Awareness on Intellectual Property Rights

On 26.04.2024 to Celebrate World Intellectual Property Day a session was organized on the title a “Awareness on Intellectual Property Rights” by the Entrepreneurship Development Cell and IIC in association with the Electronics and Communication Engineering department. The session was handled by Dr. G. Rajakumar, Controller of Examinations, IIC Vice President, Professor/ECE, Francis Xavier Engineering College. 49 students and 2 faculties participated. This event was coordinated by Dr. R Prem Ananth, IIC Convener, IIC Innovation Ambassador for "Design thinking & Innovations", Assistant professor, Francis Xavier Engineering College. This event was conducted with the guidance of Dr. Lourdes Poobala Rayen, IIC President.

The program started with the welcome address by Dr R Prem Ananth. He said the purpose of the day is to inform the different ways of safeguarding intellectual property such as patents, trademarks, copyright, and others. He also said that intellectual property day is celebrated to encourage and amplify the innovative and creative solutions that are so crucial to building our common future.

The resource person started his speech and asked a question among students, why apple phones are costly than other smart mobile? The students answered that due to its security and camera quality, but the resource person said that even the small screw, apple logo and design is patented. The apple company need to pay royalty to the patent holders. He said Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) encompass a variety of legal protections for intangible assets. They are Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks, Trade Secrets, Industrial Designs, Geographical Indications and Plant Variety Protection. The resource person said among the seven rights an engineering student must understand the importance of patents. He said patents protect inventions and innovations, granting exclusive rights to the inventor for a limited period. Patents provide the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, or importing the patented invention without permission. He also spoke about the industrial design patent and copy rights. He said industrial designs protect the visual appearance or aesthetic aspects of a product, such as its shape, configuration, ornamentation, or pattern. Industrial design rights prevent unauthorized copying or imitation of the design and are typically granted for a limited period. He also said copyrights protect original works of authorship, including literary, artistic, musical, and dramatic works, as well as software, databases, and architectural designs. Copyright grants the creator or owner the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, or license their work. The resources person concludes the speech by creating awareness on Trademarks and Geographical Indications (GIs). He said trademarks are symbols, names, phrases, or logos used to distinguish goods or services from others in the marketplace. They represent the brand identity of a company or product and can include words, designs, sounds, colors, or any combination thereof. Trademarks provide exclusive rights to use the mark in commerce and prevent others from using confusingly similar marks. He also said that geographical indications identify products originating from a specific geographical location and possessing qualities, reputation, or characteristics attributable to that location. GIs protect the traditional knowledge and cultural heritage associated with products such as wines, spirits, agricultural products, and handicrafts.