Analysis of Interplay between Competition law and Intellectual Property Rights

The legal framework aims to safeguard individual rights and provide remedies in case of violation, however, there can arise certain circumstances where objectives of different law seem conflicting to one another. A prominent example of such tension is the tussle between Competition law and Intellectual Property Rights. While competition law was established with the purpose to promote fair and open market which is accessible to every individual and encourage competition to provide variety of products to consumers, Intellectual Property Rights seems contrary to this notion by granting exclusive rights to an individual to their innovations and further protect creativity by doing the same. This article examines the seeming conflict between both the areas of law and further explore the common ground of interplay. It further analyses how both laws intersect and operate harmoniously to ensure market regulation and innovation in India. Additionally, the based lacunas in both the Indian statutes would be discussed that can result in inconsistencies in enforcement of these laws. Key words: Intellectual Property Rights, Competition Law, Interplay, Innovation, Monopoly, Rights, Free and Fair Market.