CSEG3060 · Research Methodology in Computer Science
Definition, scope, importance and evolution of IPR — and the three regimes that matter most to a computer scientist: patents, designs and copyright
An intellectual property right is a negative right. It lets you stop others — it does not, by itself, let you practise your own invention.
Unit V · Lecture 1 of 3 · 60 minutes · CO1 · B.Tech (CSE) Semester V
Dr. Mohsin Furkh Dar · School of Computer Science, UPES
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Learning outcomes · CO1
Define intellectual property and intellectual property rights, citing WIPO and TRIPS
State the five defining characteristics of an IP right, and why each one matters in practice
Trace the evolution of IPR from Venice 1474 to the TRIPS-era regime, and in India from 1911 to today
Distinguish the eight categories of IP and identify the subject matter each protects
Compare patents, industrial designs and copyright across scope, duration, rights and registration
Describe the eight-stage process of securing protection, and design a layered IP strategy for a software product
Definitions
WTO members must protect: copyright and related rights · trademarks · geographical indications · industrial designs · patents · layout designs of integrated circuits · undisclosed information (trade secrets) · plant varieties (optional).
WIPO gives the intuition; TRIPS gives the legally precise enumeration. Quote both.
Intellectual property is the creation itself.
Intellectual property rights are the legal entitlements that arise from creating and using it — an exclusive, time-limited monopoly over exploitation, granted subject to the public policy objectives of the jurisdiction.
Patents Act, 1970 (amended 1999, 2002, 2005) · Copyright Act, 1957 · Trade Marks Act, 1999 · Designs Act, 2000 · Geographical Indications Act, 1999 · Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Act, 2000 · Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001 · Information Technology Act, 2000
The anatomy of an IP right
| Characteristic | What it means | Why it bites |
|---|---|---|
| Negative right | The right to exclude others from exploiting the creation | It does not confer a right to use your own invention — a blocking patent can still stop you |
| Territoriality | Bounded by the jurisdiction of the granting authority | An Indian patent confers no rights in the United States. There is no world patent |
| Temporal limitation | All IP rights are time-bound | Patents 20 years from filing; copyright life + 60 years in India. Then the public domain |
| Assignable and licensable | Transferable by assignment, licence or succession | This is what makes IP the currency of technology transfer |
| Statutory origin | IPR exists only because a statute recognises it | There is no natural-law basis for IP in modern jurisprudence — it is a policy instrument |
Three dimensions
Technical — inventions, processes, product designs, software-implemented innovations
Cultural / informational — literary works, films, computer programs, databases
Commercial identifiers — trademarks, brand names, logos, domain names, trade dress
Geographical — GIs, appellations of origin, traditional knowledge
Confidential — trade secrets, know-how, formulae
IPR is fundamentally territorial. Each jurisdiction has its own regime, and rights must be secured in every country where protection is wanted.
The Paris Convention, Berne Convention and PCT provide procedural mechanisms for streamlined multi-jurisdictional filing — but they do not create a global IP right.
Each category carries its own term, set to reconcile the private interest of the creator with the public interest in dissemination.
On expiry the creation enters the public domain and may be freely used by all.
Importance
A time-limited monopoly lets innovators recover R&D costs. Without it, the free-rider problem discourages costly research.
The patent bargain, a quid pro quo: full enabling disclosure in exchange for a limited monopoly. It prevents indefinite secrecy.
Licensing, joint ventures and university–industry collaboration all depend on a regime that defines what is being exchanged.
Venture capital and corporate R&D flow preferentially to jurisdictions where innovations are securely protected.
Portfolios are used offensively (market exclusivity) and defensively (deterrence, cross-licensing). See standard-essential patents in 3G/4G/5G and Wi-Fi.
Attribute prior work, respect others’ rights, and disclose inventions made in employment. IPR literacy is part of the responsible conduct of research.
Software is both functional and expressive, blurring patentable subject matter and copyrightable expression · open-source licensing grants rights conditionally and must be managed · algorithms and business methods diverge across jurisdictions · data and databases sit at the intersection of copyright, sui generis rights and confidentiality · AI-generated works challenge the requirement of human authorship.
History · 1 of 2
Venice, 1474 — the earliest recorded patent-like statute: ten years’ exclusivity for new and useful inventions. It induced glassmakers to disclose techniques rather than keep them as guild secrets.
England, 1624 — the Statute of Monopolies ended arbitrary Crown monopolies but preserved an exception for inventions, founding the modern patent system.
1710 — the Statute of Anne, generally regarded as the foundation of modern copyright.
Paris Convention, 1883 — national treatment and the right of priority, for patents, trademarks and designs.
Berne Convention, 1886 — automatic copyright protection without formalities.
Madrid Agreement, 1891 — international registration of trademarks.
PCT, 1970
Unified international filing procedure, administered by WIPO
Budapest Treaty, 1977
Deposit of microorganisms
TRIPS, 1994
The most comprehensive multilateral IP agreement in force; binds all WTO members
WCT & WPPT, 1996
Copyright extended to the digital environment
Read the arc as a negotiation, repeated every century, between private reward and public benefit.
History · 2 of 2
Pre-independence — the Indian Patents and Designs Act governed the colonial period. It allowed product patents in all fields, including pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals.
Post-independence — the Patents Act, 1970 restricted product patents in pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals while permitting process patents, deliberately balancing IP protection against public welfare.
TRIPS compliance — following the Uruguay Round, amendments in 1999, 2002 and 2005 reintroduced product patents across all fields of technology, with effect from 1 January 2005.
Contemporary — the National IPR Policy (2016) provided a roadmap; specialised IP benches in High Courts, the IPR Awareness Campaign, and the IP Facilitating Centre followed.
Taxonomy
| Category | Subject matter | Term (India) | Registration? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patent | Invention — product or process | 20 years from filing | Yes |
| Copyright | Literary, artistic, musical works; software | Life + 60 years | No (optional) |
| Trademark | Distinctive signs identifying goods or services | 10 years, renewable | Yes |
| Industrial design | Ornamental design of an article | 10 years, extendable to 15 | Yes |
| Geographical indication | Goods whose quality is attributable to origin | 10 years, renewable | Yes |
| Trade secret | Confidential information | Indefinite, subject to secrecy | No |
| Layout design | 3D configuration of an integrated circuit | 10 years | Yes |
| Plant variety | New, distinct, uniform, stable variety | 15–18 years | Yes |
Trade secrets in CS: the Coca-Cola formula, the precise weighting of Google’s search algorithm, and the proprietary training data of large language models.
Layout designs matter directly to chip design and semiconductor work; plant varieties increasingly touch computational biology and agricultural informatics.
Learn this table. Term and registration requirement are the two columns examiners test most often.
Patents · 1 of 2
Not anticipated by prior art anywhere in the world before the filing or priority date.
A feature that would not be obvious to a person skilled in the art.
Capable of being made or used in an industry.
The boundary between a patent-eligible computer-implemented invention and a non-patentable abstract algorithm is the most actively litigated question in the field. Lecture 2 treats Section 3(k) and technical effect in detail.
Patents · 2 of 2
Aligned with TRIPS Article 33, which mandates a minimum of 20 years from filing. There is no provision for extension of the term in India.
Renewal fees are payable annually from the third year; failure to pay causes lapse, with restoration possible within 18 months on a surcharge.
The patentee has no positive right to practise the invention — only a negative right to exclude. Where a complementary patent is held by another party, the patentee may be blocked, and may seek a compulsory licence under Section 84.
LZW compression
US 4,558,302
PageRank
US 6,285,999
RSA cryptosystem
US 4,405,829
Paxos-family consensus
Multiple filings
Designs
Novelty — new or original
Distinctiveness — significantly distinguishable from known designs
Not disclosed — unpublished and unused, in India or elsewhere, before filing
Ten years from registration; a five-year extension must be applied for before the initial period expires.
Not new or original · already disclosed · contrary to public order or morality · a mere mechanical contrivance · a workshop improvement · trade or property marks · a design dictated solely by function — the “must-fit” exclusion
The exclusive right to apply the design to any article in the registered class: sue for infringement (Section 22 incorporates the Copyright Act’s offences and remedies) · assign or licence · recover damages · seek injunctions.
The physical form of laptops, smartphones and wearables · the visual design of consumer electronics · graphical user interfaces, registrable in India since the 2008 amendment, though with restrictions on purely functional or animated GUIs.
Copyright · 1 of 2
Original literary works — books, computer programs, tables, compilations, databases where original · dramatic works · musical works · artistic works · cinematograph films · sound recordings · architectural works
Unlike patents and designs, copyright requires no registration to subsist. Registration under Section 44 gives procedural advantage and prima facie evidence.
Computer programs are explicitly treated as literary works under Section 2(o). Protection extends to the expression — source code, object code, and certain structural and organisational elements — but not to the ideas, algorithms, methods of operation or underlying logic.
The algorithm for sorting an array is not copyrightable. A specific implementation of it in C++ is.
Codified by Section 13 and reinforced by the Berne Convention, which Lecture 3 examines.
Copyright · 2 of 2
Life of the author + 60 years
literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works
60 years from publication
films, sound recordings, photographs, government works
60 years from publication
anonymous and pseudonymous works, and works of joint authorship
Counted from the calendar year following the author’s death, or the year of first publication for corporate and statutory works.
The exclusive right to reproduce the work · issue copies to the public · perform it in public · communicate it to the public · make translations, adaptations or arrangements · make films or sound recordings of it.
These are assignable and licensable — they are the commercial asset.
Retained by the author even after assigning the economic rights:
Paternity — the right to claim authorship
Integrity — to restrain distortion or modification prejudicial to honour or reputation
Retraction — in limited circumstances, to withdraw the work from circulation
Moral rights are perpetual, inalienable and non-assignable.
The distinction that matters most
| Aspect | Copyright in software | Software patent |
|---|---|---|
| Protects | Expression — the code, its structure | The underlying functional concept |
| Registration required | No — automatic on creation | Yes |
| Duration | Life + 60 years | 20 years from filing |
| Disclosure requirement | None | Yes — full enabling disclosure |
| Cost of acquisition | Minimal | Substantial |
In practice software is protected by both — copyright on the code, and where available, a patent on the underlying method. They protect different things and fail in different ways.
A patent costs money and requires you to publish the invention. A trade secret costs nothing and lasts indefinitely — but evaporates the moment someone independently discovers or reverse-engineers it. Choosing between them is a strategic decision, not a legal one.
Consolidation
| Parameter | Patent | Industrial design | Copyright |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is protected | New functional invention | Visual appearance of an article | Original literary / artistic expression |
| Governing statute | Patents Act, 1970 | Designs Act, 2000 | Copyright Act, 1957 |
| Nature of right | Negative right to exclude | Negative right to exclude | Economic + moral rights |
| Registration | Mandatory | Mandatory | None — automatic on creation |
| Examination | Substantive | Formal only | None; registration optional |
| Duration | 20 years from filing | 10 + 5 = 15 years | Life + 60 years |
| Renewable | No | One 5-year extension | Not applicable |
| Novelty standard | Absolute novelty worldwide | New and original | Originality of expression |
| Disclosure | Full disclosure in specification | By representation in drawings | Not required |
| International convention | PCT, Paris | Hague, Paris | Berne, TRIPS |
| Typical CS example | Novel compression algorithm | Smartphone body shape | Source code of a program |
Process
Does the output qualify as an IP asset? Mere ideas, abstract principles, natural phenomena and discoveries do not.
Any disclosure anywhere in the world before the filing date. For trademarks, earlier similar marks; for copyright, prior publication.
A single innovation may be protected under several categories at once — the layered strategy on the next slide.
In India, with the CGPDTM under DPIIT. Internationally via the PCT (patents), Madrid (marks), Hague (designs).
Formal (procedural compliance) and substantive (novelty, inventive step, industrial applicability). In India, examination is on request, within 48 months of priority.
The IP is granted or registered, and the owner acquires enforceable rights.
Periodic renewal — annually for patents, every ten years for trademarks in India. Failure to renew causes lapse.
Civil litigation (injunction, damages, accounts of profits), criminal prosecution where applicable, and administrative remedies such as customs seizure of infringing imports.
Worked case
1 · The algorithm as a method — if it produces a technical effect, such as reduced bandwidth at no perceptual loss, it may be a patentable computer-implemented invention under Sections 2(1)(j) and 3. File before any public disclosure.
2 · The source code — automatically protected by copyright under Section 13(1)(a). Registration adds prima facie evidentiary value.
3 · The app icon and UI layout — the icon may be an artistic work; the screen appearance may be registrable as an industrial design post-2008.
4 · The brand name — a separate application under the Trade Marks Act, 1999.
5 · Multi-country protection — a single PCT application designating the chosen jurisdictions; track the 30/31-month national phase deadline.
Patent first, publish second. A conference paper, an arXiv preprint or a public GitHub commit is prior art against your own application in an absolute-novelty jurisdiction.
A layered IP strategy — copyright plus patent plus design plus trademark — is usually the most robust approach for a software innovation, because each layer fails in a different way and covers a different attack.
Consolidation
Your group project produces code, a method, a name and a user interface. Which of the five protections on slide 18 apply, in what order, and what would you have to stop doing publicly to keep the first one available?
Patents Act, 1970 — s.2(1)(j), s.3(k), s.48, s.53, s.84 · Designs Act, 2000 — s.2(d), s.4, s.11, s.22 · Copyright Act, 1957 — s.13, s.14, s.22, s.44, s.57
Next — Lecture 2: The Patenting Process: prior-art search, novelty assessment, invention disclosure, specification drafting, examination, opposition, grant and commercialisation.