Law: Right to Information, Information Technology and Intellectual Property · RAS (Rajasthan)

What the official syllabus says

Main Examination, Paper III (General Studies III), Unit III - Behavior and Law, Part B - Law, under “Contemporary Legal Issues”:

The Right to Information Act, 2005:
Sections 1-20
The Information Technology Act, 2000:
Section 1
Section 2 - Definitions: Communication device, Computer, Computer Network, Computer Resource, Computer System, Cyber Cafe, Cyber Security, Data, Digital Signature, Electronic Record, Electronic Signature, Information, Private Key, Public Key.
Sections 65, 66, 66(B-F), 67, 67 (A-C), 71-78
Intellectual Property Rights: Concepts, types and purpose.

Topics in detail

Right to Information Act, 2005 (sections 1 to 20)

Section 1: short title, extent and commencement
Section 2: definitions of appropriate government, information, public authority, record, right to information, third party
Section 3: every citizen's right to information
Section 4: duties of public authorities; maintenance of records and proactive disclosure under section 4(1)(b)
Section 5: Public Information Officers and Assistant Public Information Officers
Section 6: how to request information; no reasons needed; transfer of a request to another public authority
Section 7: disposal within 30 days, or 48 hours where life or liberty is involved; fees; no fee for people below the poverty line; deemed refusal; free information when time limits are missed
Section 8: exemptions (sovereignty and security, contempt of court, privilege of legislatures, commercial confidence, fiduciary relationship, foreign governments, safety of persons, investigation, Cabinet papers, personal information); the public interest override; the 20-year rule
Section 9: rejection where copyright of a person other than the State is involved; section 10: severability
Section 11: third-party information and the procedure of notice
Sections 12 to 14: Central Information Commission, its members' term and removal
Sections 15 to 17: State Information Commissions, including the Rajasthan Information Commission
Section 18: complaints to Information Commissions and their powers of a civil court
Section 19: first appeal to a senior officer and second appeal to the Commission
Section 20: penalty on the Public Information Officer (Rs 250 a day, up to Rs 25,000) and disciplinary action
Amendment of 2019 on the term and salaries of Information Commissioners
Rajasthan's role: the people's campaign for the right to information and the state's own law of 2000

Information Technology Act, 2000

Section 1: extent (the whole of India, and offences committed outside India), and documents to which the Act does not apply (First Schedule)
Section 2 definitions named in the syllabus, grouped: devices and systems (communication device, computer, computer network, computer resource, computer system, cyber cafe); data (data, information, electronic record); security (cyber security); signatures and keys (digital signature, electronic signature, private key, public key)
How a digital signature works: asymmetric crypto system, key pair, hash function; electronic signature as the wider term
Section 65: tampering with computer source documents
Section 66: computer-related offences (acts in section 43 done dishonestly or fraudulently)
Sections 66B to 66F: receiving stolen computer resources, identity theft, cheating by personation, violation of privacy, cyber terrorism (punishable up to imprisonment for life)
Section 66A was struck down by the Supreme Court in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015) and is not in the list
Section 67: publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form; section 67A: sexually explicit material; section 67B: material depicting children in sexually explicit acts; section 67C: preservation and retention of information by intermediaries
Section 71: misrepresentation; section 72: breach of confidentiality and privacy; section 72A: disclosure in breach of a lawful contract
Sections 73 and 74: false and fraudulent electronic signature certificates
Section 75: offences committed outside India; section 76: confiscation; section 77: penalties not to interfere with other punishments; sections 77A and 77B: compounding and bailable offences
Section 78: investigation by a police officer not below the rank of Inspector

Intellectual property rights: concepts, types and purpose

Concept: legal rights over creations of the mind; intangible property; balance between creators' rights and public access
Purpose: rewarding innovation and creativity, encouraging investment, protecting consumers and traditional knowledge
Patents: Patents Act, 1970; term of 20 years; section 3(d) and the Novartis case (2013); compulsory licensing
Copyright: Copyright Act, 1957; literary, artistic, musical works, films, software
Trade marks: Trade Marks Act, 1999; registration for 10 years, renewable
Industrial designs: Designs Act, 2000
Geographical indications: Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999; Rajasthan's GIs such as Blue Pottery of Jaipur, Kota Doria, Sanganeri and Bagru hand block prints, Molela clay work, Bikaneri Bhujia, Makrana marble
Plant varieties and farmers' rights (Act of 2001); semiconductor layout designs; trade secrets
International framework: WIPO, the TRIPS Agreement of the WTO, the Paris and Berne Conventions
National IPR Policy, 2016; Traditional Knowledge Digital Library