CS Professional · June 2025 · Paper 4.3
CS Professional Intellectual Property Rights - Law and Practice June 2025: paper analysis
Our own analysis of the official paper, as of 12 October 2026. The questions and answers belong to ICSI; read them on ICSI's website.
Chapter-wise marks
Where the marks were in this paper (out of 100; internal-choice alternatives not double counted).
What each question tested
In our words, by question number. Open the official paper for the full question.
| Q | Marks | Tests | Chapter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1(a) | 5 | Passing off under trademark law and its distinction from infringement | Trademarks |
| 1(b) | 5 | Descriptive marks and their capacity to distinguish goods or services | Trademarks |
| 1(c) | 5 | Trade description under trademark law | Trademarks |
| 1(d) | 5 | Ingredients of ecological diversity | Biological Diversity |
| 1(e) | 5 | Management process of intellectual property | Business Concerns in Commercializing Intellectual Property Rights |
| 2(a) | 5 | Nature and purpose of the Geographical Indications Act | Geographical Indications |
| 2(b) | 5 | Bio-piracy and its impact on biodiversity | Biological Diversity |
| 2(c) | 5 | Software as a literary work under copyright law and protection of digital IP | Copyrights |
| 2(d) | 5 | Functions of the semiconductor integrated circuits layout-design registry | Layout-Designs of Integrated Circuits |
| 2(e) | 5 | Goods barred from registration as geographical indications, with examples | Geographical Indications |
| 3(a) | 5 | Doctrine of colourable variation explained with decided cases | Patent Documentation, Examination and Infringement |
| 3(b) | 5 | Piracy of a registered design and penalties | Industrial Designs |
| 3(c) | 5 | Pre-grant and post-grant patent opposition procedure in India | Patent Documentation, Examination and Infringement |
| 3(d) | 5 | Meaning of new plant variety and criteria for its registration | Protection of Plant Varieties |
| 3(e) | 5 | Meaning and importance of a complete patent specification | Patent Documentation, Examination and Infringement |
| 4(a) | 5 | Using competition law to curb IP abuse without weakening innovation incentives | Business Concerns in Commercializing Intellectual Property Rights |
| 4(b) | 5 | Key clauses in technology transfer agreements | Business Concerns in Commercializing Intellectual Property Rights |
| 4(c) | 5 | Features of a commercial global patent database | Patent Databases and Patent Information System |
| 4(d) | 5 | Acts not infringing broadcast reproduction rights and performers' rights | Copyrights |
| 4(e) | 5 | Personality theory as a justification for IPR | Introduction to Intellectual Property |
What stood out
- Only four questions, each 25 marks with five 5-mark parts, all compulsory with no internal choice.
- Each question opens with a long case or passage, but only 8 of 20 parts actually build on it; the rest are standalone theory on topics such as biodiversity, plant varieties and layout designs.
- Trademarks, patent procedure (opposition, complete specification, colourable variation) and IP commercialisation lead with 15 marks each.
- The paper spans 11 of 15 chapters; international institutions, trade secrets, Indian patent law development and the types-of-IP overview were not tested.
- The interface between competition law and IPR and technology transfer clauses featured, signalling emphasis on the business use of IP.
Practise the chapters that carried the marks
Trademarks, Business Concerns in Commercializing Intellectual Property Rights, Patent Documentation, Examination and Infringement: study guides and practice questions in the CS Professional format.