KSLU Solved Question Papers
Intellectual Property Rights I
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 9
2025 Jan Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 9 Intellectual Property Rights I 2025 Jan 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 2025 Jan examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2025 Jan 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 80 · 20 questions answered
Instructions printed on the paper
- N.B. (1) Answer all five Units. (2) One essay type question and short note/problems is compulsory from each Unit. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answer should be written either in English or Kannada completely.
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
Unit I
(a)Briefly explain the categories of Intellectual Property Rights.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the source of the list (TRIPS Part II, Sections 1 to 7; Paris and Berne families); each category with what it protects, the Indian law, how it arises and its term: patents, trade marks, copyright and related rights (Eastern Book Company), industrial designs (Bharat Glass Tube), geographical indications, layout-designs, trade secrets (Coco v. A.N. Clark (Engineers) Ltd.), plant varieties; overlaps between categories; a summary table.
The two families and the TRIPS list
Intellectual property rights are traditionally divided into two families. Industrial property, under the Paris Convention, 1883, covers patents, designs, trade marks, trade names, indications of source and unfair competition. Copyright and related rights, under the Berne Convention, 1886, cover literary and artistic works and the performances, recordings and broadcasts that carry them. The TRIPS Agreement, 1994 lists seven categories in Sections 1 to 7 of Part II. India adds plant varieties.
The categories
1. Patents. A patent protects an invention: a new product or process involving an inventive step and capable of industrial application. It is granted after examination under the Patents Act, 1970 and lasts twenty years from filing (section 53).
2. Trade marks. A trade mark is a sign that distinguishes one trader's goods or services from others, such as a brand name or logo. It is governed by the Trade Marks Act, 1999. Registration lasts ten years and is renewable without limit (section 25). Unregistered marks are protected by passing off.
3. Copyright and related rights. Copyright protects original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, films and sound recordings (section 13, Copyright Act, 1957). It arises automatically on creation. For most works it lasts the author's life plus sixty years (section 22). Related rights protect performers and broadcasters.
Copyright needs originality, not mere labour. In Eastern Book Company v. D.B. Modak, (2008) 1 SCC 1, a law publisher claimed copyright in its edited Supreme Court judgments. The Supreme Court held that the judgments themselves carry no copyright. But the publisher's head notes, paragraph numbers and editorial notes were protected, because they showed skill and judgment.
4. Industrial designs. A design protects the shape, configuration, pattern, ornament or composition of lines or colours applied to an article, judged by the eye. It is registered under the Designs Act, 2000 for ten years, extendable by five.
In Bharat Glass Tube Ltd. v. Gopal Glass Works Ltd., (2008) 10 SCC 657, a registered pattern for figured glass sheets was challenged as previously published. The Supreme Court upheld the design. It held that the person seeking cancellation must prove prior publication, and that the finished article is what must be compared.
5. Geographical indications. A GI identifies goods as coming from a place whose quality or reputation they owe to it, such as Darjeeling tea. It is registered under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, for ten years, renewable. It belongs to the producers collectively and cannot be assigned (section 24).
6. Layout-designs of integrated circuits. These protect the layout of elements in a semiconductor chip. They are registered under the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Act, 2000, for ten years.
7. Trade secrets. Confidential business information, such as a recipe or a client list, is protected by the law of confidence and by contract. India has no statute. Protection lasts as long as the secret is kept.
In Coco v. A.N. Clark (Engineers) Ltd., [1969] RPC 41, a moped engine designer disclosed his design to a manufacturer during failed talks. Megarry J stated the three requirements of breach of confidence. The information must have the quality of confidence. It must be imparted in circumstances importing an obligation of confidence. And there must be unauthorised use to the detriment of the owner. Indian courts apply this test.
8. Plant varieties. India chose a sui generis law, the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001, as TRIPS Article 27(3)(b) allows. It protects breeders while preserving farmers' rights.
Summary
| Category | Indian law | How it arises | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patent | Patents Act, 1970 | Grant | 20 years |
| Trade mark | Trade Marks Act, 1999 | Use or registration | 10 years, renewable |
| Copyright | Copyright Act, 1957 | Creation | Life plus 60 years |
| Design | Designs Act, 2000 | Registration | 10 plus 5 years |
| GI | GI Act, 1999 | Registration | 10 years, renewable |
| Layout-design | SICLD Act, 2000 | Registration | 10 years |
| Trade secret | Law of confidence | Secrecy | While secret |
Overlaps
One product may carry several rights. A logo is both an artistic work and a trade mark. A pattern on an article may be a design, and copyright in a registered design ends under section 15 of the Copyright Act. An inventor must choose between a patent, which requires disclosure, and a trade secret, which requires secrecy.
Conclusion. Intellectual property rights fall into the industrial property and copyright families, and TRIPS lists seven categories, to which India adds plant varieties. Each category protects a different creation under its own law and term. Copyright demands originality (Eastern Book Company), designs demand novelty proved against the challenger (Bharat Glass Tube), and trade secrets depend on confidence (Coco v. A.N. Clark (Engineers) Ltd.).
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