The history of the concept of Intellectual Property can be traced back to 500BC. Sybaris, a Greek state allowed the citizens to procure a patent on “any new refinement in luxury”, this basically meant that anything new or a change in luxury could be protected. This gave rise to the concepts of Trademark, Copyright and Patents. In 1623, a British Law came into force which was known as the Statute of Monopolies. This law confirmed that monopolies were contrary to common laws but made an exception to patentable inventions, which gave rise to patent law. Under this law, Guilds were formed to control the major industries and these guilds were given the power to bring all the new innovations to the public market, giving them ownership and control over inventions. Moreover, this law provided that the inventors shall get a 14 year period of exclusive rights to govern how their inventions were utilised.
In 1710, The Statute of Anne came into force, which provided the provision to renew their protection of 14 years over their inventions for another 14 years. This legislation mainly focused on copyrights for authors, to give them the ability and power to control the recreation and distribution of their work.
The Paris Convention of 1883 was the main international agreement which provided protection to inventors. The Berne Convention in 1886, was legislated to provide international protection to all forms of writings which included songs, paintings, sculptures etc. In 1891, The Madrid Protocol came into being which created a global process to protect the Trademarks on an International level. As the time passed, the offices that were created by the Paris and Berne Conventions combined to create the United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property, which eventually became the present day World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).[1]
In India, after the establishment of the WTO and India being a signatory of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the Designs Act was passed in the year 1911, The Copyright Act was legislated in the year 1957, it was followed by the Patent Act in 1970 and The Trademarks Act was brought into force in the year 1999. In addition to these laws, India also has the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 and the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act of 2001. All the above mentioned Acts have gone through various amendments through time and the latest versions of these legislations is in force in India.
The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has designated April 26 as the World Intellectual Property Day. It is celebrated every year to learn the role that Intellectual Property rights play in encouraging innovation and creativity. World Intellectual Property Day 2020 focuses mainly on the efforts to create a Green Future. This year the main theme focuses on how innovation and creativity can be utilised to maintain sustainable development and how Intellectual Property can play its role in making the future green and bright for the generations to come.
[1] The History of Intellectual Property, By Robert Klinck.