THE SWEET TASTE OF PURITY

Bisleri was originally an Italian Company created bySignor Felice Bisleri who first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India. Bisleri then wasintroduced in Mumbai in glass bottles in two varietiesbubbly & still in 1965. Parle bought over Bisleri(India) Ltd. in 1969 and started bottling water inglass bottles under the brand name Bisleri. LaterParle switched over to PVC non-returnable bottles &finally advanced to PET containers. Since 1995 Mr.Ramesh J. Chauhan has started expanding Bislerioperations. In 2003 Bisleri announced its venture toEurope. The brand name Bisleri is so popular in India that it isused as generic name for bottled water. [In India,Bisleri is to bottled water what Xerox is tophotocopying.]
PARLE BISLERI BEGINS According to the Bureau of Indian Standards thereare 1,200 bottled water factories all over India (of which 600 are in one state -- Tamil Nadu). Over 100brands are vying for the Rs 1,000-crore (Rs 10 billion)bottled water market and are hard selling their
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products in every way possible -- better margins todealers, aggressive advertising, catchy taglines....
in such a scenario, The Strategist takes a look at how itall started -- with Bisleri -and how RameshChauhan, chairman, Parle Bisleri created a marketout of pure water.When they bought Bisleri mineral water from theItalian company, Felice Bisleri, in 1969 -- thecompany had been unable to market bottled waterand wanted to exit the market -- they too did not seeany potential for the product at that time As a soft drinks company, they had Thums Up, GoldSpot and Limca (cola, orange drink and lemonade)but no soft drink company was complete without asoda. So they merely used the name and launchedBisleri soda with two variants -- carbonated and non-carbonated mineral water.But three decades ago, what could they say about acategory that had no market? They didn't know theirtarget group. Then, since bottled water is colorless,tasteless and odorless, it was not an easy product toadvertise. Thus, the earlier brand building efforts focused onBisleri being healthy with adequate minerals. TheItalian name added a dash of class to it. The firstprint ad campaign captured the internationalessence and showed a butler with a bow tie, holdingtwo bottles of Bisleri. The punch line was, "Bisleri is veri veri extraordinari" capture the consumer's attention). The campaignwas successful and they were being noticed assomeone who catered to the need for safe, healthydrinking water.However, the real boost to mineral water came in theearly-to-mid-1980s when they switched to PVCpackaging and later to PET bottles. The PETpackaging

did not just ensure better transparency --they could now show sparkling clear water to theconsumers. It also meant better life for the water

ABOUT THE PRODUCT: Bisleri according to consumer need develops 8unique pack sizes. These different sizes bottles full need of every kind of individual. The sizes of packs are as follows 250 ml cups, 250 bottels, 500 ml, 1lt,1.5 lt, 2lt, 5lt and 20lt these are non returnable packs and 5 and 20 l are returnable packsBisleri provides with many different kinds of products these are

HIMALAYAN WATER: This is filled with natural Himalayan water which flows through natural filters, natural herbs and mineral rich rocks. This

BISLERI WITH ADDED MINERALS : Bisleri withadded minerals has a TDS count of 100(approx).
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Minerals which are added are magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate it also goes through multiple stages of purification to ensure the eliminating of all kinds of bacteria. the product is available in,250 ml bottles, 500 ml bottles , 1l
bottle and, 2l bottle and 5 and 20 cans and soda

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

AN UNDERSTANDING OF INTELLECTUALPROPERTY:
Intellectual property basically refers to creations of mind they can be inventions, literary and artisticworks and symbols , names , images and designsused in commerce

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CAN BE DIVIDEDINTO TWO CATEGORIES:

Industrial property: This included patents, trademarks, industrial designsand geographic indications of source Copyrights: Which includes literary and artistic works such asnovels, poems and plays, films , musical works ,artistic works such as drawings , paintings ,photographs and sculptures , and architecturaldesigns . Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists in their performance, proceduresof phonograms in their recording, and hose of broadcasters in their radio and television programs

WHAT ARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS:

Intellectual property rights are a bundle of exclusiverights over creations of the mind, both artistic andcommercial There is a well-established statutory, administrativeand judicial framework to safeguard intellectualproperty rights in India, whether they relate topatents, trademarks, copyright or industrial designs . The Indian trade mark law has been extendedthrough court decisions to service marks in addition to

trade marks for goods. Computer softwarecompanies have successfully curtailed piracy throughcourt orders. Computer databases have beenprotected. The courts, under the doctrine of breachof confidentiality, accorded an extensive protectionof trade secrets. A right to privacy, which is notprotected even in some developed countries, hasbeen recognized in India.Protection of intellectual property rights in Indiacontinues to be strengthened further. The year 1999witnessed the consideration and passage of majorlegislation with regard to protection of intellectual

property rights in harmony with internationalpractices and in compliance with Indias obligationsunder TRIPS
TRIPS:

TRIPS stand for trade related aspects of intellectualproperty rights. It is an international agreementadministered by the world trade organization thatsets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property regulation. It was negotiated atthe end of the Uruguay round of the genera agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT) IN 1994 Trips contains requirements that nations law mustmeet for: copy rights , including the rights of performers ,producers of sound recording and broadcastingorganizations , monopolies of new plant varieties ,trademarks , trade dress and undisclosed orconfidential information The TRIPS agreement introduced intellectualproperty law into the international trading system forthe first time and remains the most comprehensiveinternational agreement on intellectual property todate. After the Uruguay round, the GATT became thebasis for the establishment of the world tradeorganization membership. As the rectification of TRIPS is a compulsory requirement of world tradeorganization membership, any country seeking toobtain easy access to the numerous internationalmarket opened by world trade organization mustfollow the strict norms , rules regulation laid by TRIPS. That is why TRIP is a very importantmultilateral instrument for globalization of intellectual property rights

SOME OBLIGATIONS UNDER TRIPS:

1.The patents amendment act, 1999 passes bythe Indian parliament on march 10, 1999 toamend the patents act of 1970 that provides forestablishment of a mail box system to filepatents and accords exclusive marketing rightsfor 5 yearsThe trade marks bill, 1999 which repeals andreplaces the merchandise marksact, 1958 passed by the Indian parliament in thewinter session that concluded on December 23 ,1999
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The TRIPS agreement introduced intellectualproperty law into the international trading system forthe first time and remains the most comprehensiveinternational agreement on intellectual property todate. After the Uruguay round, the GATT became thebasis for the establishment of the world tradeorganization membership. As the rectification of TRIPS is a compulsory requirement of world tradeorganization membership, any country seeking toobtain easy access to the numerous internationalmarket opened by world trade organization mustfollow the strict norms , rules regulation laid by TRIPS. That is why TRIP is a very importantmultilateral instrument for globalization of intellectual property rights

SOME OBLIGATIONS UNDER TRIPS:

1.The patents amendment act, 1999 passes bythe Indian parliament on march 10, 1999 toamend the patents act of 1970 that provides forestablishment of a mail box system to filepatents and accords exclusive marketing rightsfor 5 yearsThe trade marks bill, 1999 which repeals andreplaces themerchandise marksact, 1958 passed by the Indian parliament in thewinter session that concluded on December 23 ,1999 2.The copyright amendment act , 1999 passed byboth houses of the Indian parliament , andsigned by the president of India on December30, 19993.The industrial designs bill , 1999 which replacesthe designs act , 1911 was passed in theupper house of the Indian Parliament in thewinter session which concluded on 23December, 1999 and is presently before thelower house for its consideration4.The patents ( second amendment ) bill , 1999 tofurther amend the patents act , 1970 was tomake it TRIPS compliant ,was introduced in theupper house of Indian parliament on Decembe

CONCERNS EXPRESSED OVER IPR PROTECTION AND INDIAS RESPONSE:

It has been alleged the there is absence of effective patent protection in the pharmaceuticalsector. India does provide for patents in thepharmaceutical sector. However, in term of section 5of the patents act, the patents are presentlyrestricted to the methods or process of manufacturing and not extended to the substances /products themselves. It has been further alleged that India has failed tomeet its current obligations required under Articles70.8 and 70.9 of the TRIPS agreement byimplementing appropriate conforming mail box andexclusive marketing rights procedures. However, thegovernment of India has taken the following steps tomeet its obligations under articles 70.8 and 70.9

Passed an ordinance to provide a means toreceive product patent applications in the fieldsof pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicalproducts

Established a mail box system throughadministrative instructions, numerousapplications have already been filled in this mailbox system ,a and many of them have been filedby US companies

 Has made changes to its patents act to put inplace a machinery for implementation of articles70.8 and 70.9 by providing for establishment of a mail box system to file patents and accordingexclusive marketing rights for5 years .thisprovision was made in the patents act of 1999
In the year 1993, The Coca Cola Company r e - e n t e r e d t h e In d i a n m a r k e t a ft e r i t s exodus in the y e a r 1 9 7 7 . A f t e r a l o n g g a p t h e company wanted to establish its own market in t h e s o ft d r i n k s e gm e n t . S o i n or de r t o c ap t u r e the market , The Coca Cola Company offered the pu r ch a s e fo r s e ver a l b r a n d s fr o m t h e Bisler iCompany ( fo r m e r l y kn o wn a s A q u a Mi n e r a l s ) . Bisleri accepted the offer and decided to sell outits brand (mainly soft drink brands) to The CocaCola Company(TCCC) .2 . B i s l e r i s o l d o u t i t s s e v e r a l b r a n d s i n c l u d i n g Th u m p s - Up , Ma a z a , L i m c a , Go l d S po t a nd Ri m J h i m t o T h e C o c a C o l a C o m p a n y a n d r e c e i v e d t h e h a n d s o m e a m o u n t i n r e t u r n . I n t h e y e a r 19 93 - 1 9 94 a n a gr e e me n t wa s s i g n e d b e t we e n T h e C o c a C o l a C o m p a n y ( T C C C ) a n d t h e a q u a minerals(now bisleri ). As per agreement (from the point of view of bisleri ) maaza, was sold to

only within India and the license (bisleri)w a s r e g i s t e r e d p r o p r i e t o r o f t h e t r a d e m a r k outside india . the intellectual property rights forc r e a t i o n o f t h e b r a n d , m a a z a , r e s t s w i t h sleri and tccc tried to register the t r a d e m a r koutside India o s o u g h t t o r e s t r a i n B i s l e r i a n d i t s s i s t e r c o n c e r n s f r o m d i s c l o s i n g t h e k n o w - h o w , formulation and other intellectual property usedi n t h e p r e p a r a t i o n o f M a a z a . T C C C defied itself f r o m s t a t i n g t h a t t h e a g r e e m e n t w a s N O N COMPETE agreement. The case was there after taken under scrutiny andits still waiting for its judgement. The details of thecase haering and court decisions are mentioned inthe next section of the reportBisleri and The Coca Cola Company have lockedhorns .The reason- a battle over the registration of the trademark Maaza outside India.