Intellectual Property Rights

Several key conflicts over intellectual property rights have taken place in India, such as the challenge against the patenting of the healing properties of turmeric. The black turmeric pictured here is famous for its unique medicinal properties and is on the verge of extinction due to bio-piracy.

Intellectual property rights (IPR) can be defined, in essence, as an attempt to extend tangible concepts such as property ownership to intangibles such as movies, music, knowledge, and even genes. Intellectual property is traditionally divided into two branches: industrial property and copyright. The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), concluded in Stockholm on July 14, 1967 (Article 2(viii)) provi des that “intellectual property shall incl ude rights relating to: literary, artistic and scientific works, performances of per ...