The Hindu Business Line : Intellectual property care is big business

STORY so far: We find out how our secrets were getting into the hands of our competitors. The culprit was a director common between the two ad agencies that were holding our accounts. I do a mini-research to find out more about the rival product and am happy that it is no big threat to my company's health-kit.

By pre-empting our product, the competitors were actually doing us something good, because we decide to rope in a cricketing superstar to do the endorsing. And I get the chance to chat with Sachin.

Episode 53

It has been ages since I went over to Chandru's department and so I decided to say hello to him and find out what he is working on. "Hi," I greeted, as I entered his cabin. "What's cooking?"

"Well," he said. "Usual books. But we are not cooking anything with the numbers, let me clarify." He is bit of a serious guy, as you would have known by now, so I would have to be careful with my jokes and idioms, I reminded myself.

"What about the budget?" I enquired. "That's what I am busy with, Swati," he replied. "First, I am collating the figures." I pointed to his computer and said, "Means you click the button, and it spews out the numbers, right?" Chandru shrugged:

"It's not as easy as that, you know. Our regional office systems are not fully compatible with the HO's. So, we have to convert all data into text files and get them shipped here physically. We upload the reports and then do the churning with our software. Then there is the painful reconciliation to do because the totals will never match, and so we keep breaking our heads over small differences."

I remembered that the ICAI was launching its dream project called VI, for Virtual Institute, under the name ICAI Universe, with much fanfare, and promising total connectivity to its members and students, regions and branches. I could foresee that a big project that may become soon necessary in my company would be something similar — an enterprise solution, a unified system, and most importantly a painless procedure.

Even as I sat musing, an accounts officer came up to ask Chandru: "Sir, we have finished with the numbering of the fixed assets." Chandru asked, "Done everything?" The officer replied, "Yes, sir, for moving and non-moving assets, big and small, used and unused. All chair and tables, door-closers and Venetian blinds, tube-lights and water-coolers, monitors and mice..."

*********

While returning to my desk I wondered if Chandru would like to number the employees, too, because human resources were often more valuable than tangible assets. It was then that it struck me that we were doing nothing about protecting our intellectual property.

The thought sent a shudder through my spine as if I had boarded the Tamil Nadu Express and suddenly discovered halfway that I had not locked the house. "We need to work in that area," said Gupta when I asked him about this lacuna. "Fix up an appointment with a good lawyer and we will get started with this."

*********

In the 21st century, it would not be proper to ask what intellectual property is, because that would be like asking what a telephone or Internet is. Yet, for the uninitiated, IP, as it is abbreviated, refers to creations of the mind.

We are not talking about ego, dreams, hallucinations, phobias and such. What are relevant for IP are inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce, as explained by www.wipo.org, the site of the World Intellectual Property Organization. Protection acts as a spur to human creativity, pushes forward the boundaries of science and technology and enriches the world of literature and the arts, notes the site. Only when IP is protected, inventors and authors get their due recognition and reward; also international trade is smoother.

It takes me about 30 minutes to locate the best lawyer in the city to handle IP matters, Sharon Santanam. She was handling the trademark dispute that was dragging a food major into courts. I called up her office and sought appointment. "Is two thirty slot okay?" asked the receptionist. "Else, it would have to be next month 15th." I said, "Two thirty." But that gave me only two hours to get ready with the papers.

*********

Lawyers seem to be more business-savvy than auditors, I thought when entering Sharon's office. When, for a brief spell, Gupta and I waited at the reception lounge, I showed Gupta what I had in my folder: A copy of each of the products that the company had in its portfolio, including the software packages, advertisement slogans, list of our manufacturing processes and methods that were unique in the industry.

"Don't tell me," said Gupta, "that you want to protect the particular shade combination we chose for our walls." Perhaps he was kidding, but I said, "That reminds me, Guptaji, that we should also patent the uniform introduced in the factory last month." He said, under his breath: "I would be happy if you women didn't look for IP cover for your dress!" I cautioned him: "Don't ridicule us. You know, Sharon is a top lawyer."

*********

"Intellectual property is divided into two categories," explained Sharon, after our initial pleasantries and intro were over. "Wise and otherwise," remarked Gupta, and I frowned at him. Sharon smiled and resumed, "The first is industrial property. This includes inventions, trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic indications of source.

Next comes copyright; this includes literary and artistic works. Examples are novels, poems and plays; also, films, musical works, artistic works such as drawings, paintings, photographs, sculptures, and architectural designs."

I could realise that as a company grows, it accumulates all this IP, much of which does not get reflected in the books as an asset, but is written off to the P&L. "Assets can be stolen, not intellect. This is what everybody thinks," observed Sharon. "But intellectual property can be pirated. Which is why you need to protect it." We both nodded, "That's why we are here." She resumed, "Remember, IP care is expensive. Also, trademark, patents, copyrights and so on are a big drag when it comes to legal time. One has to be absolutely sure about the costs and benefits of IP protection. There is no point spending Rs 5 lakh to save a patent that has no inherent value."

In the course of about 30 minutes that we spent with the lawyer, we reached a broad understanding about the terms of the engagement. Sharon said she would handle our file right up to the apex court, if necessary.

"When it comes to battling in other countries, I may have to coordinate with my fraternity there," she said, and that was fair. "And the fee?" I asked. "Twenty," she said. That's lot of money, I thought, much more than what auditors make.

I think Gupta could read my mind. He said, "Swati, I wish you had studied law instead of CA." I shot back: "I am sure my Institute would soon start a post-qualification course called DLOL." They looked at me, puzzled. "Diploma in Laws of the Land," I explained.

(To be continued)

Swati_CA@hotmail.com

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