NEW DELHI: In a bid to sensitise law enforcement agencies and the public in general about intellectual property and copyrights, Indian government has launched an IPR Enforcement Toolkit for police.

The toolkit has been jointly prepared by Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The latter is also helming a broadcast and cable industry initiative to fight online piracy of content via formation of Copyright Force that will have its first meeting later this month.

Aimed at being a reference point for police officials across the country in dealing with IP crimes, specifically trademarks counterfeiting and copyrights piracy, the toolkit will have details of offences under various laws. It provides for checklists for registering a complaint and conducting investigations, apart from laying down general guidelines in case of IP-related crimes. This toolkit will be provided to all state police departments across the nation.

CIPAM, an organisation under Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has launched several initiatives to ensure effective implementation of the National IPR Policy 2016, which recognizes that awareness and respecting IPRs is crucial for a healthy ecosystem.

Catch them young also seems to be the government’s aim. To inculcate in children respect for IPRs, CIPAM is collaborating with the International Trademark Association (INTA) to launch an IPR awareness campaign for school kids in a creative and engaging manner through use of presentations and creatively illustrated posters and pamphlets that will cover basics on IPRs and its need to be protected.

CIPAM, which has also organized seven batches of training programmes for police officials in States of Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, is actively facilitating international engagements in the field of Intellectual Property Rights. Two agreements on IPRs were recently signed with the UK and Singapore.

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