NEW DELHI: "All kinds of broadcasting including internet broadcasting” will also form part of broadcasting organizations desirous of communicating to the public for purposes of copyright, according to the Government.

Amplifying the definition of broadcasting in section 31D of the Copyright Act 1957, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Deputy Secretary Surabhi Sharma has said in a directive to the Registrar of Copyrights that broadcasting should not be restrictively read as meaning just radio and television.

The Section refers to any performance or work available for being seen or heard or otherwise enjoyed by the public “other than by making physical copies of it.”

This is one of the several measures taken by the DIPP since administration of the Copyright Act and Intellectual Property Rights were shifted to it in March this year. Until then, it had been part of the Human Resource Development Ministry and the film, music and television industries have always grudged this as they feel it should be with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

A single window interface was unveiled by the Government for information on IPR and guidance on leveraging it for competitive advantage. The Indian IP Panorama portal seeks to increase awareness and build sensitivity towards IP, among stakeholders in the SME sector, academia and researchers. The Indian IP Panorama can be accessed at http://ict-ipr.in/index.php/ip-panorama

It is a customized version of IP Panorama Multimedia toolkit developed by World Intellectual Property Organization, Korean Intellectual Property Office and Korea Invention Promotion Association.

The toolkit has been adapted to cater to SMEs and start-ups, especially in the ICTE sector of India based on an agreement signed between WIPO and Department of Electronic and Information Technology. The Indian IP Panorama is thus a customized version of WIPO’s original product and is in accordance with Indian IP laws, standards, challenges and needs of the Indian ICTE sector.

The Indian IP Panorama has been developed under the aegis of Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), in close coordination with the Indian IP office.

India is a member of WIPO and party to several treaties administered by WIPO. Recognizing that the strategic use of intellectual property could contribute significantly to the national development objectives of India, DIPP entered into an MoU with WIPO on 13 November 2009.

The Indian IP office has been recognised as an International Searching Authority and International Preliminary Examining Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (as in force from 15 October 2013).

India acceded to Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks at WIPO on July 8, 2013. The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks (Madrid system) offers trademark owners a cost effective, user friendly and streamlined means of protecting and managing their trademark portfolio internationally.