Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are legal rights granted to creators and owners of works that are results of human intellectual creativity. These works can be in the industrial, scientific, literary and artistic domain. They may take various forms, including an invention, a manuscript, a recording, a symbol that represents a business, or even an original design of a carpet. In general, the objective of IPR is to protect the right of a work’s creator to collect income from or otherwise enjoy the value of his or her creation, while at the same time allowing the general public to access the work. IPR maintains this balance by establishing time-limits on the creator’s means of controlling the work. IPR law, including the law of trademark, copyright, patents, and industrial design, regulates the creation, use, and control of protected work.
To have any meaningful effect, IPR law must be accompanied by a set of State institutions that are not only charged with but capable of registering protected works, investigating alleged IPR violations, and enforcing the rights of IPR owners. Effective IPR law must also exist against a backdrop of general public understanding of and support for the concepts of intellectual property.
The CLIR Intellectual Property section analyzes the laws, regulations, institutions and enforcements procedures responsible for establishing, maintaining, and preserving rights related to IPR including trademarks, patents and other ownerships marks.
