Role of Intellectual Property Rights in Empowering Women

Role of Intellectual Property Rights in Empowering Women

“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness”. -Oprah Winfrey has rightly said. Women are the beautiful creation of God, the talent needs to be identified, encouraged and appreciated. In every sector, women are taking the lead so, why not IPRs?

Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) are the exclusive rights provided to the true owner of a creation or innovation. The work of human labour subsisting in intangible property is often known as intellectual property. It includes copyrights, trademarks, patents and many more. Copyright subsists in literary, artistic, and musical works, sound recordings and cinematograph films. Trademark is granted to distinctive logos and symbols used to identify a particular good or commodity.

A patent is granted to an innovation that is novel, new and capable of industrial application. IPRs contribute largely towards the development of the nation. Nowadays, it is not only the men who can achieve rather women are achieving success in every sphere of life. IPRs are very crucial to women entrepreneurs, these rights help to build up economic opportunities. In addition to this IPRs are significant for securing finances. To empower women, the government of India has launched an initiative “NIPAM”. Its main objective is to spread awareness about Intellectual Property Rights and involve women as an innovator in the field of science and technology.

Moreover, the awareness must reach in remote areas like North-East India where there is a lack of awareness of the same. Some of the other initiatives include the Women Scientist Scheme, CURIE, Vigyan Jyoti and GATI. All these initiatives were launched by the government to encourage women to contribute in the field of science and technology. Another major scheme launched by the government is WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) to recognize women and their calibre to be successful in innovations.

As per the report submitted by the European Union, it is found that approximately 28.3 percent of international patents are being filed by women innovators which is a good number but is not considerable. India is still lagging behind in terms of innovations, especially by women.

Rule 24(C) of Patent Rules is also amended by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to expedite the patent application, especially for women applicants. These provisions and initiatives are being taken by the government in order to improve the status of women, but still, there is a lack of awareness about these perks and initiatives. In addition to this, the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks provides an 80 per cent fee concession, especially to women entrepreneurs. 

These facts and incentives are introduced to encourage inventions. The awareness and knowledge about these technical aspects of IPRs is not known to many. For which, we need to spread awareness in the education sector, and corporate sector as well as in remote areas so that people can take the initiative to contribute to the world of innovation and IPRs. Undoubtedly, the IPRs contribute largely towards the economic development of the nation also.

History is evident, that the first Noble Prize was awarded to Marie Curie in the field of Physics and Chemistry. She also invented mobile X-ray vans known as Petites Curies that saved the lives of soldiers during the First World War. Another distinguished woman was Grace Hopper, who invented the world’s first electromechanical computer – the IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, more commonly known as the Mark I.

In the year 1881, Mary Walton invented the pollution control devices. The dishwashing machine that we often use in our homes was also invented by a woman named Josephine Cochrane. So, the list is infinite which highlights the women to be owners of various IPRs and become successful entrepreneurs. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) is not only an exclusive right provided to the creator but it provides certain moral rights too. The basic aim behind the grant of legal protection to the IPRs is to encourage innovation and inventions. So, the benefit is provided mutually, i.e. to the innovator as well as to the nation.

On 26th of April every year, World Intellectual Property (IP) Rights Day is celebrated. The theme for this year was “Women And IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity”, highlights. The role of women in innovation and the challenges they face in protecting their intellectual property. This signifies that the role of women is increasing and it is an encouragement to all the women of the nation to innovate something new. WIPO is focussing on the Intellectual Property Rights that are to be granted especially to women for which certain awareness programs are being planned and conducted.

Also, the provision of fee concession is made to encourage women to move towards success in the field of IPRs. The Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trade marks (CGPDTM) has developed an idea to boast women towards entrepreneurship and IPRs, offering an 80 per cent fee reduction to start-ups and women entrepreneurs.

In addition to this, another provision is formulated according to which, if one of the co-applicants is a woman, then the process of registration will be done speedily and the fee concession will also be provided. These rules are made to encourage more women to participate and develop creativity. The economic growth of the nation is also directly associated with intellectual property rights. Therefore, it is important for women to know their rights and roles in society.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), only 21 per cent of listed designers in industrial design applications are found in WIPO’s Global Design Database which is very low. The scope of IPRs is very wide and profitable. One can innovate or create anything novel, non-obvious and capable of industrial application and get it patented through which a profit, as well as popularity, can be achieved.

We can also develop a scientific tool that can be copyrighted. We can also get our trademark registers for designing a symbol, sign or logo. Therefore, the scope of intellectual property rights is not limited. One can excel in many areas provided the idea is unique. There is no doubt in saying that women have to face certain issues and challenges regarding innovation and intellectual property.

Certain suggestions can be made to empower women in IPRs. Firstly, there is a lack of awareness of intellectual property among women population. Patents, trademarks and copyrights seem alien to most of the Indian population. So, there is a need to spread awareness through organizing workshops, seminars and conferences on intellectual property.

Also, women’s entrepreneurship must be promoted. In today’s modern world, where there is access to the internet at everyone’s home, women’s education is given importance, so why not IPRs? The awareness programs must be conducted at school level also so that our youth must know the relevance of intellectual property. Moreover, the procedure of filing for patents, copyrights and trademarks must be simplified so that a layman can also easily approach the concerned authority regarding the same. therefore, certain steps must be taken collectively to empower the women of our nation only then we can hope for a bright future for our generation. To educate a girl is to educate the whole generation!!


Author: Vaasawa Sharma, Assistant Professor, School of Law, IILM University, Gurugram.

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