Better protection of interests of consumers Protection of rights of consumers Consumer protection councils Quasi-judicial machinery for speedy redressal

sal of consumer disputes

The Act was passed in December, 1986, and came into force in April, 1987.

Any person who: Buys any goods for a consideration which has been paid or will be paid. Hires or avails any service for a consideration which has been paid or will be paid. It does not include a person who obtains goods for resale or any commercial purpose

District Forum Value of goods and service is below Rs.20lakhs State Commission - Value of goods and service is between Rs.20lakhs to Rs.1 crore National Commission - Value of goods and service is more than Rs.1crore

Goods have defects. Services have deficiency An unfair and restrictive trade practice has been adopted Sec. 2 (1) ( r) Price charged higher than that is mentioned in the package

Adopting any unfair method or deceptive practice for promoting sale of goods or provision of service, including Misleading advertisements or false claims. Advertisements falsely offering goods or services at bargain price. Offering pseudo-gifts and conducting sales contests. Supply of unsafe or hazardous goods. Manufacturing or offering of spurious goods/deceptive practice in providing service. [Section 2 (1) (r)]

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

A trade practice, which tends to Bring about manipulation of prices, or conditions of delivery, or Affect flow of supplies in the market in a manner as to impose on consumers unjustified costs or restrictions.

1. Simple Procedure - Written complaint - To be filed by complainant or his authorised agent - Either in person or by registered post - Full facts and cause of complaint - Supporting documents (cash memo, warranty card, etc.) - Relief sought - No advocate necessary 2. Prescribed fee to be paid 3. Complaint can be admitted or rejected by DF, ordinarily within 21 days 4. Hearing to be given before rejection

 Notice

to the opposite party, within 21 days of admission of complaint. His version to be given within 30 days Reference to appropriate laboratory, in case of defective goods; report to be submitted within 45 days Copy of test report to the complainant Reasonable opportunity of hearing to both parties ex parte order in the absence of either party Expeditious hearing; disposal within 3 months (5 months in case of laboratory test) Ordinarily, no adjournment Reasons for adjournment/delay in disposal to be recorded and cost to be awarded

 INTELLECTUAL

PROPERTY RIGHTS

Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions; literary and artistic works; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. Intellectual property is divided into two categories: Industrial Property includes patents for inventions, trademarks, industrial designs and geographical indications Copyright covers literary works (such as novels, poems and plays), films, music, artistic works(e.g., drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures) and architectural design. Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings, and broadcasters in their radio and television programs.

Copyright is a statutory right to stop others copying or exploiting authors works in various other ways without permission. Copyright typically lasts for the duration of the authors life plus another 70 years.
Owning the copyright in a work gives the owner the exclusive right to:

Copy the work.

Issue copies to the public. Perform, show or play the work in public. Broadcast the work or include it in a cable programme service. Make adaptation of the work or do any of the above in relation to adaptation.

an

Anyone who, without the consent of the copyright owner, does any of the above acts, infringes the owners copyright.

patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention a product or process that provides a new way of doing something, or that offers a new technical solution to a problem. A patent provides patent owners with protection for their inventions. Protection is granted for a limited period, generally 20 years.

A patent owner has the right to decide who may or may not use the patented invention for the period during which it is protected. Patent owners may give permission to, or license, other parties to use their inventions on mutually agreed terms. Owners may also sell their invention rights to someone else, who then becomes the new owner of the patent. Once a patent expires, protection ends and the invention enters the public domain. This is also known as becoming off patent, meaning the owner no longer holds exclusive rights to the invention, and it becomes available for commercial exploitation by others.