May 17, 2006, DNA
New Delhi
At a lecture on forging better understanding about intellectual property and competition laws and the perceived conflict between the two, Richard Whish, law professor with King’s College in London, maintained that while the two cross paths occasionally, they both stand to serve the same cause.
“Indeed, both bodies of law share the same basic objective of promoting consumer welfare and an efficient allocation of resources,” he said, while quoting from the guidelines given by the European Commission.
The Intellectual Property Law Practitioners Associations (IPLPA) along with the Institute of Intellectual Property Studies (IIPS) and the CUTS Institute for Regulation and Competition (CIRC) hosted a seminar on intellectual property law and competition law at Ghia Hall at Kala Ghoda in Fort on Tuesday.
According to Whish, intellectual property rights help in promoting competition by encouraging undertakings to invest in developing new or improved products, while competition puts pressure on undertakings to innovate.
Whish also talked about the emerging interest in the two laws.
“India has already passed the Competition Act 2002, and China is now amending its laws to benefit the competition policy,” he said.
“This means, in a few years, one-third of the world’s population will be following the competition policy.”n TN Daruwalla and Richard Whish.
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