Potentiality and challenges of Open Data System

A large number of databases are regularly created by government and private organizations to meet the specific requirements of the organizations. Some of the created data are not only serving the purpose of the creator, but it may be very much beneficial to the other people as well. As for example, Newton discovered the laws of gravitation. The scientists of all over world are still now working to create new theories using Newton's laws. From these theories, the people get the information about the mystery of the earth. If the scientists could not get access of Newton's laws, many mysteries of the universe could not be solved. Therefore, some types of data should be available to others for using, republishing and developing without restrictions of copyright, patent and other "Intellectual Property" laws. It is known as open data policy.
The movement for getting access to the open data is relatively new. The movement got the momentum with the introduction of World Wide Web. The individual, society, commercial establishments all along the countries are now capable of accessing, creating and sharing various types of information through internet. Empowered by the newly acquired information, the users of internet are now taking important decision, solving various problems, generating vast economic activities and taking effective steps to meet the challenges of natural calamities. Open data system is now also an important tool to increase the transparency of the public works and allow the conscious citizen to formulate effective policy and programs. However, the open data is not only restricted to only government data, it also focuses on the scientific, technical, mathematical, financial and medical data.

I am providing you the most important open data and their uses.

·          Scientific data: It is created from various scientific studiesof all categories from "A" to "z". Anybody can get access to it from World Data Center System that was instituted in the year 1957.

· Finance data: It includes the Government expenditure and revenue collection, the balance sheet of companies, stock markets, shares and bonds.
· Statistics: The data are used to indicate the progress of human development.
· Geo-Physical data: It creates the map of the region. It shows the location of buildings, roads and topographic position of the region.
· Weather: The data are obtained from the satellite image and other sources. The prediction is very much useful in case of accepting the challenge of natural calamities.
· Government data: Nowadays, most of the national Government publishes data to inform the citizens about the plan and program of the Government.
The above-mentioned data came from many sources. The main sources of data are governments, World Bank, UNESCO and various research papers.
Considering the importance of the open data system, many countries have started to open more and more data to the public. It has not only generated a huge amount of opportunities, it has also generated a large amount of businesses promoting creative ideas and reusing public data. However, there is a chance of misusing the data due to its open character. Therefore, each and every country has framed a legal framework to prevent the misuse of the open data system.
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How to convert your invention to money?

How can an inventor earn dividend from his invention? The inventor has no knowledge about how to proceed with the new idea. Some of the would-be-entrepreneurs think that someone will come at his doorstep with a fat check to purchase his innovative idea. The matter is not so easy. Inventor has to follow some guidelines to get monetary from his unique idea. If you follow the guidelines, you can end up with a fistful of money.
1. Getting Patent: Your preliminary task is to protect your idea from infringement. You have to apply for patent. The patent will give you the legal power to exclude others from making others using, selling or modifying your unique idea for 20 years. Patent will empower you to produce and market the invention or license others to do so. The filling of the patent form is complex task. You have to acquire the legal knowledge for it. Therefore, it would be better for you to take the professional assistance from a legal professional.
2. Market Evaluation: You have to evaluate the marketability of your idea perfectly. Marketability evaluation determines the financial success of the invention in the present and the future market. Only a very few patented inventions have a high marketing value. The basic factors of the marketing assessment are fulfillment of customer’s aspiration, realistic cost of manufacturing, easy availability of the product and maintenance of the quality. Nobody will be interested to license your invention if the product is not competitive with the same type of other products in the market. There is certain professional approach of deciding the objective market value. You have to hire professional invention assesses for this job. There are many invention promotion firms who offer assessment. Some of these firms are fraudulent and fake. Before hiring a consultant, you should verify the credential of the firm from the external sources. Some legitimate companies also include the patent search and marketing of the superior product in their service.
3. Licensing: After marketing assessment, you have to look for a company who will license your product. However, you can invest your fund for manufacturing the product from your idea. It requires a huge amount of money and labor. Most of the inventors cannot afford it and they do not have sufficient entrepreneur skill. There are two options of licensing. Some companies will want to license the inventor for onetime lump sum money. Another process is payment the running royalty against the sale of the product. If the onetime upfront payment is not generous, it is advisable to choose the running royalty option. Your patent lawyer may assist you in negotiation with the prospective companies. Do not try to submit your first invention to the large companies. The bureaucratic attitude of the big companies will look at your invention as unauthorized intrusions.
It requires a sustained effort to get others interested in your invention that gives you money. However, if you follow the right direction and hire the right people, you must get the license from the genuine company.
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GIs are about to get the international protection status

Darjeeling, Cognac, Tequila, Chianti are some of the names associated with certain products of specific geographical region. These products, such as Darjeeling tea of Darjeeling have earned a great reputation throughout the world for certain unique qualities and these products have become valuable assets for the local producers. The products are often exposed to misappropriations and counterfeiting by third parties due to it’s high commercial values. Therefore, the legal protections of these products are highly desirable to maintain the quality and originality of the products. The legal protection was provided by “Geographical Indications” (GI) and “Appellations of Origin” (AO), based on the recognition of the association of their quality or characteristics with a specific geographical area. The GI and AO were protected in accordance with international treaties and national laws.
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) took an initiative to formulate a mechanism for the legal protection of GI Products. In the first step of their initiative, members of the WIPO made an agreement at Lisbon. The Agreement was adopted in 1956 and came into force from September 25th., 1966. The Agreement was revised at Stockholm in 1967. The Lisbon system classified the GI products into two categories. The GI products which have higher commercial values will be protected by a special trademark provided by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). This special trademark is known as “Appellations of Origin” (AO). WIPO also decided that International Bureau of WIPO would keep an International Register of “Appellations of Origin” which would be available from the website of WIPO. On the other hand, other GI products were protected under the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Many nations were vocal against the dual standard of protection. They said that the AO products are getting more protection than GI products. Many countries did not sign the treaty to mark the protest against the discrimination. Only 28 countries have signed the treaty still now.
The Working Group on the Development of the Lisbon System (Appellations of Origin) requested the International Bureau of WIPO to find out a single mechanism that will cover the protection of both the Geographical Indications and Appellations of Origin. The working group submitted a Draft Revised Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications in the sixth session of the working group which was held at Geneva from December 3rd. to 7th., 2012. The draft resolution was discussed thoroughly in the next session that was held from April 29th. to May 3rd., 2013 at Geneva. In this session, the members of the working group has accepted the draft resolution for providing the same level of protection.
WIPO secretariat issued a summary by chair. The summary indicates that member states have recommended the convening of a high-level negotiating meeting in 2015 to approve the modified draft resolution. The working group agreed that a recommendation be made to the Lisbon Union Assembly in September 2013, to convene a diplomatic conference for the adoption of the revised instrument in 2015. Members of the working group are now expecting that the new revised draft will attract a wider membership.
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“Patent for humanity” award of 2013 is awarded to “Sustainable Nutrition International mission”(SNI)

Several business incentives and awards have encouraged the technological progress that has reduced the burden of the poor people. Enhanced scope of monetization of the new invention is now attracting the young scholars to participate in the research project for inventing new ideas and process. “World Intellectual Property Organization” (WPO) is now playing an important role to provide latest information on the Intellectual property related issues. “United States Patent and Trademark Office” (USPTO) has taken a bold initiative introducing the award “Patent for Humanity”. The company, educational Institution and the individual get recognition for inventing new product or system that caters the need of the distressed people. The patent owners have to apply for participating in the competition. The applicant has to mention how they will meet the humanitarian challenge with their unique technology and product. There are four categories in the competition, i.e. Medical Technology, Food & Nutrition, Clean Technology and Information Technology.
In 2013, USPO has awarded the “Patent for humanity” award to “Sustainable Nutrition International for developing supplements that help reduce malnutrition in developing countries” in the category of “Food and Nutrition”. It is the most important award of this year. The invention is a great leap forward to eradicate the poverty of the third world.
A recent survey of “World Food Program” observed that there are about 870 millions of people of the universe are undernourished. That means one eighth population of the world are not getting required food and nutrient. Food and nutritional insecurity are the main cause of socioeconomic decline, low productivity and increasing health care costs. If a child suffers from malnutrition, he will not be able to concentrate on the education due to illness of lethargy. The number of school dropouts will be increased day by day. Lack of educated people will be an obstacle to the development of the country. That means food insecurity is a great financial burden to the society. Therefore, food and nutrition security is a great tool for social and economic development.
Considering the above facts and figures, the various working groups have observed that the patent of “The Sustainable Nutrition International mission” (SNI) will provide an effective direction to bring sustainable nutrition to chronically malnourished populations. Now, we will discuss the process developed by SNI mission.
The outer layer of rice is known as rice bran. The 100 gm rice bran contains 11.3 to 14.9 gm crude protein, 34-62 gm of carbohydrates and 15-19gm of fat. SNI has achieved the technology to extract the above-mentioned bioactive nutritional components from rice bran. If these nutritional ingredients are mixed with the common foods, the nutritional values of the functional foods will be enhanced. The process will reduce the problem of malnutrition substantially.
SNI mission started a pilot project with the collaboration of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras government to determine the nutritional potency of rice band extract. The project was conducted among 67,000 school-age (ages 6-10) children across 76 school districts in Guatemala, 35,000 school-age children in 174 primary schools in El Salvador and among 1500 lactating mothers across the region. At the end of the first year, the program showed that the malnutrition was reduced 46%. The result was very much encouraging.
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Launching of ASEAN IP Portal-Background History

The protection of Intellectual Property (IP) rights have become a concern to the Government and the creative people. The IP rights deal with most common issues like public health, education, trade, industrial policy, traditional knowledge, biodiversity, biotechnology, the internet, the cultural industries or climate change. It has become difficult to track the IP infringement due to the rapid expansion of international norms and diversity of IP laws. Therefore, the information about the latest development in the field of IP is vital to the Government and the IP creators. Visual and print media are playing a great role to provide the information about the latest technology, patent law and other related subjects in the field of Intellectual property rights. However, this information is not sufficient to cater the needs of the IP creators.
Association of South Asian Nations (ASEAN) is working to create awareness about the protection of IP in the region through ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) for the past several years. The ASEAN was founded in 1967 for promoting the economic growth, cultural development and social progress of the member nations. Currently, the organization has 10 member states. The member states are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The group observed that there is a widening gap of knowledge and information between the developed and developing nations. The main challenge of the ASEAN Countries is to remove this barrier. Besides it, the task of formulating a common principle for IP protection is very difficult task due to the highly diverse culture of the member countries.
ASEAN countries realized that the protection of IP Rights
might become an important tool for the alleviation of poverty through social, economical and technological progress. Member nations committed to share, cooperate and work together to promote IP related issues and improve the regional framework and used their resources fully for implementing the recommendations of AWGIPC.

In this context, Association of South Asian Nations (ASEAN) has launched ASEAN IP portal on 26th. April, 2013, world IP day. According to the news release “The ASEAN IP Portal was launched today, in conjunction with World IP Day. Comprising information on ASEAN IP systems, comparative IP-related data, and web links to ASEAN IP Offices, stakeholders of ASEAN Member States can now obtain IP information for the entire ASEAN region via a consolidated platform.”
The functions of ASEAN IP is
• Create IP links with the member nations.
Share the recent development of IP legal issues among the members .
Create a common platform to exchange views regarding protection of intellectual property rights among the members.
Raise the awareness about the protection of IP rights among the common people.
Create stronger presence ASEAN countries in the world IP scenario.
In his inaugural speech, Ms Sim Ann, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Communications and Information & Ministry of Education, said that the introduction of the ASEAN IP would give due recognition and respect to the IP creator and it would encourage and develop the creative talents of ASEAN countries.
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Dismissal of Bayer Appeal against Natco on cancer drug

A compulsory license is a legal instrument by which a Government allows someone else to manufacture and sell the product that has been patented by another company. Bangalore based generic company was the first ever company that have the compulsory license for manufacturing and marketing the patented drug Nexavar. In the year 2008, Bayer obtained the patent of Nexavar in India. They sold the patented medicine in the brand name of Sorafenib. The drug is used for the treatment of liver and renal cell carcinoma. Bayer was selling the patented drug at INR 2,80,000.00, a pack of 120 tablets. However, CIPLA, another generic drug manufacturing company of India was selling the same generic version Soranib at INR 30,000.00. Later on, CIPLA reduced the price of the drug to INR 5400.00. Bayer has filed a patent infringement case against CIPLA that is pending in Delhi High Court. The Delhi High Court has not yet granted any injunction against CIPLA.
In this scenario, Natco applied for a compulsory license of Nexavar. They got the license from Drug Controller of India for manufacturing and marketing Nexavar in Indian market from April 2011. Bayer Corporation appealed to IPAB [Intellectual Property Appellate Board] for a stay order against the ruling of Drug Controller.
Justice Probha Sridevan, Chairperson of IPAB and technical member DPS Parmar observed that though Bayer got the patent of Nexavar in 2008, the drug is available only in four metropolitan cities, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. Another interesting fact was that Bayer imported only 200 bottles of Nexavar from 2008 to 2010. The requirements of Nexavar are 23,000 bottles per month in India. This example proves that the drug is out of reach to the majority people of India for its exorbitant price. Government has granted the patent for fulfilling the minimum requirements of Indian people. The Judges also mentioned that According to Article 31 and 27[1] TRIPS of Paris Convention, Patented life saving drugs should be available to all and patent rights will be enjoyable without any discrimination whether the products are imported or locally manufactured. Therefore, both the Judge asked Bayer to take some proactive steps to avoid the issuance of the compulsory license.
In reply, Bayer lawyer said that the company spent huge money for the invention of the drug. On the other hand, CIPLA did not spend a farthing for inventing the drug. Therefore, CIPLA can sell the medicine at a reduced price. . Bayer lawyers also argued that the company had an effective patient assistance program for the financially weaker section of the society. In this program, the company provides one month’s medicine for INR 30,000.00.
However, the attached evidence of expenditure in Research and Development for Nexavar submitted by Bayer did not justify the claim of huge investment. They also could not establish their claim of patient assistance program.
Therefore, the chairperson of the Board and other judges were not satisfied in this argument. They said that the objective of the “TRIPS” is not the conditional subsidized offer of drugs. The motto is the availability of drugs to all the people without any hindrance.
Considering the arguments and counter-arguments of both the parties the judges rejected Bayer’s appeal. The Board also imposes some conditions on Natco for retaining the compulsory license. Controller had set the price as INR 8800/- for the one month’s treatment. Natco will pay 6% commission to Bayer and they will provide the drug at free of cost to at least 600underprivileged patients per year. Bayer also agreed to sell the drug at the price of INR 30,000.00 for one month’s treatment.
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Patentability-First step of monetization of new invention

An invention requires a huge amount of money as well as dedicated effort. If you do not turn your unique idea into a positive outcome, your effort will be meaningless. Your dream will be successful by only patenting your idea. It is wise to hire a patent attorney for submission of patent application. The main duty of a patent lawyer is to search the patentability of the invention, drafting patent submission form and assisting the inventor to get approval of the submitted patent. However, if you do a preliminary research on the patentability and provide the feedback to your hired patent attorney about the invention, it will save your money and time. In this article, I will provide you some tips about the patentability search for the beginners.

Whenever you want to patent a new invention, you have to make patentability search to confirm whether this type of invention was already recorded in prior art. Prior art is not an artistic material, it is a knowledge related to invention. Prior art includes trade journals, previous patents, various publications and public discussions.
The inventor will get the information about the five basic requirements for patentability from prior art.

• Patentability of the subject matter
• Utility
• Novelty
• Non obviousness
• Enablement

Patentability of the subject matter: The patentable subject matter clearly defines what invention is. The patent is granted on the basis of this definition. Under section of 2(1)(J) of TRIPS agreement invention is defined as a new product or process that involves inventive step and capable of industrial utility. The abstract ideas and substances found in nature will not be treated as invention.
Utility: The invention must be useful. The patent examiner will determine whether the asserted utility is specific, substantial or credible.
Novelty: The patent of the idea will be granted unless the claimed invention was published in print media or it is already available for public use before the filing date of patent application.
Non obviousness: Similar types of descriptions may be available in the patent art. The patent attorney can understand the field of patent drafting and draft the application that covers the specific point. The process reduces the chance of rejection.

Enablement: Enablement is disclosure of specification that describes the workings and legal definitions of the invention. The disclosure is a part of every patent application.
The inventor should remember that patent application is a legal document. The beginners will be confused if they want to understand the essence of documents by literally meaning of the words. They have to think the meaning of the claim statements in wider and broader aspects.
The patentability analysis is another vital part of the patent submission. The analysis evaluates which part of the invention will be patented. The patent attorney can understand the field of patent drafting and draft the application that covers the specific point. The process reduces the chance of rejection.
The inventor should be very much cautious about the rejection of the patent application. Apart from losing time and money, there are many adverse effects of the rejection. The unique idea of the inventor will be exposed to the world and the competitors will get access to his work. The competitors can reap the benefits from his invention.
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UK Court orders the blocking of music download sites

About ten major music record companies of United Kingdom filed a copyright infringement suit against six leading internet service providers (ISP) in the High Court of Chancery Division. The claimants claimed that certain websites had infringed the copyrights act and sought a court order to stop downloading the copyrighted materials of the claimants from the sites of those ISPs. The six ISPs include Virgin Media, British Telecommunications and British Sky Broadcasting to block H33t, Kickass Torrents and Fenopy.
The claimants sought the blocking orders under the provision of Section of 97A clause of Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. According to the clause:-

“The High Court (in Scotland, the Court of Session) shall have power to grant an injunction against a service provider, where that service provider has actual knowledge of another person using their service to infringe copyright.”

• The music companies claim that the user of the websites copy and download a copyrighted content selecting it from a torrent file. The user save that copied files in his computer. If the file contains the copyrighted materials and the user does not have the permission of copying the materials, it is treated as copyright infringement under the section 17 of Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The claimants produced evidence in support of their arguments.
• The user of the computer will now communicate the downloaded files to the others from his computers. It is the violation of section 20 of copyright act of UK.

British Telecommunication (BT) argued that a BT subscriber, who was a member of Newsbin2, downloaded copyrighted materials from Newsbin2 site using the service of BT. In that case, the user is not using the service of BT, he is using the service of Newsbin2 for the infringement of copyrighted materials.
Justice Arnold of the Chancery Division observed that the incident of copyright has been established. The defendants also did not deny the charge of infringement. He raised four points to decide who were liable for the offence. The clarifications of these points are required to establish jurisdiction under Sec 97A. The questions are:-

1. Are the defendant service providers?
2. Who have infringed copyright of claimants, users or the operators of the website?
3. Do the users and operators of the websites use the defendants’ service to infringe the claimants’ websites?
4. Did the defendants have commercially gained by copyright violation using their services?

Justice Arnold said that the defendants were service provider had been settled in a previous case “ Dramatico v. Sky (No. 2)” .

He also said that the entire purpose of the websites were to attract users providing them the free copying and making available the contents that were interested in otherwise pay money for it. The websites earned handsome revenue from the advertising in the page. Therefore, the service could not avoid their responsibilities blaming on others. He also said that defendants knew that used their websites for copyright infringement.
Considering the above facts, Justice Arnold agreed wholeheartedly with the arguments of the claimants and gave the ruling in favor of the claimants.
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Who-Will-Be-Benefited-by-the-Agreement-Between-the-29-Major-Drug-Companies-and-INTERPOL-Against-the-Counterfeit-Drug/7474991/

Manufacturing, trade and distributions of the fake medicines and instruments are of major concern to the "World Health Organization" (WHO) and world's top ranked pharmaceutical companies. According to their observations, about 10-30 percent of the drug market has been captured by the fake drug manufacturers. The fake drug contains too little or too much active major ingredients. The use of the fake drugs is creating a major health risks in these countries. The genuine drug manufacturers are losing their business for this type of criminal activity. Big pharmaceutical companies were thinking about creating a mechanism to dismantle the drug rackets and illegal cross border trading of counterfeit drugs. Paris based international investigative agency INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said:"With no country, no drug, no medical product immune from counterfeiting, a global effort is needed to combat this threat which puts the lives of millions of people at risk every single day". In this scenario, world's 29 large pharmaceutical companies have signed a landmark agreement with the Interpol to combat the menace of fake drugs. Novartis, Roche, Bayer, Abbott and Glaxo Smithline are some of the internationally renowned pharmaceutical companies who have signed to participate in the program.

However, the local drug manufactures of India and other developed countries have raised their concerns about the agreement. There is genuine reason behind their concerns. In the past few years, original genetic drugs from India and other countries have been confiscated at the various airports of European countries labeling the genetic drug as fake. The most interesting fact is that the confiscated drugs were shipped out for another developing country. The Indian Government spokesperson says that the seizure of high quality generic and the off-patent drugs manufactured by the domestic companies of the developing countries has become a regular practice in the European counties. It cannot be allowed as this practice is seriously hindering the access to the cheap drugs by the poor. The domestic pharmaceutical companies of the developing countries raised objections to the definition of fake drugs defined by WTO. They also alleged that the main intention of the agreement is to ruin the domestic genetic drug manufacturing companies. They pointed out that none of the 29 signatories manufacture the genetic drugs and they sell the branded medicine at an unreasonable exorbitant price in the third world countries. The main advantage of the genetic drug is that the price of it is much lower than the branded drug. Therefore, the poor people can afford it.
"World Health Organization" (WHO) recently defined the counterfeit drug as "a medicine, which is deliberately and fraudulently mislabeled with respect to identity and/or source. Counterfeiting can apply to both branded and generic products and counterfeit products may include products with the correct ingredients or with the wrong ingredients, without active ingredients, with insufficient active ingredients or with fake packaging.
In Jun 2012, India, Brazil and China jointly defended the rights of poor to access the cheap genetic drugs at WTO. In the meeting of trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS), the representative of the developed countries argued that the substandard ingredients of counterfeit drugs put the lives of the patients at risks. On the other hand, the developing nations argued that WHO is not a proper forum for the discussion of counterfeit drugs. They said that the infringement of "intellectual property rights" (IPR) and substandard products are completely different issues. If the domestic manufacturers use the same formula and process for manufacturing genetic drug, it will be dealt by the "TRIPS" agreement.
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Controversy on Compulsory License Act in India

A compulsory license is a legal instrument by which a government can force the patent owner to license out their patent product to others. Compulsory licensing is a common practice in many countries. The practice is generally used in the field of pharmaceutical industries, technology, music and the performing Arts. It is a unique example of the patent law flexibilities. The clause was introduced in the “Trade-Related Aspects Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)” in June, 1995. .
      

The main objective of the compulsory licensing was to curb the monopoly of a company on a vital and important product that is used for human welfare. Although “TRIPS” agreement was to encourage the new innovations for the development of the people, yet the grant of monopoly has become counterproductive in some cases. The common people have been deprived from the use of the most essential pharmaceutical and other products due to the abnormal high price fixed by the monopoly corporate. This process is hindering the growth of human society. “TRIPS” was signed for the benefits of all cross-sections of the people. Therefore, compulsory licensing clause will protect the toiling masses from the abuse of “Intellectual Property Rights”.
        Many developing nations think that the access of the medicine is the basic right of every individual. Some big pharmaceutical companies fix the price of some life saving drugs at unreasonable exorbitant prices. Third world countries have passed the compulsory license to curb this unfair practice of the inventor companies. Brazil, Ecuador, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand have already taken the benefits of the law.
Though India is a party of “TRIPS” agreement from its inception, yet it did not issue the law since 2005. India introduced the compulsory licensing into Patent Act according to the recommendations by Ayyanger Committee. Prior to the implementation of the compulsory laws, the monopoly trade practices were controlled by the “Competition Act-2002″. Section 27 and 28 of the Act delegated a lot of power to the Competition Commission of India to curb the anti people monopoly practices of the corporate. If a business exploits the consumers taking unfair leverage, the Commission may sell off or transfer the property rights including property rights. .
    

Therefore, when Government proposed the “Compulsory Act Bill” in the Indian Parliament, a great debate began in favor and against the bill. Anti-bill lobby mentioned that “Competition Act-2002” is enough to curb the unfair monopoly trade practices. They also said that the act would deprive the inventor company from their legitimate profit. These companies invest a lot of money for research and development in healthcare and other industries. If the companies do not get proper compensation, they will not further invest money in research and development. As a result of it, the human society could not accept the challenge of fighting the new diseases or new inventions. The development of the human society will be stopped in long run. However, Ayenger Committee suggested a limited use of compulsory license Act to ensure the supply of the patented invention in India at a reasonable price. The issue is very much complex in nature. 
A number of observers suggested for including a mechanism that will cater the interests of both inventor companies and the common people of India. The most important suggestions came from the “Intellectual Property Rights” attorneys. They said that Government should encourage the companies to provide the patented drugs to the poor people through corporate social responsibilities program and Government should also create a mechanism by which the patients can get the medicines at subsidized rates. The inventor companies can help the poor by patient welfare program. If the inventor company cannot implement these measures within two years of the patent, the government can take legal action under the provision of compulsory license act.

Intellectual Property Theft-A Real Menace of the Digital Age

Overview: Internet is the most remarkable invention of the twentieth century. The internet has opened many new avenues for growing the business. It has also become a part and parcel of our lives. On the other hand, rapid download speeds, perfection of digital copying and the rise of e-commerce have increased the chance of piracy and counterfeiting. The robbing of creative ideas and innovations has become a menace in the digital age. The quantum of theft is increasing day by day. The thieves are using several new technologies to steal the intellectual properties (IP) of the creators. According to a rough estimate of “Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)”, US businesses lost 200 billion of Dollars in 2000 compared to 45 billion Dollars in 1999 by IP theft. At the same time, US Government is losing the substantial amount of revenues and US workers are also losing their jobs.

What is IP theft: IP theft is not the conventional type of physical property theft like pick pocketing and shop lifting. It is an invisible virtual theft. Therefore, it cannot be detected instantly. Another problem is that it is very difficult to identify the location or source of the theft. The intellectual property of a particular can be robbed from anywhere of the world through internet. Intellectual property theft includes copyright infringement, trademark infringement and patent infringement.
Nature of IP infringement: Legally, the term “theft” is not applied in the case of IP theft. It is termed as the violation or infringement of IP rights. There are various types of IP infringements. The fraudulent companies use online a logo or a band of the reputed company for selling the imitated product. Looking at the fake logo or brand, the customer purchases fake goods online assuming that he is purchasing it from the real company. Downloading or sharing original music or video from unauthorized sites is another example IP theft. In this case, the original company loses its legitimate revenue. According to an FBI survey, about 75% of the theft is perpetrated by the trusted insiders of the company. The trusted insiders disclose deliberately or unmindful the vital technology and customer database to the fake companies for fraudulent activities. The traffic report of online piracy and counterfeiting reveals that

21 e-commerce sites that sell fake products have attracted about 36 million visitors per year.
North America and Western Europe are the epicenter of the counterfeit internet sites.

The top three fraudulent websites generated about 21 billion traffics per year.
Legal protection against IP infringement: Multiple layers of security and safeguards are taken to protect the IP rights. Strong password controls, two factor authentic mechanisms, physical barriers, designated authorized access and control mechanisms are implemented to limit the access of the only appropriate person in the restricted area. However, the highest level of security measure can only minimize the threat of infringement; it cannot totally eliminate the risk of IP theft. In that case, the company can get the compensation suing the fraudulent sites. All the member countries of “Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) have passed the laws to counter the piracy of IP. In US, the anti-piracy law is very stringent. A legitimate company can get the compensation up to 30,000 Dollars per infringement.
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Internet is the most remarkable invention of the twentieth century

Overview: Internet is the most remarkable invention of the twentieth century. The internet has opened many new avenues for growing the business. It has also become a part and parcel of our lives. On the other hand, rapid download speeds, perfection of digital copying and the rise of e-commerce have increased the chance of piracy and counterfeiting. The robbing of creative ideas and innovations has become a menace in the digital age. The quantum of theft is increasing day by day. The thieves are using several new technologies to steal the intellectual properties (IP) of the creators. According to a rough estimate of “Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)”, US businesses lost 200 billion of Dollars in 2000 compared to 45 billion Dollars in 1999 by IP theft. At the same time, US Government is losing the substantial amount of revenues and US workers are also losing their jobs.

What is IP theft: IP theft is not the conventional type of physical property theft like pick pocketing and shop lifting. It is an invisible virtual theft. Therefore, it cannot be detected instantly. Another problem is that it is very difficult to identify the location or source of the theft. The intellectual property of a particular can be robbed from anywhere of the world through internet. Intellectual property theft includes copyright infringement, trademark infringement and patent infringement.

Nature of IP infringement: Legally, the term “theft” is not applied in the case of IP theft. It is termed as the violation or infringement of IP rights. There are various types of IP infringements. The fraudulent companies use online a logo or a band of the reputed company for selling the imitated product. Looking at the fake logo or brand, the customer purchases fake goods online assuming that he is purchasing it from the real company. Downloading or sharing original music or video from unauthorized sites is another example IP theft. In this case, the original company loses its legitimate revenue. According to an FBI survey, about 75% of the theft is perpetrated by the trusted insiders of the company. The trusted insiders disclose deliberately or unmindfully the vital technology and customer database to the fake companies for fraudulent activities. The traffic report of online piracy and counterfeiting reveals that

• The top three fraudulent websites generated about 21 billion traffics per year.
• 21 e-commerce sites that sell fake products have attracted about 36 million visitors per year.
• North America and Western Europe are the epicenter of the counterfeit internet sites.

Legal protection against IP infringement: Multiple layers of security and safeguards are taken to protect the IP rights. Strong password controls, two factor authenticable mechanisms, physical barriers, designated authorized access and control mechanisms are implemented to limit the access of the only appropriate person in the restricted area. However, the highest level of security measure can only minimize the threat of infringement; it cannot totally eliminate the risk of IP theft. In that case, the company can get the compensation suing the fraudulent sites. All the member countries of “Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) have passed the laws to counter the piracy of IP. In US, the anti-piracy law is very stringent. A legitimate company can get the compensation up to 30,000 Dollars per infringement.
For more information about legal protection against IP infringement, contact Lex Protector

By Aurobind Panda
Lex Protector