Keeping up with intellectual property today means taking a more global perspective.  This is especially true in countries emerging as large producers of intellectual property.  The SiNApSE blog features a wealth of information on the patents and other intellectual property in India.  This blog, written by a team of ten IP professional acting as contributors, provides good breadth of coverage.

A recent post takes the reader through the history of copyright law as it developed from a dispute over the ownership of the Irish manuscript of the Cathach through international and regional agreements such as the Berne Convention and the European copyright directives.

The Cathach is the oldest extant Irish manuscript of the Psalter. It contains a Vulgate version of Psalms XXX (10) to CV (13) with an interpretative rubric or heading before each psalm. It is traditionally ascribed to Saint Columba as the copy, made at night in haste by a miraculous light, of a Psalter lent to Columba by St. Finnian. A dispute arose about the ownership of the copy and King Diarmait Mac Cerbhaill gave the judgment “To every cow belongs her calf; therefore to every book belongs its copy.”

The need for enforceable copyright laws came in real force in the 15th and 16th century after the invention of printing methods.

Subsequently, government started issuing licenses for printing with the republic of Venice being the first to grant privilege to print books. In 1518, the first copyright privilege was granted in England. It was issued to Richard Pynson, King’s Printer, the successor to William Caxton. The privilege gave a monopoly for a term of only two years!

SiNApSE is an initiative of Brain LeagueIP Services. It started as an endeavor towards creating awareness about IP and has metamorphosed into a platform for IP professionals, academicians and policy makers for discussions, debates that serve as guidelines on emerging IP issues, thereby contributing to an innovative space for IP discourse.

We recommend you add them to your reading list.

3 Comments

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  2. Here is a similar story

    “SiNApSE” IP Blog was launched with an objective of providing an interactive blogging space for promoting the progress of knowledge dissemination in IP. What started as an endeavour towards creating awareness about IP has today metamorphosed into a platform for IP professionals, academicians and policy makers for discussions and debates that serve as guidelines on emerging IP issues, thereby contributing an innovative space for IP discourse. The blog provides information on various aspects of IP including patents, trademarks, and copyrights and so on. It delves into advanced and contentious issues and spurs discussions on emerging IP issues.

  3. Thank you for fantastic blog post. Where else could I get this kind of information written in such an incite full way. I have a project that I am just now working on, and i am sure this will help me a lot. and I have been looking for such information since from few days….Thanks!!!!!