KSLU Solved Question Papers
Intellectual Property Rights I
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
LL.B. (Three Years) · Sem 5
2023 Sep Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
LL.B. (Three Years) Sem 5 Intellectual Property Rights I 2023 Sep Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 23 October 2026.
Published by munotes.in, Mumbai.
Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.
Passages from this volume may be quoted, in print, online or by an AI system, with credit: name munotes.in and link to this volume's page. The volume may not be reproduced as a whole. Full terms at munotes.in/content-license.
munotes.in is an independent study resource for students of Karnataka State Law University. It is not affiliated with Karnataka State Law University, and is not endorsed by it.
The University does not publish an official answer key for this paper. The answers in this volume are model answers, written to show how a full-mark answer is built. They are a study aid, not an authority on what an examiner marked.
The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2023 Sep examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2023 Sep examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2023 Sep 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)What is Intellectual Property Right ? Examine the different forms of Intellectual Property Rights.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the meaning of intellectual property and of an intellectual property right (a legal right in a product of the mind); the international definitions (WIPO Convention, 1967, Article 2(viii); TRIPS, Article 1(2)); the features of an IP right (intangible, exclusive and negative, territorial, limited in time, transferable, balanced by public interest); the forms, each with its subject, its Indian law and its term: copyright and related rights (R.G. Anand), patents (Biswanath Prasad), trade marks (Satyam Infoway), industrial designs, geographical indications, layout-designs of integrated circuits, plant varieties, trade secrets; a table; the conclusion.
What intellectual property is
Property usually means a thing that can be held, like land or a car. Intellectual property is different. It is property in a creation of the human mind. A novel, a new medicine, a brand name and the shape of a bottle are all examples.
An intellectual property right (IPR) is the legal right the law gives the creator or owner of such a creation. It lets the owner stop others from using the creation without permission for a fixed time. In return, the public gets the creation, and in the end it becomes free for all.
The international definitions
1. WIPO Convention, 1967. Article 2(viii) of the Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization says intellectual property "shall include the rights relating to" a list of subjects. The list covers literary, artistic and scientific works, and performances, phonograms and broadcasts. It covers inventions in all fields of human endeavour, scientific discoveries and industrial designs. It also covers trademarks, service marks and commercial names, and protection against unfair competition. It ends with "all other rights resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary or artistic fields".
2. TRIPS Agreement, 1994. Article 1(2) of TRIPS defines intellectual property as all the categories dealt with in Sections 1 to 7 of its Part II. These are copyright and related rights, trade marks, geographical indications, industrial designs, patents, layout-designs of integrated circuits and undisclosed information. Every WTO member, including India, must protect them.
Features of an intellectual property right
- Intangible. The right is in the idea as expressed, not in the physical copy. Buying a book does not give the buyer the copyright in it.
- Exclusive and negative. The right mainly lets the owner exclude others. A patentee may prevent others from making, using or selling his invention without consent (Patents Act, 1970, section 48).
- Territorial. Each right exists only in the country that grants it. An Indian patent gives no right in Japan.
- Limited in time. Most rights expire, and the creation then enters the public domain. Trade marks and geographical indications are the exception, because they can be renewed again and again.
- Transferable. Most rights can be assigned or licensed like other property. A registered geographical indication cannot be assigned (GI Act, section 24).
- Balanced by the public interest. The law grants the monopoly to reward creation, but it also limits it. Examples are fair dealing in copyright and compulsory licences in patents.
The different forms of IPR
1. Copyright and related rights. Copyright protects original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, films and sound recordings. Related rights protect performers and broadcasters. The law is the Copyright Act, 1957. Copyright arises automatically when the work is created; registration is optional. For most works it lasts for the author's life and sixty years after.
Copyright protects the expression, not the idea. In R.G. Anand v. Delux Films, AIR 1978 SC 1613, the author of a play on provincialism sued the makers of a film on the same theme. The Supreme Court held that there is no copyright in an idea, theme or plot. Only the form and manner of expression are protected. Since the film developed the idea differently, there was no infringement.
2. Patents. A patent protects an invention. An invention is a new product or process involving an inventive step and capable of industrial application (Patents Act, 1970, section 2(1)(j)). It is granted only after examination, and lasts twenty years from filing (section 53).
The patent is a bargain. In Biswanath Prasad Radhey Shyam v. Hindustan Metal Industries, (1979) 2 SCC 511, the Supreme Court revoked a patent for a method of holding utensils on a lathe. It held that the monopoly is the price paid for disclosing a real advance. A mere workshop improvement on known methods does not earn it.
3. Trade marks. A trade mark is a sign that distinguishes one trader's goods or services from others (Trade Marks Act, 1999, section 2(1)(zb)). It may be a word, logo, shape or colour combination. Registration lasts ten years and can be renewed without limit (section 25). Unregistered marks are protected by the action for passing off.
Trade mark law follows trade into new places. In Satyam Infoway Ltd. v. Siffynet Solutions Pvt. Ltd., (2004) 6 SCC 145, the Supreme Court held that a domain name has all the features of a trade mark. It restored an injunction against "siffynet" in favour of the prior user of "sifynet".
4. Industrial designs. A design protects the new or original shape, pattern or ornament applied to an article, judged by the eye. The law is the Designs Act, 2000. Registration lasts ten years, extendable by five.
5. Geographical indications. A geographical indication (GI) identifies goods as coming from a particular place, where their quality or reputation is due to that place. Examples are Darjeeling Tea and Mysore Silk. The law is the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999. Registration lasts ten years and may be renewed (section 18). A GI belongs to the producers of the region as a group.
6. Layout-designs of integrated circuits. The pattern in which a computer chip's elements are laid out is protected by the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Act, 2000.
7. Plant varieties. New, extant and farmers' varieties of plants are protected under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001. The Act also protects the rights of farmers to save and sow seed.
8. Trade secrets. Confidential business information, such as a recipe or a client list, is protected in India without a statute. It is protected through contract and the equitable action for breach of confidence. TRIPS calls this undisclosed information (Article 39).
The forms at a glance
| Form | What it protects | Indian law | How it arises |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copyright | Original works and their expression | Copyright Act, 1957 | Automatically on creation |
| Patent | New, inventive, useful inventions | Patents Act, 1970 | Grant after examination |
| Trade mark | Signs that distinguish goods or services | Trade Marks Act, 1999 | Registration, or use for passing off |
| Design | Shape or pattern of an article | Designs Act, 2000 | Registration |
| Geographical indication | Goods linked to a place | GI Act, 1999 | Registration by producers' body |
| Layout-design | Chip layout | SICLD Act, 2000 | Registration |
| Plant variety | New and farmers' varieties | PPV&FR Act, 2001 | Registration |
| Trade secret | Confidential information | Contract and equity | Keeping it secret |
Conclusion. An intellectual property right is a legal right in a creation of the mind. The WIPO Convention defines it widely (Article 2(viii)), and TRIPS lists its categories (Article 1(2)). It is intangible, exclusive, territorial and mostly limited in time. Its forms are copyright, patents, trade marks, designs, geographical indications, layout-designs, plant varieties and trade secrets. India has a separate law for each except trade secrets. Each form rewards a different kind of creation, and each is limited so that the public gains in the end.
The rest of the answers
The first answer is free. The rest come with the KSLU LL.B. Semester 5 solved papers.
You have read the question paper and its first answer in full. Buy the solved papers once and you can read every answer of every solved paper in this semester.
Solved papers: ₹499 Already bought it? Sign in
The question paper itself stays free, and so does the syllabus.
Found an error in this volume? Report it and we will check it against the paper.