India and the world was going through a new phase of globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation and
these changing times were bringing newer challenges and the existing MRTP Act
had become obsolete in the modern era. Hence the new Competition Act came into
being in order to suit the need of the hour. The new act is based on the
regulation of conduct or behaviour of the players in the market and is result
oriented rather than being procedure oriented like the MRTP Act. Further its
main purpose is to protect and promote competition in the market.
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Essentials
Competition is very essential as it benefits: the Consumers as they get wider
choice of goods and services, better quality and improved value for money; it
benefits the Businesses as a level playing field is created and a redressed of
anti-competitive practices is available, the inputs are competitive priced, they
tend to have greater productivity and ability to compete in global markets and
finally it also benefits the state as there is optimal realisation from sale of
assets and there is enhanced availability of resources for social sector.
Protection of IPR
By protecting competition in the market the competition law helps benefit all
the players in the market which in turn is beneficial for the economy as a
whole. The theory of Intellectual Property Right and Competition Law comes down
to the fact that IPR is a right whereas Competition Law is legislation which
acts as an artificial hand over the market operation. IPR is something which the
State grants the inventor or it is a reward which the State provides to the
creator of any product to exploit commercially his creation for a limited period
of time. It seems that these two laws are of conflicting in nature but they are
not as we find from the above study that these two laws complement each other by
backing up when one is abused.
Competition Law attempts to provide a wider choice to the consumers and it seeks
to balance the right of manufacturers and the consumers by providing profits and
quality product and at a reasonable price, respectively. IPR also seeks to
provide the manufacturer his reward in being the sole creator of the product,
which should also be for the public benefit. The dominant position offered by
IPR is per se not violating the Competition policies but abuse of that position
is. In a nutshell, it can be concluded that both these laws have the common
objective but there ways to achieve it are different.
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The protection given for intellectual property law protects exclusive rights
given as patents of the inventions, models, industrial designs, copyrights and
others. These rights are given in order to be used as incentives for investment
and innovation, and also as identifiers of the good reputation and quality of
the product or of the enterprise that is the supplier. In this way, consumers
want to obtain products and services, protected by intellectual property rights,
with good prices and distinguishable from similar products in the market.
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On the other hand, the main function of competition is to promote economic
efficiency; preserving the competitive framework as the most appropriate means
to ensure the efficient allocation of economic resources. The interplay between
intellectual property rights and competition law is very important for the
maintenance of a competitive and dynamic economic climate. In fact, the system
of intellectual property protection is needed, with the risks that this often
entails, as a precondition for innovation. The technical progress that this
promotes in turn creates an increase in competition at the level of research and
development. Competitors will therefore be encouraged to participate in
innovation.
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Intellectual property and the protection of competition are to be regarded as
equal and necessary elements of a dynamic legal and economic system, but this
does not imply that all such interactions are without dispute. It is important
to understand that there is no uniform approach to the relationship between
competition law and intellectual property law. However there are strong
differences in doctrine regarding the general criteria for resolving conflicts
between these two areas. This causes a lack of clear rules to follow for
companies interested in technology transfers and in the signing licensing
agreements.
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Therefore, we believe that while there is an interface between the defence of
free competition and intellectual property protection, this does not mean that
there is a collision between the two but that there are some areas where
disputes can occur. These disputes should be regarded as exceptional situations
because in fact, exclusive rights encourage innovation and technology generation
to benefit society.
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Conclusion
I have identified that the main disputes between intellectual property and
competition are regarded to be: the abuse of dominant position by the holder of
an intellectual property right; compulsory licenses when an abuse of a dominant
position previously was determinate; and for public necessity, urgency or
national emergency.
I believe, that is very important to study both IPR and
Competition law to understand the dynamic in each country and how to face the
disputes that can appear in their interplay. To achieve this goal is very
important to know the experiences of academics and authorities of different
countries.
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