Economy

Intellectual property rights

Also: IPR, patents, copyright, trademarks, geographical indications, TRIPS

Definition
Legal rights that give creators and inventors exclusive control, for a limited time, over the use of their creations, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, brands, designs and goods linked to a place of origin.
Deep-dive lesson: IT, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum, Semiconductors and IPR. This page is a quick reference that connects the term across subjects; read the lesson for the full treatment.
Summary card: Intellectual property rights. TRIPS Agreement under WTO came into force in 1995. Indian patent term: 20 years from filing date. Section 3(d) bars patents for minor changes to known drugs. National IPR Policy adopted in May 2016. Darjeeling tea was India's first GI-tagged product
Summary card © UPSCPrep.in

Background and evolution

The idea of protecting inventions and creative works spread with industrialisation. The Paris Convention of 1883 covered industrial property such as patents and trademarks, and the Berne Convention of 1886 covered literary and artistic works. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) was established in 1967 and became a UN specialised agency. In 1995, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) under the WTO set minimum standards that all members had to adopt, linking IPR to trade.

India's Patents Act of 1970 allowed only process patents, not product patents, for food, medicines and chemicals. This let Indian firms make cheaper versions of medicines invented elsewhere using different processes, and helped build a strong generic drug industry. To comply with TRIPS, India amended its law in 1999, 2002 and 2005, introducing product patents for pharmaceuticals from 2005. Parliament also included safeguards such as Section 3(d), compulsory licensing and pre-grant opposition. India adopted laws on geographical indications (1999), designs (2000), plant varieties and farmers' rights (2001) and biological diversity (2002).

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Last reviewed: 23 October 2026 · Original UPSCPrep.in content.