KSLU Solved Question Papers
Intellectual Property Rights I
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 9
2017 Jun Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 9 Intellectual Property Rights I 2017 Jun Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2017 Jun examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2017 Jun examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 13 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1"Intellectual property, although a hidden property is an important means of accumulating tangible wealth". Discuss.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: why intellectual property is a "hidden" property (intangible, a bundle of legal rights, often worth more than land and machines); how it turns into tangible wealth; the ways of exploiting it, each with its legal machinery: (1) exclusive use and a price premium; (2) assignment (Patents Act section 68; Trade Marks Act sections 37 to 45; Copyright Act sections 18, 19; The Coca-Cola Company v. Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd.); (3) licensing: exclusive, sole and non-exclusive (Patents Act section 70; Trade Marks Act sections 48 to 55; Copyright Act section 30; Monsanto; standard-essential patents, Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson v. Intex Technologies (India) Ltd); (4) franchising and merchandising; (5) collective licensing through copyright societies (sections 33 to 36); (6) security for loans (section 68); (7) technology transfer and joint ventures (TRIPS Article 7); (8) enforcement as a source of income (Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV v. Rajesh Bansal); valuation (cost, market, income); the limits (GIs not transferable, section 24; compulsory licences, Bayer; void restrictive terms, section 140; Competition Act section 3(5)); India's policy (National IPR Policy, 2016: commercialisation); the conclusion.
A "hidden" property
Property is usually thought of as land, buildings or goods, which can be seen and touched. Intellectual property is different. It is a set of legal rights over creations of the mind: inventions, brands, designs, works and know-how. It cannot be seen, and it is easily overlooked in a balance sheet. In that sense it is "hidden".
Yet it is often a firm's most valuable asset. A drug company's worth lies in its patents, a consumer company's in its brands, a software company's in its code. Investors pay for these, not for factories alone. Accounting standards treat them as intangible assets.
How it creates tangible wealth
Intellectual property gives its owner the right to exclude others. That exclusivity can be used, sold, rented out or borrowed against. Each route converts an invisible right into money, goods and capital. The main ways follow.
The ways of exploiting intellectual property
1. Exclusive use
The owner may work the right himself and keep competitors out. A patented product can be sold without copies, and a famous brand commands a higher price. The return comes from sales, not from any payment for the right itself.
2. Assignment: selling the right
The owner may transfer the right, wholly or partly, for a price.
- Patents. An assignment, licence or mortgage of a patent is valid only if in writing, containing all the terms, and duly executed (section 68). The new owner registers his title (section 69).
- Trade marks. The registered proprietor may assign the mark (section 37), with or without the goodwill of the business (section 38). An assignment without goodwill must be advertised as directed (section 42).
- Copyright. Copyright may be assigned wholly or partly, for the whole term or part of it (section 18). The assignment must be in writing (section 19).
Brands are bought and sold for large sums. In The Coca-Cola Company v. Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd., (2009) 164 DLT 59, the Delhi High Court recorded that in 1993 the Chauhans had sold Coca-Cola the trade marks, formulations, know-how and goodwill of THUMS UP, LIMCA, GOLD SPOT, CITRA and MAAZA. When Bisleri later threatened to use MAAZA in India again, the Court confirmed an injunction. The sale had turned brand names into a large capital receipt.
3. Licensing: renting the right
The owner keeps the right and permits others to use it, usually for a royalty.
- Kinds. An exclusive licence excludes even the owner; a sole licence admits the owner and one licensee; a non-exclusive licence may be granted to many.
- Machinery. The patentee may grant licences (Patents Act, section 70). A trade mark proprietor may register users (Trade Marks Act, sections 48 to 55). A copyright owner may grant a licence in writing (Copyright Act, section 30).
Licensing can earn more than manufacturing. In Monsanto Technology LLC v. Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd, (2019) 3 SCC 381, Monsanto had sub-licensed its patented Bt cotton technology to Indian seed companies in return for "trait value" payments. When the licence ended in a fee dispute, Monsanto sued. The Supreme Court restored the status quo order and sent the suit for trial.
Patents essential to a technical standard earn royalties from every maker. In Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson v. Intex Technologies (India) Ltd, 2015 SCC OnLine Del 8229, licence talks on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms broke down. The Delhi High Court ordered Intex to make interim royalty payments while the suit continued. A user of a standard cannot enjoy the technology free while disputing the rate.
4. Franchising and merchandising
Franchising combines a trade mark licence with know-how, recipes and designs. The franchisee runs a business in the franchisor's style and pays fees and royalties. Restaurant chains and coaching centres grow this way. Merchandising licenses famous names and characters for use on clothes, toys and stationery.
5. Collective licensing
Individual authors and musicians cannot license every radio station or hotel. Copyright societies do this for them, collect licence fees and distribute royalties (Copyright Act, sections 33 to 36). This turns many small rights into a steady income.
6. Security for loans
A patent or a registered mark may be mortgaged to a lender. Section 68 of the Patents Act expressly includes a mortgage among dealings that must be in writing. Intellectual property thus helps a firm with few physical assets to borrow working capital.
7. Technology transfer and joint ventures
A foreign firm may contribute patents and know-how to an Indian joint venture in return for shares or royalties. TRIPS names "the transfer and dissemination of technology" among the objectives of intellectual property protection (Article 7). The right becomes capital in a new enterprise.
8. Enforcement
Enforcement protects and realises the value of the right. Courts now measure damages by the royalty an infringer avoided paying. In Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV v. Rajesh Bansal, 2018 SCC OnLine Del 11416, makers of DVD players had used Philips' patented decoding technology without a licence. The Delhi High Court decreed the suits and awarded damages calculated on the royalty they would have paid, with interest.
Valuing the asset
To sell, license or borrow against a right, its value must be estimated. Three methods are used.
- Cost: what it cost to create, or would cost to recreate.
- Market: what similar rights have sold or been licensed for.
- Income: the future income the right will earn, discounted to the present.
Each has weaknesses, so values are usually given as a range.
The limits
- Not every right is transferable. A geographical indication cannot be assigned, licensed, pledged or mortgaged (GI Act, section 24). It is the collective property of the producers.
- Public interest. A patent may be worked by others under a compulsory licence (Patents Act, section 84). In Bayer Corporation v. Union of India, 2014 SCC OnLine Bom 963, Natco obtained such a licence for Bayer's cancer drug and paid a royalty fixed by the Controller.
- No abuse. Licence terms that force the licensee to buy other goods only from the patentee are void (Patents Act, section 140). The Competition Act, 2002 bans anti-competitive agreements, but saves reasonable conditions needed to protect intellectual property rights (section 3(5)).
- Value depends on validity. A weak patent or a generic brand is worth little, because it may be revoked or removed.
India's policy
The National IPR Policy of 12 May 2016 makes "commercialisation of IPR" one of its seven objectives. It aims to help creators and inventors get value for their rights through licensing, technology transfer and finance.
Conclusion. Intellectual property is "hidden" because it is intangible, but it is a powerful means of accumulating tangible wealth. It may be exploited by exclusive use, by assignment (The Coca-Cola Company v. Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd.), by licensing for royalties (Monsanto; Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson v. Intex Technologies (India) Ltd), and by franchising and collective licensing. It may also serve as security for loans and as capital in joint ventures. Enforcement turns infringement into royalty-based damages (Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV v. Rajesh Bansal). The Patents, Trade Marks and Copyright Acts provide the machinery for each dealing, as shown above. Its value is limited by public-interest rules such as compulsory licences (Bayer) and the bar on abusive terms.
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