Intellectual Property Rights in India

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are the legal entitlements granted to creators and inventors over their intellectual creations’ inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, and commercial symbols. In India, IPR is not a standalone constitutional guarantee; the power to legislate on patents, inventions, designs, copyright, trademarks and merchandise marks flows from Entry 49 of List I of the Indian Constitution's Seventh Schedule (Union List). This domestic framework operates alongside India's international commitments, chiefly the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which India accepted upon joining the World Trade Organization in 1995 . Over three decades, India has built a fairly comprehensive if still evolving IPR regime spanning patents, trademarks, copyright, designs, geographical indications, plant varieties and semiconductor layouts.