Abstract
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are the rights that are available to creators and innovators that recognize these innovations and credit them to these inventors and restrict anyone from non-consensual and unlicensed use of such creation with certain restrictions. The purpose of this study is to examine the limits and uncertain terrain among various statutes of IPR that arise from rapid developments in the technological state of the world.
The development of AI and its ability to ‘create’ content, and ideas seems to only heighten the heap of problems. It also explores the limits of copyright protection for copyrighted content used in AI training programs. Different countries govern the laws of intellectual property in contrasting and often conflicting manners through different statutes and precedents, creating significant obstacles to achieving cross-border consistency in tackling ambiguities arising from technological advancements that are bound to become fundamental questions in the new digital era.
These grey areas complicate judicial interpretation of specific provisions within acts and are compounded by conflicting precedents. Hence, it is of utmost importance to understand the laws of the land and reconcile these conflicting and ambiguous statutes to reconcile it with the technological advancements taking place. This study aims to discuss and analyze relevant provisions of mainly the Indian Patent Act, 1970, and the Copyright Act, 1957 and recent case laws to ascertain the limits of IPR in the field of technology and compare international standards for the same.
- Understanding Intellectual Property Law
A quick google search provides a basic insight into IPR. It defines Intellectual Property law as made to protect and enforce the rights of the creators and owners of inventions, writing, music, designs and other works, known as “intellectual property.”[1]
However, delving deeper into the topic there exists several statutes for the protection of intellectual property namely, the Copyright Act, 1957, the Trade Marks Act, 1999, the Patents Act, 1970, the Designs Act, 2000, and the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.
This study will focus mainly on the ambiguities arising in the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 and the Indian Patents Act, 1970.
The Indian Copyright Act, 1957, serves as a crucial legal framework that protects the intellectual and creative labor of individuals. It extends protection to original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, as well as to cinematograph films and sound recordings, shielding them from unauthorized use or exploitation. By conferring exclusive rights on copyright owners including the right to reproduce, adapt, publish, translate, and publicly communicate their work.[2] The Act ensures that creators retain meaningful control over how their work is used. It also lays out the duration of copyright protection and delineates specific actions that amount to infringement[3] thereby striking a balance between safeguarding creative expression and maintaining access within the public domain.
Indian Patents Act, 1970 grants a license or a ‘patent’ that confers an exclusive right or title to the owner for a limited or specific period of time to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention and the violation of these exclusive rights or title of the patent holder is known as patent infringement.[4]
To further understand the need for intellectual property rights, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), under Article 27 details that everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.[5] This pertains to the various fields of IPR discussed above. However, the term ‘author’ under Article 27 is not explicitly defined in the UDHR, and the criteria of being the author does not necessarily apply to all the types of Intellectual Property Rights.
Section 2(d) of the Copyright Act, 1959 defines ‘author’ in various contexts comprising musical, artistic, literary, dramatic, photographical works, cinematographic film or sound recording as the composer, artist, author of the work, person taking the photo, and the producer respectively.[6]
And Section 17 under Chapter IV of the Act provides that the author of the work shall be the first owner of the copyright, following which assignment of the copyright may take place.[7]
Under section 2(1)(y) of The Patents Act, 1970, “true and first inventor” does not include either the first importer of an invention into India, or a person to whom an invention is first communicated from outside India.[8]
Section 6(1) of the same Act requires the application for a patent to be made by the true and first inventor, his assignee or the legal representatives of any deceased person who immediately before his death was entitled to make such application.[9]
[1]Intellectual Property Law, Georgetown Law, https://www.law.georgetown.edu/your-life-career/career-exploration-professional-development/for-jd-students/explore-legal-careers/practice-areas/intellectual-property-law/ (last visited May 29, 2025).
[2]Copyright Act, 1957, § 14, No. 14, Acts of Parliament, 1957 (Ind.).
[3]Id.§ 22.
[4]Patents Act, 1970, § 2(m), No. 39, Acts of Parliament, 1970 (Ind.).
[5]Universal Declaration of Human Rights art. 27, G.A. Res. 217A (III), U.N. GAOR, 3d Sess., Supp. No. 13, U.N. Doc. A/810, at 71 (Dec. 10, 1948).
[6]Copyright Act,§ 2(d)(Ind.).
[7]Id. § 17.
[8]Patents Act, § 2(1)(y) (Ind.).
[9]Id. § 6(1).