INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN INDIA

The Trade Marks Act, 1999 is the primary law governing the mechanism of trademark registration and protection in India.
In India, trademarks are registered by the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Government of India.
It is a member of the TRIPS Agreement and the Madrid Protocol.
India follows the 11th edition of Nice Classification. Multi-class trademark applications are acceptable.
The third parties can file opposition actions against a trademark application within four (04) months following its publication date in the Trademark Journal.
In India, registered trademarks have a validity of ten (10) years from the date of application, which can be further renewed indefinitely for successive periods of ten (10) years each.
The grace period to renew a trademark after the date of expiry is six (06) months.
The period for cancellation of a registered trademark based on non-use is five (05) years and three (03) months from the date of registration.

India is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
The Patents (Amendment) Act – 2005 and The Patents (Amendment) Rules – 2016 deal with the mechanism of patent protection in India.
In India, an invention that satisfies the conditions of originality, novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability, subjects to patentability. Process patent and product patent are the two types of patents that can be protected.
The types of patent applications that can be filed include Non-Convention Application, Convention Application, PCT National Phase Application, Divisional Application, and Patent of Addition.
The time-frame for PCT national phase filing is thirty-one (31) months.
In India, an opposition against a patent application can be raised both at the pre-grant and the post-grant stage. At the pre-grant stage, any third party may raise an opposition within six (06) months (after the patent gets published but before it is granted) approximately. At the post-grant stage, any third-party may raise an opposition within twelve (12) months from the date of publication of the patent grant.
The patent of invention lasts for twenty (20) years in India. The first annuity will be due in the 2nd year, and the last annuity will be due in the 19th year. The payment of annuities must be made within three (03) months before the due date.

The Designs Act, 2000 governs and deals with the mechanism of registration of industrial designs in India.
The types of industrial design applications that can be filed in India include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
Utility model protection isn't provided under industrial design protection in the nation.
Opposition against an industrial design application can be raised within six (06) months from the date of publication of the industrial design in the official gazette.
The total duration of industrial design registration in India is fifteen (15) years from the date of application (but where the priority claim has been allowed, the duration is fifteen (15) years from the priority date). The initial registration term is ten (10) years, which can be further renewed for an additional term of five (05) years upon payment of the renewal fee.
The time frame for payment of the renewal fee before the due date is six (06) months.
There is a grace period of six (06) months to renew a registered industrial design.

India is a member of almost all the international conventions on copyright law, including the Berne Convention, Universal Copyright Convention, Rome Convention, TRIPS Agreement, WIPO Copyright Treaty, and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty.
The basic legislation governing copyright protection is The Indian Copyright Act 1957, amended frequently, and The Indian Copyright Rules, 1958.
The standard copyright protection term lasts for the lifetime of the author plus sixty (60) years following his death. However, the duration of copyright protection varies depending on the type of work.
In the case of original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, the duration of copyright is the lifetime of the author or artist, and sixty (60) years, counted from the year following the death of the author.
Cinematograph films, sound recordings, posthumous publications, anonymous and pseudonymous publications, works of government, and works of international organizations are protected for sixty (60) years, which are counted from the year following the date of publication.