Chennai (PTI): There should be more awareness among the advocates and the general public on intellectual property rights, Supreme Court Judge Justice Altamas Kabir said on Saturday.

"Intellectual Property rights is not a new concept, its age old one but still there is not much awareness among advocates and common public," he said at the inauguration of the Judges' Round Table on Intellectual Property Rights Adjudication organised by the Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) here.

"Today there are a lot of developments in trade and we have opportunities to know about the laws on Intellectual Property in various countries. But, there is not much awareness," he said.

"There are 75 cases on patent rights (pending) in the Delhi High Court and some cases in Mumbai and Chennai High Courts and the law provided for imprisonment of three years," he said referring to a case won by an Indian in United States on patent rights on Basmati rice.

The judge asked state governments to play a vital role in balancing the cost of medicines to common man, as some companies holding the patent rights sold them at high cost.

FICCI Tamil Nadu State Council Chairman M Rafeeque Ahmed said "Receving the benefits of intellectual property rights is not automatic. It requires favourable legal, regulatory and policy frameworks."

There was need to have enforcement, not merely at the Central Government level but also at the state level - the state police, the state judiciary, the customs all have to get involved in better enforcement, he added.