Inte

lectual
Property
Rights
What is Intellectual Property?
Intellectual property (IP)
refers to creations of the mind,
literary
such andinventions;
as artistic work,
symbols, names and designs, images
commerce. used in

It is protected in law, which enable people

to earn recognition or financial benefit
from what they invent or create.

By striking the right balance between the

interests of innovators and the wider
public interest, the IP system aims to
foster an environment in which creativity
and innovation can flourish.
Types of Intellectual property:
Patents
Trademark
s
Copyrights
Industrial
Design
Geographical
Indication Trade
Secrets
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
(IPR)
I ntellectual property r
ights include patents,
copyright, industrial
design r ights,
t rademarks,plant
variety r ights, t rade
dress,
geographicalindications,
and insomejurisdictionst
rade
secrets.
 Importance of
IPR
I n tellectua l property
protectio n is critical to
protectio
fo stering n of o videas,
inn a tio n. bu s in es s es and
i n d i v id u a l
Without would reap full
s
benefi ts of not inv entio
thei the
ns would
r and
focus
d e v el o p mless
en on research and
t.
Piracy, and the theft of
c o u n ter f ei tin g
iserious
n t el l ec tu a l property
threat to all assets pose a
bu sinesses.
Importance of IPR
Exporters face unfair competition abroad, non-exporters face counterfeit
imports at home and all businesses face legal, health and safety risks
from the threat of counterfeit goods entering their supply chains.

If one is an exporter, or think might want to export in the future, one

needs to seriously consider securing protection for their intellectual
property (IP) in those foreign markets of interest to . It is a good idea to
get the appropriate forms of IP protection before one can start doing
business in another country.

Some companies have found that foreign manufacturers have copied their
products, packaging and business plans, even though they had never done
business abroad.
Foreign counterfeiters can easily steal product pictures, brochures and
logos from a website and register the material as their own inventions in
their country, if not registered already.

For this reason, some small companies seek trademark and patent
protection in large potential markets well in advance of actually exporting to
those markets.
World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO)
WIPO is the global forum for intellectual property (IP)
services, policy, information and cooperation.

It is a self-funding agency of the United Nations, with

193 member states.

Mission - to lead the development of a balanced and

effective international IP system that enables
innovation and creativity for the benefit of all. The
mandate, governing bodies and procedures are set
out in the WIPO Convention, which established WIPO
in 1967.
PATENT
S
What is patent?
A patent is the granting of a property right by a sovereign authority to
an inventor. This grant provides the inventor exclusive rights to the
patented process, design, or invention for a designated period in
exchange for a comprehensive disclosure of the invention.

-A patent provides patent owners with protection for

their inventions. Protection is granted for a limited period,
generally 20 years.

-The procedure for granting patents, requirements placed on the patentee,

and the extent of the exclusive rights vary widely between countries
according to national laws
 There are three basic tests for any invention to be
patentable:
Firstly, the invention must be novel, meaning thereby that the Invention
must not be in existence.
Secondly, the Invention must be non- obvious, i.e. the Invention must be
a significant improvement to the previous one; mere change in
technology will not give the right of the patent to the inventor.
Thirdly, the invention must be useful in a bonafide manner, meaning
thereby that the Invention must not be solely used in any illegal work
and is useful to the world in a bonafide manner.
Indian Patent
Law
Under the Indian patent law, a patent can be
obtained only for an invention which is new
and useful. The invention must relate to
the machine, article or substance produced
by a manufacturer, or the process of
manufacture of an article. A patent may
also be obtained for innovation of an article
or of a process of manufacture. In respect to
medicine or drugs and certain classes of
chemicals, no patent is granted for the
substance itself even if it is new, but the
process of manufacturing and substance is
Utility Patent
A utility patent is a patent that
covers the creation of a new or
improved—and useful—product,
process, or machine. A utility
patent, also known as a "patent for
invention," prohibits other
individuals or companies from
making, using, or selling the
invention without authorization.
Examples of Utility Patents
Utility patents apply to a broad
range of inventions, including:

Machines (e.g. something

composed of moving parts,
such as engines or computers)
Articles of manufacture
(e.g. brooms, candleholders)
Processes (e.g. business
processes,
software)
Compositions of matter
(e.g. pharmaceuticals)
Breastfeeding Shirts
Mia Seipel received the patent for the
breastfeeding shirt. In view of the fact that
newspapers had written about her idea, she
thought that it would be easy to sell the 700
pieces that she had ordered. However, in the
beginning, sales were sluggish. Mia Seipel tried to
sell in her breastfeeding shirt to the large clothing
chains, but the interest was not particularly great.
She applied for a number of accolades and
grants which resulted in a naming of excellent
Swedish Design and, finally, sales started to
increase. The clothing chains were contacted
again and now they were interested. Today, Mia
Seipel can make a living out of her innovation and
runs the company Boob AB, which sells the
garments in more than 20 countries via
distributors.
Design Patent
A design patent is a form of legal
protection of the unique visual
qualities of a manufactured item. A
design patent may be granted if the
product has a distinct configuration,
distinct surface ornamentation or both.
In other words, a design patent
provides protection for the
ornamental design of something that
has a practical utility.
Examples of Design Patent
Some examples of design patents include ornamental designs on jewelry,
automobiles or furniture, as well as packaging, fonts and computer icons
(such as emojis). Some famous design patent objects include the original
curvy Coca-Cola bottle (1915) and the Statue of Liberty (1879).

When a company’s product design has substantial cachet, a design patent

solidifies its competitive advantage by penalizing other firms that try to
develop similar-looking items. For example, Apple has been awarded
damages reportedly totalling more than $900 million from Samsung, which
violated its iPhone design patents.
Samsung vs. Apple: Inside The Brutal War For
Smartphone Dominance
The dispute between Apple and Samsung traces its origin
back to January 4th, 2007, when Apple filed four design
patents which covered the basic design of the iPhone and
then followed them with a huge filing of a colour design
patent which consisted of various iPhone graphical user
interfaces.

In this case the jury found that the multiple smartphones

manufactured by petitioners (Samsung) infringed design
patents of the respondent (Apple Inc.).¹⁶ Apple was awarded
$399 million in damages which was the Samsung’s entire
profit from the sale of its alleged infringing smartphones.
Further in 2016 the case reached to the US Supreme court,
Samsung was liable to pay $399 Million in damages. Finally, in
may 2018 the case was finally settled when the US jury
ordered Samsung to pay Apple Inc. $539 million in lieu of
Plant Patent
A plant patent is an intellectual
property right that protects a new
and unique plant’s key
characteristics from being copied,
sold or used by others. A plant
patent can help an inventor secure
higher profits during the patent
protection period by preventing
competitors from using the plant.
Plant patent requirements
An inventor has one year within selling or releasing the
plant to apply for a plant patent.

A plant patent can have two named inventors: one who

discovered the plant and one who asexually reproduced
it. If the invention is a team effort, every member of the
team can be named as a co-inventor.

While a plant patent protects the inventor’s intellectual

property rights for 20 years from the patent-
application-filing date, the patent application itself
becomes public 18 months after the earliest patent filing
date, which means competitors will be able to learn the
PATENT INFRINGEMENT
Any of the patented
use invention the
the patenteeshall
without be consent
appropriate
considered an act of of
infringement
infringement. can
The lead
act thea
infringer to t rouble as thes
infringer can be sued by the o
patentee for infringement withf
demands for monetary
compensation.
Activities considered infringing activities
The Patents Act, 1970, does not exactly list down activities which
would be considered infringing the patent rights assigned to the
patentee. Having said that, Section 48 of the Act confers exclusive
rights to the patentee to prevent third parties from making, using,
offering for sale, selling or importing the patented invention for the
purpose of using, selling and offering for sale in India without the
consent of the patentee.

Any commercial use of the patented invention without the consent of

the patentee shall amount to an act of infringement.
Turmeric Patent Case
Study
In 1995, the United States awarded a patent on
turmeric to University of Mississippi medical center
for wound healing property. The claimed subject
matter was the use of "turmeric powder and its
administration", both oral as well as topical, for
wound healing. The Indian Council for Scientific
and Industrial Research (CSIR) had objected to the
patent granted and provided documented
evidence of the prior art to USPTO. Due to
extensive research, 32 references were located in
different languages namely Sanskrit, Urdu and
Hindi. Therefore, the USPTO revoked the patent,
stating that the claims made in the patent were
obvious and anticipated, and agreeing that the
use of turmeric was an old art of healing
wounds. Therefore, the TK that belonged to India
was safeguarded in the Turmeric case.
Basmati Patent Case
Study
The US patent office granted a patent to 'RiceTec'
for a strain of Basmati rice, aromatic rice grown in
India and Pakistan for centuries. Rice is the staple
food of people in most parts of Asia, especially
India and Pakistan.
The Indian Government had pursued to appeal only
3 claims
out of 20 claims made in the original patent
application of RiceTec Inc.
However, US being a strong proponent of Patent
protection
of plant varieties allowed the patent
application. Three strains developed by RiceTec
are allowed patent protection and they are
eligible to label its strain as "Superior Basmati
Rice". Therefore, in the Basmati case, RiceTec
altered the strain through crossing with the
Western strain of grain and successfully claimed it
Trademarks:
What are Trademarks?

A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of

intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or
expression which identifies products or services of a particular source
from those of others.

A trademark mostly identifies the brand owner of a particular

product or service. The symbols commonly used are -

1.™ (the trademark symbol) and
2.® (the registered trademark symbol for branding of goods) can be used to
indicate trademarks; the latter is only for use by the owner of a
trademark that has been registered.
 Trademarks:
Trademarks can typically be a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design,
image, or a combination of these elements. There is also a range of non-
conventional trademarks, comprising marks which do not fall into these
standard categories, such as those based on color, smell, or sound (like
jingles) (eg This tune , composed by Mr AR Rahman,which you heard helped
Airtel to gain recognition).

Trademarks are not only used to recognize companies but also government
initiatives and campaigns e.g Lion logo for make in India campaign, "School
chlale hum" song for the Sarva Shiksha Abhyaan.

Trademarks that are considered offensive are often rejected according

to a nation's trademark law.

Taking the name or the appearance of the trademarks, companies try to

decieve people to increase the branding, which becomes a case of
Case Study 1: Starbucks vs Sardarbuksh case
Case Study 1: Starbucks vs Sardarbuksh case
This is a Trademark infringement case
Starbucks registered their trademark which consisted of a word mark i.e.
STARBUCKS and a logo depicting “crowned maiden with long hair” in India in
[Link] defendants began their business in 2015 by calling their enterprise
"Sardarbuksh Coffee & Co".
In May 2018, the defendants formed a private limited company with the
name "Sardar Buksh
Private Limited" and have been operating under that name since.
The goods and services rendered by both the plaintiff and the defendant
are the same. The defendants used a logo consisting of a circular black
band with the words 'SARDARBUKSH COFFEE & CO.' and a turban Commander
along with wavy lines extending from the edges.
Result - In 2017, Starbucks asked the defendants to change their logo by
way of a letter of
demand. Further, it was modified to a color scheme of black and yellow and
operations were commenced with the newly modified logo.
Case Study 1: Starbucks vs Sardarbuksh case
Eventually, Starbucks filed a suit against Sardarbuksh in the Hon’ble Delhi High
Court (hereinafter referred to as “the Court”). The legal perspective was the
deceptively similar analogy which is derived from Section 2(1)(h) read in
Section 11 of The Trademarks Act, 1999 which states that, when two marks
are put next to each other, if they cause confusion or mislead the viewers,
they would be deceptively similar and therefore cannot be registered.

On 1st August, 2018 the decision was given by the Court in favor of Starbucks
and further it ordered the defendants to modify their store name from
“Sardarbuksh Coffee & Co.” to “Sardarji- Bakhsh Coffee & Co.”.

In addition, it was explained and decided that, if a third party uses the term
"Bakhsh", then the defendant would have the right to bring an action against
such a violator. The suit was settled on those terms.
Case Study 2: Coca Cola vs Bisleri case on
"MAAZA"
It is a case of trademark infringement within and outside the jurisdiction
from where the brand trades.

Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd (Defendant) is an Indian beverages company,

best known for bottled water. It sold and assigned the trademark ‘MAAZA’
including the right to formulate, intellectual property right and goodwill
attached to the mark for India to Coca-Cola.

In the year 2008, the defendant filed an application for registration of

trademark ‘Maaza’ in Turkey, and then started exporting the mango
flavoured fruit drink with the mark ‘Maaza’.

Coca-Cola Co. (Plaintiff) filed a petition for permanent injunction and

damages for passing- off and infringement of trademark.
Case Study 2: Coca Cola vs Bisleri case on
"MAAZA"
Issue was, whether exporting a product with the mark is considered as
infringement in the exporting country.

It was argued on behalf of the Plaintiff that as the mark ‘Maaza’ with regard
to Indian market was assigned to Coca-Cola, any manufacture of the product
with such mark whether for sale in India or for the purpose of export would
be considered as infringement.

It was held that exporting of goods from a country is considered as sale

within the country from where the goods are exported is same to
infringement of trademark. As the Defendant were manufacturing and
exporting the product with the mark ‘Maaza’ from India, Delhi High Court
had jurisdiction to entertain the matter. Court granted an interim
injunction against Defendant from using the mark in India as well as for
export market.
Laws in India for dealing with Trademark Violation
The Indian law of trademarks is preserved in the new Trade Marks Act,
1999,which came into force with effect from September 15, 2003.

The law of trademark deals with the mechanism of registration, protection of

trademark and prevention of fraudulent trademark.

Under section 29 of this act, the use of a trade mark by a person who not
being registered proprietor of the trade mark or a registered user thereof
which is identical with, or deceptively similar to a registered trademark
amounts to the infringement of trademark and the registered proprietor can
take action or obtain relief in respect of infringement of trademark.
 Copyrights:

What Is a Copyright?
The dictionary defines copyright as "a
person's exclusive right to reproduce,
publish, or sell his or her original work of
authorship (as a literary, musical, dramatic,
artistic, or architectural work)."

Copyright ownership gives the owner the

exclusive right to use the work, with some
exceptions. When a person creates an
original work, fixed in a tangible medium,
he or she automatically owns copyright to
the work.
 Copyrights:
Many types of works are eligible for copyright protection, for example:

Audiovisual works, such as TV shows, movies, and online

videos Sound recordings and musical compositions
Written works, such as lectures, articles, books, and musical
compositions Visual works, such as paintings, posters, and
advertisements
Video games and computer software
Dramatic works, such as plays and
musicals
Why should copyright be protected?
Copyright ensures certain minimum safeguards of the rights of authors
over their creations, thereby protecting and rewarding creativity. Creativity
being the keystone of progress, no civilized society can afford to ignore the
basic requirement of encouraging the same. Economic and social
development of a society is dependent on creativity. The protection
provided by copyright to the efforts of writers, artists, designers, dramatists,
Case 1: Partner vs
Hitch
In 2007, Bollywood released the film Partner, it went on to gross over
138 crores worldwide.
In 2005 America releases Will Smith & Kevin James-starrer Hitch.
The two films are nearly identical. Overbrook Entertainment, along with
Sony Pictures, contemplated a $30 million lawsuit against the producers of
Partner. Although cease and desist letters were sent to the makers of
Partner, talks of a lawsuit soon faded.
Soon, the controversy died its natural death and nothing further was
heard. However, it
was speculated that the Sony was, at the time, planning on producing and
remaking some of its Hollywood hits for the Indian audience and making
some original content as well. And, the legal suit was nothing more than a
way to make their name known. On the other hand, some publications
Case 2: Oracle America vs
Google
Oracle America sued Google for patent and copyright infringement based on
Google’s use of Oracle’s Java API in its Android software in the Northern District
of California.
Oracle had claimed that Google had illegally copied about 11,500 lines of Java
code, which set out 37 separate APIs. According to Oracle, Google's APIs had
violated Oracle Java copyright because they had duplicated Java APIs' "structure,
sequence, and organization." The case first focused on whether the Java APIs in
question were protected under copyright, which in May 2014, the Federal
Circuit held that they were.
The case was heard again in the Northern District of California, but this time
on Google’s claims that its use was fair use.
In May 2016, a jury found in favor of Google, holding that its use of Oracle’s
Java API was fair use.
Oracle filed a motion to challenge the verdict, which the district court denied in
Case 3: Raabta vs Magadheera
 Case 3: Raabta vs Magadheera
Raabta (2017) was slapped with a copyright infringement suit by the
producers of the Telugu film Magadheera.
When the trailer of Raabta got released, the makers of
Magadheera, a 2009 Telugu romantic action film directed by
Baahubali helmer SS Rajamouli, had allegedly issued a complaint
that the Raabta is a copy of their film.
Both films involve lovers who unite in their second lives (after
reincarnation). Other similarities include parallel visualisation of the
two different births and the medieval setting of the previous birth.
Both films also have a notable antagonist vying for the woman’s
affection. Magadheera team withdrawed the case and agreed to
an out of court settlement instead.
 More Cases
The Masakali 2.0 song has been accused of recreated and composed
by Tanishq Bagchi without the consent of its original owners. Its
original version, Masakali which was picturized in the movie Delhi-6
in 2009 was produced and composed by Mr. A.R. Rahman and
written by Mr. Prasoon Joshi.
Genda Phool Controversy: Rapper Badshah was caught off guard with
the plagiarism accusations against him over his new single Genda
Phool, with regard to Ratan Kahar's Bengali folk song Boroloker Biti Lo.
The music legendary song, ‘Mehbooba Mehooba’ from everyone’s
favourite movie, Sholay is copied from Demis Roussos’s Say You
Love Me
In 2009 the makers of a Bengali Film titled as ‘Poran Jaye Joliya Rae’,
 Copyright Infringement
Copyright infringement refers to the unauthorized use of someone’s copyrighted
work. Thus, it is the use of someone’s copyrighted work without permission thereby
infringing certain rights of the copyright holder, such as the right to reproduce,
distribute, display or perform the protected work.

Copyright Infringement examples

If a person uses someone’s song as background music in his/her music video
then he could be made liable for copyright infringement.
If a person downloads movies or songs from an unauthorized source then it will
amount to copyright infringement.
A person is free to record a TV program to view it later, but if he transfers or
distributes it to others then it becomes a copyright infringement.
 Copyright Issues
There are a number of issues that can arise in Copyright. These are discussed below:
Plagiarism
Someone may copy the copyrighted material and pretend it to be his original
work. People are allowed to quote the work or refer the work but the person who
is using the copyrighted work has to give the credit to the copyright holder.
Ownership
The issue of ownership may arise when an employer works for an organisation. In
such case who has the copyright over the work? If a person is an employer then it is
the organisation which has the copyright over the material but if a person is a
freelance writer then it is the person himself who is the sole owner of the
copyrighted material.
Derivative Works
Derivative works use the already existing work of someone. It is a new version of
already existing material. For example, translating a book into another language. A
person requires a license for it but if he has not obtained the license for it then he
can be made liable for copyright infringement.
 Indian Law : Copyright
Section 51 of the Copyright Act specifies when a copyright is infringed.
According to Section 51 of the Act, Copyright is deemed to be infringed if:
A person without obtaining the permission of the copyright holder does
any act which only the copyright holder is authorized to do.
A person permits the place to be used for communication, selling,
distribution or exhibition of an infringing work unless he was not aware or
has no reason to believe that such permission will result in the violation of
copyright.
A person imports infringing copies of a work
A person without obtaining the authority from the copyright holder
reproduces his work in any form.
INDUSTRIAL
DESIGN
 Industrial Design: As an IPR

An industrial design right is an intellectual property right that

protects the visual design of objects that are not purely
utilitarian.

An industrial design consists of the creation of a shape,

configuration or composition of pattern or color, or
combination of pattern and color in three-dimensional form
containing aesthetic value.

An industrial design can be a two- or three-dimensional

 What can be registered as a design?

The look of the product or part of the

product but
Not the idea.
[Link] example: All kinds of products - being ugly or nice
e.g. bottles, chairs, jewellery or appliances and Could
also be the packaging, a homepage, the interior or
setup of a shop can be registered as a design.
[Link] Design Protection extends to graphic symbols,
graphic user interfaces (GUIs), screen displays, and even
Industrial Design Protection: Indian Law Perspective
An infringement suit of design can be instituted only after the design is
registered.
Industrial design protection under Design Act 2000 Industrial
design protection is for the shape, color, line, configuration,
and surface pattern that either improves the visual appearance
or increases the aesthetics of the design.
The registration is for a duration of ten years and can be extended
for up to
five years. Under the Designs Act, anyone violating the copyright of
the design is liable to pay a sum of Rs. 25,000 for every offense to
the registered
Case Study 1
Coca-Cola vs Pepsi – battle of the bottles (can you protect a
contour bottle shape?)
The Coca-Cola Company took legal action against PepsiCo Inc and three
related Australian companies
(Pepsi). The background facts are that:
Coke’s contour bottle has been sold in Australia since 1937
In August 2007 Pepsi released its own glass bottle known as the
Carolina Bottle Coke took legal proceedings against Pepsi in the
Federal Court of
Australia in October 2010
Coke argued that Pepsi’s bottle infringed its trademarks and would mislead
consumers into believing that the bottles were associated due to their similar
silhouettes.
The Court held in favor of Pepsi and decided that the outline or silhouette of
Pepsi’s bottle was an element of its overall shape but not the only element.
Case Study 2
BlackBerry Vs Typo Products
Organizations involved were: BlackBerry Ltd.
and Typo
Products LLC
Date & Venue: 3rd January 2014 in the California
Northern District Court
Subject: design infringement of their famous
QWERTY keyboard.
What was the case about?
The subject matter of the case alleged by
BlackBerry is based on the design of a keyboard
that can be snap-fitted onto an iPhone, so as to
make it look like the BlackBerry keyboard. The
design was claimed to be an infringement of
GEOGRAPHICAL
INDICATION
A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used
on products that have a specific geographical
origin and possess qualities or reputation
that are due to that origin.
A way for business to leverage the value of
their geographically unique products.
Inform and attract consumers.
Geographical Indication is primarily granted to
agricultural, natural, manufactured,
handicraft originating from a definite
geographical territory.
Most commonly, a GI consists of the name of
the place of origin of the good, such as
“Jamaica Blue Mountain” or “Darjeeling”. But
non-geographical names, such as “Vinho
Verde”, “Cava” or “Argan Oil”, or symbols
commonly associated with a place, can also
constitute a GI. In essence, whether a sign
functions as a GI is a matter of national law and
consumer perception.
Laws and
Treaties
Paris Convention for the Protection of
the Industrial Property
Madrid Agreement for th Repression of
False or Deceptive Indications of Source
on Goods Lisbon Agreement for the
Protection of Appellations of Origin and
their International Registration
Taita Basket: A New Identity CASE STUDY -
I
for Basket Weavers in Kenya
Name: Taita Baskets
Association
Country/Territory:
Kenya IP rights:
Geographical
Indications and
Appellations
of Origin, Trademarks
 Started by WIPO in 2016, a
branding project using intellectual
property (IP) supported a
community of female basket
weavers in Kenya’s Taita Taveta
County in acquiring a collective
mark.
The “Taita Basket” mark is a
strategic IP tool for developing
their regional brand, which the
basket weavers hope will allow
them to command higher prices,
increase sales and improve their
Pappadums and the CASE STUDY -
II
Path to
Empowerment
Name: Shri Mahila
Griha Udyog Lijjat
Papad
Country/Territory: India
IP rights: Trademarks
 Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat
Papad (Lijjat) is a cooperative
established by Indian women
that has developed a unique
model for development and
empowerment for low income
female workers. Lijjat has more
than 40,000 members and 62
branches across 17 states of the
Republic of India (India).
TRADE
SECRETS
 Trade secrets are intellectual property
(IP) rights on confidential information
which may be sold or licensed.
In general, to qualify as a trade
secret, the information must be:
1. commercially valuable because it is
secret
2. be known only to a limited group of
persons
3. be subject to reasonable steps taken
by the rightful holder of the
information to keep it secret, including
the use of confidentiality agreements
 Laws and
Treaties
The Paris Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Property
(Paris Convention) administered by
WIPO deals partly with the
protection of trade secrets as
does the World Trade
Organization’s (WTO) Agreement
on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS
 CASE STUDY -
I
A Secret from the
Carribean Name:
Angostura Limited
Country/ Territory:
Trinidad and Tobago
IP right(s): Trade
secrets, Trademarks
 Angostura Bitters - the product that
made the company famous - is made
with ingredients that are native to
Trinidad and Tobago. In the case of the
company’s Orange Bitters, the
product is made with oranges that
are grown and selected by hand in
Trinidad and Tobago (according to the
company). As the company expanded,
however, it increased its production
into rum products, which is made
from sugar cane and is a crop that
has a long history in the Caribbean.
With its main IP being nearly two
hundred years old, Angostura has
found that the best way to
protect its product is through
using trade secrets (Government
of Trinidad and Tobago, 2014). To
that end, the company closely
guards a secret that has been the
mainstay of its success, ensuring
that it does not make its way
into the hands of competitors.