not be regarded as inventions. This is also the
law of the member countries of the European Patent convention: computer programmes and
business methods cannot be patented there. However in practise, it is not so. : they are
generally being granted
The European Patent Office (EPO) is an organization formed by the EPC; it does not
work under the European Commission. The EPO and a number of patent offices of the EPC's
member countries have been granting software patents if claims are presented as
technological advancement rather than just software or business applications. However,
there is no consistent practice among them. Nevertheless, the EPO claims that:
 It does not grant patents for computer programmes or computer-implemented
business methods that do not involve a technical contribution.
 Its practice to grant software patents is significantly different from that of the USPTO.
In order to harmonise the practise, the European Commission proposed a draft
directive in 2002 on the subject. But the text was never agreed upon. Some feared that
Europe would get a much more liberal regime, like that of the US. Others feared that they
would lose the patent protection they already enjoyed. As a result, on 6th July 2005, the
proposal was defeated in the European Parliament. However this means that the
inconsistent practice that caused the Commission to seek to clarify the law is still continuing.
Law — UK
The question regarding patentibility of computer software was debated and decided
in England in In re Astron Clinica Ltd. It concerned six applications that claimed to be 'a
method of doing X' and 'a device for doing X' by running a suitably programmed computer
on the device. It is in effect, a computer programme that carries out the method (for facts of
Astron Clinica case, see Endnote-4). These applications were rejected by United Kingdom
Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO).
Justice Kitchin of the High Court of Justice, Chancery division noted the difference in
practise in applying patent law in European countries by stating that:
'UKIPO considers such claims to be prohibited by Article 52 of the European Patent
Convention (EPC). The EPO considers such claims to be allowable if the program has the
potential to bring about, when running on a computer, a further technical effect which goes
beyond the normal physical interactions between the program and the computer.'
(paragraph 1)
...
'it is highly undesirable that provisions of the EPC are construed differently in the
EPO from the way they are construed in the national courts of a Contracting state.'
(paragraph 49)
The court held that:
'In all these circumstances I have reached the conclusion that claims to computer
programs are not necessarily excluded by Article 52. In a case where claims to a method
performed by running a suitably programmed computer or to a computer programmed to
carry out the method are allowable, then, in principle, a claim to the program itself should
also be allowable. I say "in principle" because the claim must be drawn to reflect the features
of the invention which would ensure the patentability of the method which the program is
intended to carry out when it is run.
...
It follows that these appeals must be allowed. Each concerns a computer related
invention where the examiner has allowed claims to, in effect, a method performed by
running a suitably programmed computer and to a computer programmed to carry out the
method. The Hearing Officer has rejected corresponding program claims on the basis they
are necessarily prohibited by Article 52. For the reason I have elaborated, he erred in law in
so doing. These cases must be remitted to UKIPO for further consideration in the light of this
judgement.'
Law – India
Section 3 of the Patents Act provides what are not invention and cannot be patented.
Section 3(k) provides that a mathematical or business method or computer programme per
se or algorithms is not invention for purposes of the Patents Act (see Endnote-5). The word
'computer programme' is modified by the word ‘per se'. This word means standing alone, or
by itself, or in itself. It shows that under section 3(k) a computer programme standing alone
or by itself can not be patented. Nevertheless it also means that if a computer programme is
not standing alone then it may be patented; it leaves doubts regarding its scope. The courts
may interpret it in the same manner as the Europeans are doing or could do all the way as is
being done in the US: of course its finer boundaries will be determined when courts actually
interpret these words.
Patents – Some Difficulties
Period
Many feel that patents may not be granted for doing business on the Internet and in
any case the period of 20 years is too long as computer technology changes every two years
(see ‘Patently Absurd‘ by James Gleick is available at http://www.around.com/patent.html).
Method of patenting
Presently, patent applications for inventions involving computer programme merely
contain flow chart but not the source code. Patents are granted in exchange for a full
description of the invention as well as how to perform it. In case source code is not disclosed
then whether there is full disclosure. These questions need to be addressed judicially.
Software Patents―To be or Not to be
Many feel that patents may not be granted for doing business on the Internet and in
any case the period of 20 years is too long. The question regarding patentibility of computer
software or the period for such patentibility should be settled globally. The sooner it is done,
the better it would be for the computer software industry.
What may be done till the law is settled: get your software patented. In case it cannot
be done due to time or expenses involved, publish it on the website. This would indicate
prior art and at least others will not be able to get it patented.
Conclusion
Michael Lewis wrote a book in 1999 on the success story of the Silicon Valley entitled
‘The new new thing: a Silicon Valley story‘. The most quoted line from this book is,
‘The definitive smell inside a Silicon Valley start-up was of curry.‘
Let’s hope that—with a better understanding of role of IPRs in the computer industry—not
only inside a Silicon Valley start-up, but also inside the e-World, will there be the smell of
curry.
Endnote-1: Clause 27 of the TRIPS defines patentable subject matters. The relevant part of
sub-clause (1) of clause 27 is as follows:
Subject to the provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3, patents shall be available for any inventions,
whether products or processes, in all fields of technology, provided that they are new,
involve an inventive step and are capable of industrial application.
A footnote is inserted here in the TRIPS states,
For the purposes of this Article, the terms "inventive step" and "capable of industrial
application" may be deemed by a Member to be synonymous with the terms "non-obvious"
and "useful" respectively.
Endnote-2: Plasmids are hereditary units physically separate from the chromosomes of the
cell. In a prior research, Chakrabarty and an associate discovered that plasmids control the
oil degradation abilities of certain bacteria. In particular, the two researchers discovered
plasmids capable of degrading camphor and octane, two components of crude oil. In the
work represented by the patent application at issue here, Chakrabarty discovered a process
by which four different plasmids, capable of degrading four different oil components, could
be transferred to and be maintained stably in a single Pseudomonas bacterium, which itself
has no capacity for degrading oil. The new bacteria were not ‘products of nature‘, because
Pseudomonas bacteria containing two or more different energy generating plasmids are not
naturally occurring.
At present, biological control of oil spills requires the use of a mixture of naturally
occurring bacteria, each capable of degrading one component of the oil complex. In this way,
oil is decomposed into simpler substances which can serve as food for aquatic life. However,
for various reasons, only a portion of any such mixed culture survives to attack the oil spill.
By breaking down multiple components of oil, Chakrabarty’s micro-organism promises more
efficient and rapid oil-spill control and his patent application was allowed.
Endnote-3: Signature was the assignee of the patent. The patent was for data processing
system (the system) for implementing an investment structure. The system was developed
for use in Signature's business as an administrator and accounting agent for mutual funds.
The investment configuration provided the administrator of a mutual fund with the
advantageous combination of economies of scale in administering investments coupled with
the tax advantages of a partnership.
State Street negotiated with Signature for a license to use its patented data processing
system. When negotiations broke down, State Street filed a case for declaration that the
patent is invalid. This was allowed by the Massachusetts district court. This judgement was
in appeal that was allowed and the case was remanded. It later on ended in compromise.
Endnote-4: The facts in the application filed by Astron Clinica are as follows:

University of Birmingham had developed skin imaging techniques. Astron Clinica was
founded to commercialise it.

The technique enables images of the skin to be processed to identify the distribution
and concentration of underlying skin chromophores.

Distribution and concentration of underlying skin chromophores undergoes a change
in case of cosmetic or surgical intervention.

The application filed by Astron Clinica describes the invention as providing a system
and process for generating realistic images representing these changes. It is
implemented by programming a computer to process images in a particular way. This
is achieved by a disc that causes a computer to be configured so as to undertake the
required processing.
Similarly, computer programme was used in the other cases.
Endnote-5: Section 3(k) as it stands today was substituted by the 2002 Amendment. It was
replaced by section 3(k) and 3(ka) by the Patents Amendment Ordinance 2004 (the 2004
Ordinance). Section 3(ka) as substituted by the 2004 Ordinance excluded mathematical
method or business method or algorithms from the field of invention. It was the same as was
provided by the 2002 Amendment in Section 3(k). However, the law regarding computer
programme was further clarified in section 3(k) by the 2004 Ordinance. After the 2004
Ordinance, computer programme per se was further qualified by the phrase 'other than its
technical application to industry or a combination with hardware'. It showed that the
computer programme in its technical application to industry or a combination with
hardware only could be patented: a scope narrower than US approach but perhaps wider
than European approach. The 2004 ordinance has been repealed by the Patents Amendment
Act 2005 (Act 15 of 2005) (the 2005 Amendment) however it left the section 3(k) as was
substituted by the 2002 Amendment intact; it did not incorporate the amendments in 3(k)
or substitution of 3 (ka) as proposed by the 2004 Ordinance.
Traditional knowledge Case Studies, IPR and IITs
In 1995, two expatriate Indians at the University of Mississippi Medical Centre were granted
U.S. Patent 5,401,504 on Use of Turmeric in Wound Healing. The claim covered “a method of
promoting healing of a wound by administering turmeric to a patient afflicted with wound”.
This patent also granted them the exclusive right to sell and distribute turmeric. Initially,
this news was a disbelief and surprise by many people in India.
In India, the turmeric has been “a classic grandmother’s remedy”, applied to cuts of children
as an anti-parasitic agent, used as a blood purifier and in treating the common cold for
generations. It is also used as an essential ingredient in many Indian dishes. It is part of our
traditional knowledge. So, the question was how could someone get an exclusive right to sell
and distribute turmeric?
In 1996, The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), India, New Delhi requested
the US Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) to revoke the patent on the grounds of
existing of prior art. CSIR did not succeed in providing that many Indians already use
turmeric for wound healing although turmeric was known to every Indian household for
ages. Fortunately, it could provide documentary evidence of traditional knowledge including
ancient Sanskrit text and a paper published in 1953 in the Journal of the Indian Medical
Association. The patent was revoked in 1997, after ascertaining that there was no novelty.
Now, what is exactly mean by Traditional knowledge?
Traditional knowledge refers to knowledge, innovations and peculiar practices developed
from experience gained over centuries and adapted to the local culture and environment. It
is mostly information held in human memories and not written down. Traditional
knowledge systems do not act in isolation and include spiritual experiences, philosophies,
politics, and technologies and strongly influenced by the indigenous traditions. The holder of
traditional knowledge is the community that has unwritten customary laws which manage
the access and use of traditional knowledge. This knowledge is vast enough to encompass
categories like, agricultural knowledge, medicinal knowledge, biodiversity-related
knowledge, and expressions of folklore in the form of music, dance, song, handicraft, designs,
stories and artwork.
In 2000, WIPO members established an Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual
Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC), and in 2009
they agreed to develop an international legal instrument (or instruments) that would give
traditional knowledge, genetic resources and traditional cultural expressions (folklore)
effective protection.
How can we protect Traditional knowledge?
Only after the patenting of turmeric, neem and Basumati rice, India and many developing
biodiversity rich country woke up to the danger that the traditional knowledge was faced
with. Two types of intellectual property protection are being sought:
Defensive protection and Documentation of Traditional Knowledge: aim to prevent
people outside the community from getting intellectual property rights over traditional
knowledge. India has compiled a searchable database of traditional medicine Traditional
Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL, http://www.tkdl.res.in/) that can be used as evidence of
prior art by patent examiners when assessing patent applications. Defensive strategies
might also be used to protect sacred cultural manifestations like sacred symbols or words
from being registered as trademarks. Documentation helps in preservation, dissemination,
use and management of this knowledge rather than for the purpose of legal protection.
There are also concerns that documentation could lead to misappropriation.
Positive protection is the granting of rights that empower communities to promote their
traditional knowledge, control its uses and benefit from its commercial exploitation. Some
uses of traditional knowledge can be protected through the existing intellectual property
system, and few countries have also developed specific legislation.
Can trade secret protection be applicable to Traditional knowledge?
There are many traditional knowledge systems that operate through groups or communities
or individuals assert and maintain their knowledge through secret regime, especially in the
context of medicinal knowledge. The reason being,
1. Personalised nature of the healing process can induce a de facto private knowledge of
botanical resources. For the healer, these secret plants are a symbolic extension of his
secret knowledge.
2. A lot of traditional knowledge have been accumulated and codified and are available in
Sanskrit, but many of it have been transmitted through secret oral instructions in
various traditional medical lineages.
Is there a need for alternative regime for the protection of Traditional knowledge?
Due to difficulties identified in the application of intellectual property to traditional
knowledge including traditional medicines, there have been calls for establishment of
the sui generis (specific, special) systems for the protection of traditional knowledge. In the
domain of pharmaceutical research, traditional knowledge contributes towards the
identification, development and appropriate dosage of the drug. This useful information is
accumulated through consistent skill, observation and usage by local and indigenous
communities. However, the conventional intellectual property systems do not recognise this
as valuable “innovation”. Access to such information is assumed to be “free”.
This has prompted some countries to develop their own sui generis systems for protecting
traditional knowledge. However, the parameters and modalities are being worked out. The
broad objectives under sui generis systems would be determination of protectable subject
matter, ownership rights and procedure for acquiring rights.
Furthermore, sui generis systems protected under national law may not hold true for other
countries. Therefore, many indigenous, local communities and governments are pressing for
an international legal instrument. Recognizing and valuing traditional mode of creativity and
innovation as protectable intellectual property would definitely be an historic shift in
international law, empowering indigenous communities as well as governments to have a
say over the use of their traditional knowledge by others.
Neem: The Neem tree is a native evergreen species of tropical countries like India and other
such Southeastern countries. Neem is called as “the village pharmacy” in India for its healing
property and it is used in medicine and mostly in Ayurveda from its very beginning, it can be
said to be in use for a period of more than 4000 years ago. The Neem is called as “Arista”
which is a Sanskrit word which means imperishable or complete. Not only the Neem leaves
are used in medicine but the tree itself is used in medicine. It is used as inti-inflammatory,
anti-pyretic, antiseptic, anti-fungal, antiviral medicines.
Bio-piracy: The term bio-piracy means the theft of several genetic resources and materials
mainly the plant varieties in the form of obtaining patent. Once a material is patented, the
owner could possibly prevent that thing form being recovered by any other person even
though the one is real owner of that property. Thus, by patenting the traditional knowledge
of indigenous people the corporate can restrict the people from use of their own traditional
knowledge and thus it affects the livelihood of native people.
Problem raised in Neem Patent: In the year 1971, a timber importer form US imported
neem seeds to plant neem trees in his headquarters in Wisconsin. He also conducted
performance and safety tests upon the pesticidal properties of neem and got clearance from
the US Environmental Protection Agency known as EPA. After three years he sold the patent
to a multinational corporate company which is known as W R Grace and Co. and by the year
1985, several US and Japanese corporations were trying to find and formulation of
emulsions for toothpaste production it of Neem. Subsequently in the year 1992, the
corporate W R Grace and co claimed rights for the pesticide emulsion begotten out of Neem
seeds. And by this, it began to sue Indian companies for making such emulsions.
Dispute: According to India‟s claim, it was stated that Neem is an indigenous product and it
is still in practice as a form of traditional knowledge in India. It was also said that Neem if
granted patent it would affect the poor farmers and by this the Indian economy will also be
harmed.
Neem campaign in India: A group of individuals and several NGO‟s initiated their Neem
campaign and this was done to mobilise the worldwide people for support and to protect the
traditional knowledge systems and also protect Indian traditional products from biopiracy.
The Neem Case was the first initiative to challenge US and European patents with regard to
biopiracy.
Case judgement: On July 30,1997 the European Patent Office (EPO) accepted the arguments
of Indian scientists thus this resulted in rejection of patent granted by the iUS patent office to
W R Grace and co. The argument which was accepted on whole was the use of Neem and its
products in India for a period of more than 4000 years.
Use of turmeric in India: Turmeric is a tropical herb and used widely in India as a cosmetic
agent and also used mostly in all dishes in India as a colouring agent. The turmeric powder
has a deep yellow colour and a slight bitter taste when raw.
Patent issue and Turmeric: In the year 1995, US Patent was awarded to Medical centre Of
University of Mississippi for the use of wound healing property of turmeric.
India’s claim: Dr. R.A.Mashelkar who was the Director of Council of Scientific and Industrial
research (CSIR) during period of 1995 to 2006 opposed the patent granted to the Medical
centre of Mississippi university and worked hard for awakening India‟s traditional
knowledge of Turmeric.
Arguments by Indian scientists: The claim was supported by documentary evidence which
was an old newspaper dated 1953 printed and published by Indian Medical Association, and
there were also evidences produced which includes old and ancient texts in Sanskrit.
Judgement: In 1998 April, the judgement favoured CSIR which was based on the argument
that was proved with string documentary evidence that Turmeric was being in use by Indian
people since ancient period of time.
Conclusion
The traditional knowledge is something that should be protected as a valuable asset as it is
the basic form of indigenous and local communities’ livelihood. Traditional knowledge also
supports Indian economy since most of the tested traditional knowledge which are used for
production of certain novel products have commercial value. Through the traditional
knowledge, the agriculturalists conserve and maintain the biodiversity and make sustainable
agricultural practices. The documentation of traditional knowledge prevents the chances of
bio-piracy whereby the native traditional knowledge is prevented against misuse and
misappropriation of our products by third parties. Thus, there must be updation of
Traditional knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) periodically and a headquarters should be
maintained by a team either by the Central or by the State government. The traditional
knowledge of all indigenous products and ideas out of those products should also be a feed
in the TKDL. India as a developing country while concentrating in development should also
concentrate in protecting the inborn knowledge of country as well.