The Intersection of Innovation and the Food Law: A Socio-Legal Analysis

The economic growth of any nation depends on two factors mainly, first its natural marketable resources and secondly on its innovations and creations. In today’s era of globalization, where the market size is huge and so is the competition, protection of innovation is crucial, as this sense of protection works as an incentive for innovators to come up with new ideas. After the TRIPS came into existence in 1995, the value and recognition of IPRs has increased manifold. R&D in every field of trade has proved to be of great importance and the food industry is no exception to it. Food, being the most essential commodity for human survival, also holds an economic value to it, and thus when a food product enters the market carrying with it its special manufacturing technology, uniqueness, and brand name, this technology or method of preparation becomes vulnerable unless protected. This is why the manufacturers turn towards IPR for the protection of their finished goods. Among all available ways to protect food recipes, business houses typically prefer to get them protected through patent and trade secrets, due to their high success rate in protecting food products. This paper analyzes the protection provided to the food industry through IPRs and their social aspects apart from economic ones. Specifically, undertake the protection of ‘food products’ and their recipes through ‘patent’ and ‘trade secrets’ and their pros and cons. The paper will also cover the problems that arise in the international trade of food products due to disparity or absence of laws for the protection of patents and trade secrets in municipal statutes of different countries. Comparative analysis with major economies, like the US and EU in contrast with developing economies like India better clarifies the role of the Food Industry in economic growth.