Skip to content
Theory paper

Intellectual Property Laws

Examined on Patents Act 1970, Trade Marks Act 1999, Copyright Act 1957. The whole of the patents module — patentability and the s. 3 exclusions, the application and grant procedure, the rights of a patentee under s. 48, working and compulsory licensing, and infringement and remedies. Note that the rights conferred before grant on a published application (s. 11A) are not the same as the rights of a granted patentee, and the chapter works through why.

This page is the map of the paper: every syllabus unit, the leading cases with full summaries, and the exam questions the paper actually sets.

Units

  1. Unit 1 · General Principles of Intellectual Property — Module I — the nature and kinds of intellectual property, the justifications for protecting it, the international framework, and the Indian statutes taken together
  2. Unit 2 · Law of Patents — Module II — the Patents Act 1970: what is patentable and what is excluded, the application and grant procedure, rights and obligations of a patentee, working, compulsory licensing, infringement and remedies
  3. Unit 3 · Law of Trademarks — Module III — the Trade Marks Act 1999: the definition and functions of a mark, registrability and absolute and relative grounds of refusal, the registration procedure, assignment and licensing, infringement and passing off, and remedies
  4. Unit 4 · Law of Copyright — Module IV — the Copyright Act 1957: subject-matter, ownership and term, the rights of the owner and of performers and broadcasters, assignment and licensing, fair dealing and the other exceptions, infringement and remedies, and the digital provisions so far as the sources allow

Leading cases in this paper

Exam questions

Where it sits

Statutes