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Introduction
Intellectual property protection should be one of the foremost concerns of a nascently set up entity, particularly a startup.
Intellectual property refers to innovative creations arising out of one’s or a team’s intellectual exercise. It includes not only innovative products and processes but also logos and images. Some key intellectual property rights are:
a) Patents: Inventions involving both innovative products and processes which contribute to technological development and simplify everyday lives are called patents. A patent-holder has the exclusive right to use or license his patented product or process.
b) Copyright: Ideas cannot be copyrighted, but if these ideas are articulated in a permanent form then the creator may be entitled to a copyright over his/her work. Copyright generally exists over books, films, music etc.
c) Trademark: A trademark is a distinctive sign or symbol used by companies to enable the consumers to identify their goods. Logos of companies are trademarks.
IP rights and their protection is essential for companies. Especially, a startup which is just starting out requires its reputation to be built over years and its ideas to be protected in order to gain competitive advantage over its rivals.
In this article, we discuss and lay down an ideal IP protection strategy that may be adopted by startups.
What needs to be protected??
An entity ideally needs to protect the following components of its IP:
a) Trade secrets/confidential information: Trade secrets are information essential and valuable to the business being run. It may include documents such as sales charts, product specifications or any other information which may give the company a competitive edge over its rivals. The first step towards efficient protection of trade secrets is to have a strong contractual clause built in all the contracts being / to be executed by the entity, including employment contracts which impose strong confidentiality obligations. A separate confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement may also be entered into with business partners, customers and employees.
b) Patent protection: Being new in the industry, startup enterprises need to devise a strategy which gives them an edge over the extant market players.
The following steps may be kept in mind while devising a strategy for the protection of patents:
 Filing an application for patents needs to be done immediately after the product or process is ready.
 The product or process for which the patent is being filed should not be published or disclosed.
 The application may be filed with a provisional specification as well. However, complete specification needs to be filed within 12 months of the filing.
 Patents are territorial in nature. Hence, filing for patents in multiple jurisdictions simultaneously may help the startup in gaining competitive advantage.
c) Trademarks: Trademarks create a company’s brand. For instance, google is known and identified by its logo. It is important for companies to protect their logos and trademarks. The first step towards an efficient trademark protection should be to register the trademarks. A registered trademark enjoys a higher protection than an unregistered trademark. An infringement suit can be filed only for the violation of a registered trademark.
What should an ideal IP Strategy encompass
While strategy of each start-up may differ according to the services rendered or the products marketed by them, certain issues run central to all efficient IP strategies.
While formulating an IP strategy, the following things need to be kept in mind:
 An IP strategy must include a training policy wherein the employees, customers and partners of the company are made aware of the various kinds of IP the company owns and the importance of maintaining confidentiality and protection of these rights.
 Commitment towards respecting and protecting other companies’ IP rights should also form part of an IP strategy.
 As part of the IP strategy, standard contractual templates of agreements such as non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements/software licensing agreements etc. should be formulated.
 It would not serve the company’s purpose to patent all products/processes they come up with. There may be certain products which do not require to be subjected to the lengthy process of being patented. Clear guidelines as to what would be required to be patented and the requisites for a patent should be clearly laid down in the IP strategy.
 Assignment of intellectual property by the employees is an essential ingredient of framing an IP strategy. As part of this, all employee contracts should have a clause wherein they assign irrevocably and perpetually all the intellectual property they create in the course of their employment to the company.
 Budget allocations for the protection and development of IP should also be outlined in the IP strategy.
 It is preferable to have a dedicated team consisting of legal and business strategists to handle any issues arising out of IP protection.
 Before devising an IP strategy and protection mechanism for all the IP the company owns, one must think which of these IP is essential for the growth of the company. Time and resources should be selectively expended on only such intellectual property.
 It is crucial to mine one’s IP correctly in order to monetize it. One way may be to license out IPs which the company does not use in exchange for a fee. For instance, developing software and licensing it out to different companies may be a good way to mine and monetize your IP.
 The IP strategy should also include mechanism to protect against cyber threats. A strong cyber security practice should be in place.
 Exit strategies should be pre-determined. If the product being marketed goes out of use, then it is better to surrender the IP and exit the market. Typically, for short-lived products, it is advisable not to invest in obtaining the IP.
Conclusion
Intellectual property is the backbone of a startup. Most startups are founded on some innovative product or service. If such products or processes are not protected, then the entire business plan of a startup may fail.

It is, thus, imperative that a proper IP strategy be drawn up in order to systematically protect the IP. It is a more arduous task for nascent companies as they generally do not have huge resources. Yet, with the right strategy and implementation, a sound IP protection framework may be achieved.

HOW TO SUE AN EMPLOYER
INTRODUCTION:
Under the employer-employee relationship, it is the employer who is in a superior position. Many times, this superior position is exploited and the employees are subject to discrimination, verbal abuse and even they are not paid with their hard-earned wages. On the grounds of such unpaid wages, discrimination and oral abuse legal action can be brought against the employers.
UNPAID WAGES
One of the primary reason for which anyone to be in any job is to earn living and if wages or salary is not paid then it really becomes difficult for anyone to continue with the job. On to this, it is also the moral obligation but also the legal obligation of any employer towards the employee to pay the same.
As per Section 3(1) of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, “every employer has a responsibility to provide wages or salary to the employee employed under him.” So, whenever employer-employee forms a contract, employees are entitled to get a salary for their work and if it is not paid, the employers can be sued for such non-payment. This is because under the law of contracts when parties sign any contract under free consent, it becomes binding on them to abide by it. And on failure to do so, the contracting parties may bring an action against each other.
Therefore, the following acts are the grounds on which the employers can be sued for non-payment of wages and salary:
• Deduction not mentioned in the contract of employment
• The employee does not agree to such a deduction
• Deduction as against the law
• Any unauthorized deduction of salary by the employer like:-
• Deduction of salary as punishment.
• Delay in payment of salary when the employer is on the verge of being insolvent or bankrupt.
• Employer terminates an employee without clearing salary dues.
Provisions available as against unpaid wages are as follows:
Remedies for such non-payment are provided under different acts such as the Payment of Wages Act, 1932; Industrial Dispute Act, 1047; Labour Court and Labour Tribunal; The Companies Act, 2013.
• Payment of Wages Act, 1932- Here suit can be filed u/s 15 of the Act for the recovery of unlawful deduction. The section provides the procedure for such claims as well as the penalty for mala fide
• Industrial Dispute Act, 1947- Here suit is filed u/s 33C of the Act for recovery of arrear salary. Salary can be claimed by the employee himself or the authorized person and on the employees’ death, the same can be claimed by the authorized person or his/her heirs by filing an application before the labour Then the principle of natural justice is to be followed where the parties to the suit are allowed to be heard and lay down their defence. The Court on being satisfied with such due, issues a certificate. Further, the collector can proceed for the recovery of such arrear.
U/s 4 of the Act, a complaint can also be filed before the conciliation officer for the recovery of such unpaid salary and the officer appointed under this section shall act as a mediator. If the dispute gets settled between the parties, a report along with a memorandum has to be sent to the appropriate government which needs to be signed by the parties to the dispute. If the settlement is not reached, then also a report has to be prepared and sent to the appropriate government stating the reason for the same. The case can also be forwarded to the Labour Court and Labour Tribunal for adjudication within 30 days if the appropriate government thinks fit. The Tribunal has all the powers of a Civil Court provided under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
• The Companies Act, 2013- Sec 447 of the Act can be invoked when the delay in the payment is affected due to employers’ involvement in the fraudulent act.[1] The section lays down punishment for fraud, i.e., imprisonment for a minimum period of 6 months which may extend to 10 years and a fine equivalent to the amount of fraud or three times the amount of fraud. Here, the remedy can also be claimed under Indian Penal Code.
DISCRIMINATION
In any workplace, people of diverse culture, religion, caste, sex, language, place of origin, gender, disability etc., will be found.[2] There have been several instances where the victims of racial discrimination at the workplace have opened up. Such victims have a right to bring a legal action. Discrimination can be on one ground or on multiple grounds.[3]
Therefore, the following acts are the grounds on which the employers can be sued for discrimination at the workplace:
• Non-payment of equal remuneration to equally competent or qualified employee[4]
• Denial of certain benefit to a particular employee[5]
• Discrimination while granting leave and promotion.[6]
• Exclusion of potential employees from work,[7]
• Discrimination on the ground of marital status, political opinion, etc.[8]
• Discrimination on the ground of disabilities like “blindness, low vision, leprosy-cured, Hearing impairment, locomotor disability, mental retardation and mental illness”.[9]
• Maternity Leave.
Provisions available as against discrimination are as follows:
• Constitution of India- The Indian Constitution has a different provision like Art. 14, 15 and 16 which promotes equality before law; prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex and place of birth and empowers the “state to make reservations with respect to an appointment for posts in favour of backward classes of citizens if in the opinion of state such classes are under-privileged respectively”[10]. However, rights can only be claimed against the State as defined under Art. 12 of the Constitution of India. Further, under Article 39 of the Constitution, “all men and women are urged to have equal right to have an adequate means of livelihood, right to shelter, food, education, and work”[11].
• Equal Remuneration Act, 1976- Here discrimination issues on the basis of recruitment, wages, work-transfer, and promotion are covered. For Ex: Equal remuneration shall be paid to both men and women for same work or same nature of work.
• Person with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995; National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral, Palsy, Mental Retardation and Mental Disability Act, 1999 and Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992; The Right of Persons with Disability, Act, 2016- The 1995 Act was passed to provide equal opportunities like education, social security, employment and unbiased atmosphere for the disabled people. For Ex: u/s 47 of the Act, if any government employee suffers from any disability during the course of employment his should not be reduced but should be employed in a different capacity. The former two Acts deals provide protection with specified disabilities. The 2016 Act states that there should not be any discrimination in disabled government employees.[12]
• Industrial Employment Standing Orders Act, 1946- Here, employees are required to be provided with proper redressal mechanism against discrimination.
• Industrial Dispute Act, 1947- It also prohibits discrimination against workers. For Ex.: discrimination against workers as they are members of some trade unions.
• Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013-This legislation is an outcome the Supreme Court’s decision in Vishakha v. the State of Rajasthan. The Act confers an obligation on the employer to provide measures for the prevention of sexual harassment at workplace and also for the mechanism for such dispute resolution.
• Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 and Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017- The Act prohibits dismissal of women for the reasons of maternity leave.
The process to bring a lawsuit against the employer for discrimination is as follows:[13]
• Talk to the employer – a victim of discrimination should converse with the employer about the discrimination and try to resolve the issue. Further, the matter should also be discussed with the HR and if it does not work then a formal complaint procedure should be followed.
• Assemble evidence- a record of all evidence, if possible with date and time which in your opinion were discriminatory and violation of your right should be maintained. The same should also be discussed with the HR.
• Talk to Co-employees and HR- The victim should then converse with the Co-employees seeking their support and also talk with the HR to understand the Company’s policy and your contract with the Company.
• Potential claims- The victim should go through various kinds of discrimination and decide the kind of discrimination (s)he has been put through. This needs to be done as the elements of such discrimination has to be proved.
• File complain with EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) or other state agency- they look and investigate into the matter, and then decide whether to policy should be changed or you should get damages.
• Filing of Civil Suit- If the victims think fit can also file the civil suit against the offender.
VERBAL ABUSE
When an employee is often addressed with negative and abusive language infront of the entire office. For ex: you are mocked in-front of everyone that makes you really uncomfortable and this amounts to verbal bullying.[14] However, the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court has held that “the verbal abuse does not attract punishment not to be in public place inorder to attract”.[15]
Provisions under which employees can be sued for Verbal Abuse are as follows:
Cases against verbal abuse can be brought under of Indian Penal Code. The sections are:[16]
Sec 506- here the proceedings can be brought up against criminal intimidation of which the imprisonment may extend to a period of two years with or without fine or both.
Sec 509 – here, if the words or acts of the employer reaches to the extent that it insult the modesty of women then proceeding can be brought under this section and the punishment here is simple imprisonment which may extend for a period of one year, with or without fine or both.

CONCLUSION
Presence of above-mentioned laws and provisions under which the employer can be sued actually ensures the employee’s right to work with dignity at the workplace. However, to get the maximum benefit from the provisions a competent and experienced advocate must be hired as these cases are quite difficult to prove before the Court of law. Even, before going for the litigation process one should think multiple times as the litigation process not involves huge expenditure but also a long time. In many cases, the employees are also terminated from the job and it becomes really hard for them to get another job.
[1] Sudip Ghosh, What to do if employer donot pay salary, ipleaders, (Dec. 15, 2016), https://blog.ipleaders.in/what-to-do-if-employer-does-not-pay-salary/.
[2] Sheetal Sharma, How to report instances of racial discrimination, ipleaders, (Feb. 19, 2018), https://blog.ipleaders.in/report-instances-racial-discrimination/.
[3] Anubhav Pandey, Types of Discrimination in workplace and their legal protection in India, ipleaders, (Oct. 21, 2014), https://blog.ipleaders.in/types-of-discrimination-in-workplace-and-their-legal-protection-in-india/.
[4] Ritika Das, All you need to know about workplace discrimination laws in India, ipleaders, (Mar. 04, 2017), https://blog.ipleaders.in/need-know-workplace-discrimination-laws-india/.
[5] Sheetal Sharma, supra, 3.
[6] Sheetal Sharma, supra, 3.
[7] Sheetal Sharma, supra, 3.
[8] Ritika Das, supras, 5.
[9] Such disabilities are mentioned in the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 made it compulsory for all government establishment to reserve not less than six percent of vacancies arising against all posts and in promotion of all persons with disabilities.
[10] Article, 16 of the Constitution of India.
[11] Article 39 of the Constitution of India.
[12] Anshul Prakash & Parag Bhide, Legal HR: Workplace Discrimination- Laws and Resource for employees, People matters, (Jan. 09, 2018), https://www.peoplematters.in/article/legal-and-compliance-outsourcing/legal-hr-workplace-discrimination-laws-and-recourse-for-employees-17201?utm_source=peoplematters&utm_medium=interstitial&utm_campaign=learnings-of-the-day.
[13] Hoe to sue an employer for discrimination, Legal Match, https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/how-to-sue-for-discrimination.html.
[14] Mumbai Mirror, 10 Signs that you’re being bullied at work, Times of India, (Aug. 4, 2016, 12:06 IST), https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/relationships/work/10-signs-that-youre-being-bullied-at-work/articleshow/47231041.cms
[15] Hindustantimes, ‘Verbal abuse need not to be inpublic place to attract punishment, (Jul.12, 2018), https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai/verbal-abuse-need-not-be-in-public-place-to-attract-punishment/story-y0zycQr9cTDpBrtDUN03bM.html.
[16] What are the laws against foul language and indecent verbal abuse in India, Quora, (Aug. 04, 2015), https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-laws-against-foul-language-and-indecent-verbal-abuse-in-India.

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