Innovation, Creativity & Intellectual Property

Are you really creative or innovative? Our every action is some way or other, creative or innovative but most of us fail to realise it. When ordinary things are done in an extraordinary way intellectual property is created. In general, intellectual property refers to the property created by using intellect. There are mainly five types of intellectual property namely, patents, trademarks, designs, copyrights, geographical indications.

Though, all types of IPs are legally defined under our laws, but for ease of understanding we can take the example of a ball point pen to describe intellectual property.

All intellectual properties in your Ball Point Pen

Your laptop keyboards have replaced the ball point pen but still most of us would like to have at least one whether be it Parker or Reynolds. The brand name of pen is a trademark and the technology used in pen or its tip(do you remember the tv commercial in which a pen is claimed to be manufactured by using German technology) is subject matter of patent and the unique shape of such pen can be registered as a design. Suppose you start writing poem or a noval or a simple story by using this pen, it will be your original creation and you can copyright this work.

Still one IP is left, i.e., GI(Geographical Indications). Wherether it be Agra ka Petha, Nagpur ka Santra, Dargling Tea, Lucknow Chicken, Bikaneri Bhujia, all are famous because of their association with a particular geographical area. Hence, the same can be registered as a Geographical Indication. GI serves the interest of producers or manufacturer of a particular commodity in a specific geographical region.