Intellectual Property in Cyberspace
Last Updated : 24 Apr, 2023
Intellectual Property (IP) simply refers to the creation of the
mind. It refers to the possession of thought or design by the one
who came up with it. It offers the owner of any inventive design or
any form of distinct work some exclusive rights, that make it
unlawful to copy or reuse that work without the owner’s
permission. It is a part of property law. People associated with
literature, music, invention, etc. can use it in business practices.
There are numerous types of tools of protection that come under
the term “intellectual property”. Notable among these are the
following:
Patent
Trademark
Geographical indications
Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits
Trade secrets
Copyrights
Industrial Designs
Cyberspace is the non-physical domain where numerous
computers are connected through computer networks to establish
communication between them. With the expansion of technology,
cyberspace has come within reach of every individual. This fact
led to the emergence of cyberspace as a business platform and
hence increases pressure on Intellectual Property. Nowadays,
cyber crimes do not solely limit themselves to fraud,
cyberbullying, identity thefts but also an infringement of
copyrights and trademarks of various businesses and other
organizations. Online content needs to be protected and hence
Intellectual Property Rights and Cyber laws cannot be separated.
In cyberspace, sometimes one person makes a profit by using
another person’s creation without the owner’s consent. This is a
violation of privacy, and it is protected by IPR. We have certain
laws to avoid violation of Intellectual Property Rights in
cyberspace and when it is violated, then additionally we have
several remedies in law.
Copyright Infringement: Copyright protection is given to the
owner of any published artistic, literary, or scientific work over his
work to prohibit everyone else from exploiting that work in his
name and thereby gain profit from it.
When these proprietary creations are utilized by anyone without
the permission of the owner, it leads to copyright infringement. If
copies of any software are made and sold on the internet without
the permission of the owner or even copying the content from any
online source, these all are examples of copyright infringement.
Copyright Issues in Cyberspace:
1. Linking –
It permits a Website user to visit another location on the Internet.
By simply clicking on a word or image on one Web page, the user
can view another Web page elsewhere in the world, or simply
elsewhere on the same server as the original page.
Linking damages the rights or interests of the owner of the Linked
webpage. It may create the supposition that the two linked sites
are the same and promote the same idea. In this way, the linked
sites can lose their income as it is often equal to the number of
persons who visit their page.
2. Software Piracy –
Software piracy refers to the act of stealing software that is
lawfully shielded. This stealing comprises various actions like
copying, spreading, altering, or trading the software. It also
comes under the Indian copyright act.
An example of software piracy is downloading a replica of
Microsoft Word from any website other than Microsoft to avoid
paying for it as it is a paid software. Piracy can be of 3 types:
1. Soft lifting
2. Software Counterfeiting
3. Uploading-Downloading.
3. Cybersquatting –
Cybersquatting means unauthorized registration and use of
Internet domain names that are similar to any business’s
trademarks, service marks, or company names. For example, let
us consider Xyz is a very famous company and the company
hadn’t created a website yet. A cybersquatter could buy [Link],
looking to sell the domain to the company Xyz at a later date for a
profit. The domain name of a famous company can even be used
to attract traffic and this traffic will help cybersquatters earn a lot
of money through advertising.
When more than one individual believes that they have the right
to register a specific domain name, then this can lead to a
Domain Name Dispute. It arises when a registered trademark is
registered by another individual or organization who is not the
owner of a trademark that is registered.
Trademark Issues in Cyberspace :
Trademark means a mark capable of being depicted
diagrammatically and which may distinguish the products or
services of one person from those of others and will embody the
form of products, their packaging, and combination of colors. A
registered service mark represents a service. Trademark
infringement refers to the unlawful use of a trademark or service
mark which can cause ambiguity, fraud, or confusion about the
actual company a product or service came from. Trademark
owners can take the help of the law if they believe their marks are
being infringed.
Advantages of Intellectual Property Rights
1. It provides exclusive rights to the creator’s or inventor’s.
2. It gives freedom to inventor to share his knowledge without
keeping its secret.
3. It helps to creator financially.
4. It provides legal defence to the creator.
Conclusion: With the growth of Cyberspace and technology
advancements, copyright and trademarks are not limited to the
usual intellectual property alone but have spread to intellectual
property rights over the internet.
Cyberspace is becoming a hub for intellectual property rights
infringement. Several practices by the cyber site operators
resulted in the violation of intellectual property rights and various
other rights of other website operators. It has become crucial that
people are aware of the illegal usage of their websites and
webpages.
International conventions and treaties have provided various laws
to protect infringement of IPRs online which are helping e-
commerce and e-businesses to grow. However, the Information
technology Act does not provide any provisions in respect of
cybercrimes related to IPR, cyberstalking, cyber defamation, etc.
Also, the Indian Trademark Act, 1999 and Copyright Act, 1957 are
silent on issues on online Trademark and Copyright infringement.
Though computer programs are protected under the Copyright
Act, 1957, it does not provide remedies for cyberpiracy.