What are the Benefits of IPR in the Modern Times?

Nowadays, IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) plays an essential role in the national and international trade of every nation. With the beginning of growing digitalisation, there is a massive risk of innovative ideas being stolen by an unknown without any prior consent & permission. The importance and benefits of IPR vary across the world. Almost every country which depends on international trade is now taking stern action for IPR protection. A strong IP law structure is moderately accountable for the overall growth of the economy of a country. Even in the present web-based environment, there is a very high risk of creative & innovative ideas getting stolen without the author’s approval. So to protect the intrinsic value of such intangible properties, IPR Laws were performed. In this write-up, we are going to discuss the benefits of IPR in current times.

What is Intellectual Property?

Before we move forward to the benefits of IPR in current times, let’s first understand the meaning of Intellectual Property. Intellectual Property can be described as a set of intangible assets owned by any person or company. Like different physical properties, intellectual Property gives the same competitive benefit to a business. Intellectual property protection in a web-based environment is vital for a business or company than ever before, as the distinctive logos & designs are more susceptible and can be easily copied by anyone.

There are three significant types of Intellectual Property Rights:

1. Copyright: It safeguards a tangible creative expression such as music compositions, books, and paintings. It is one highly used Intellectual Property Rights given to the actual owners of an original creative piece, which comprises both published & unpublished work.
2. Trademark: Trademark can be the design, name, mark, or logo of a company/business or a person to differentiate their products & services from their competitors in the market. A distinctive symbol enables a consumer to identify the products easily and relates to the brand value of a business.
3. Patent: A Patent safeguards the novel & distinct creation from illegally sold, used by an unknown for a set time duration. In simple words, a sovereign authority grants the IPR to the inventor via a set procedure.

Benefits of IPR (Intellectual Property Rights)

The benefits of IPR in modern times are as follow:

• Boosts Business Growth: There are big chances that unprotected creative ideas can be used by rivals to take away market shares & decelerate business growth. Therefore, small & medium-sized businesses need to protect their exclusive goods or services. In the starting stage of a business, it can be very dangerous to lose a share as it will harm the business in the long term.
• Easing the Marketing Process: Intellectual Property is an essential tool in creating an identity for your business. Intellectual Property can aid you to distinguish your products & services in the market from those of other seller’s & encourage them to reach the targeted customers.
• To Safeguard the Unique ideas: This is one of the crucial benefits of IPR. People will try to copy a novel idea or the creation of others for their own commercial profits. Therefore, before any third party illegitimately violates it, it is vital to protect their IP assets. An individual can take IP protection irrespective of the business nature.  It is crucial to remember that it is the complete responsibility of the owner to safeguard their IP from infringement by any individual or party.
• IP supports & creates high-income jobs: At present, many people around the globe are employees in companies or industries that are IP-intensive. The Indian Government announced the “National IPR Policy“, a vision document in 2016, with its tagline as Creative India Innovative India. Jobs in the IP sector are expected to grow quicker in the future.
• Handle International Challenges: Almost 300 products vital to improving/saving people’s lives listed on the Drug List of WHO is an outcome of the R&D intensive pharmaceutical industry that relies on Patent Protections. New products are being created or formed by innovative agricultural companies to aid farmers to produce the best products for the world’ hunger while lessening the environmental impact of agriculture. Climate change can be managed with the help of Intellectual Property related discoveries in alternative energy & green technologies.
• Raising Finance for the Company: Any IPR owner can commercialise & monetise the IP assets through sale, licensing, and use as a guarantee for debt financing. IP assets can also be used for increasing public funding, loans and to get government subsidies.
• Improve Business Export Opportunities: IP assets boost the competitiveness level in the export market for products & services. The IPR owner can safeguard brand and design to market & encourage their goods & services overseas and take franchising agreements from foreign companies.
• Protects Consumers & Families: Robust IP helps the customers to make the correct choice about the safety, reliability, and effectiveness of their product purchases. Enforced IPR confirms the product authenticity and high quality that customers expect from the producers. Ease of mind & confidence that customers demand & markets rely on can be promoted with the help of IPR.

Conclusion

After discussing the benefits of IPR in modern times, it is concluded that IP is increasing worldwide, and all people and businesses should register their Intellectual Properties^[1], which will assist them in earning extra income and can also save others from stealing their innovations & ideas. However, the challenge is that IP systems remain highly regionally or national based.

The Government needs to originate proper IP laws for the individuals and for the companies, which should neither be too strict nor too compassionate. The complete structure also requires to be improved by the Government for forging a long-term social & economic development of a country. Therefore, it can be concluded that IP protection is highly significant in the current era.

Read our article:IPR for Start-ups in Singapore – A Complete Analysis