- IPR protection not embedded in Constitution:-Patent Protection is a constitutional right in USA, while the Indian Constitution does not even guarantee right to property!
- Traditional Knowledge and Different culture:The traditional Western model of IP does not sufficiently protect traditional knowledge, and presumes that people need only a monetary incentive to invent. Prof Anil Gupta's work at the National Innovation Foundation, proves that that is not the case.
- We are still net importers.:-India does import IP whether it be directly(royalty payments by Maruti to Suzuki for example) or indirectly(mobile manufacturers paying Qualcomm etc ). And of software, I'm hardpressed to name a single Indian produced software
- And countries grew rich by not paying for IP:-Be it USA(for books), UK(for machinery), South Korea/China(for technologies), even countries topping the innovation charts have stolen their share of IPR. Is India in a position to pay for IP? In a land where good foreign published books can cost a week's average income, is it fair to penalize students for piracy?
- Our legal system would crack:-Intellectual property being a legal right, its ownership.validity can ultimately be decided only in court. And IPR being subject to fast erosion of value if subjudice, not having fast track courts/speedy justice does defeat the purpose. And it is a matter of public policy to decide whether IPR law should get priority over a host of other laws when it comes to justice enforcement. When not even TRIPS requires this, I doubt this will happen anytime soon in India. After all, setting up new fast track tribunals for law/tax cases has been hanging fire.
I know the above arguments have some logical fallacies(like #4 has the fallacy that two wrongs make a right), but I feel it is not in India's interest to accord that same level of IP protection. If I was a content creator, I would use cloud computing etc to protect my rights via technology, instead of lobbying for changes that overall affect the country. So which kind of a system would I prefer? Something on the lines of utility patents(cheap, simply, for proven useful IPR). I'll do a follow up on this after more research on the subject
No comments:
Post a Comment