Human Right to Water and Intellectual Property Framework for Achieving SDG 6

Journal: Trends in Intellectual Property Research

Publication: 2025-09-04 · Vol. 3 No. 2

DOI: 10.69971/tipr.3.2.2025.65

Abstract

Water is a vital part of the environment, and essential for sustaining life for all living organisms. Access to safe water, along with proper hygiene and sanitation, is a fundamental requirement for human health and well-being. According to United Nations, over 2 billion people may face challenges in obtaining safe water by 2025. Hence. it is imperative to ensure water sustainability for future generations. Water conservation initiatives and investing in innovative water technologies can help secure future water availability and promote sustainable development. Intellectual property rights (IPRs) are acknowledged as human rights under several global and national legal provisions, and their importance has significantly increased in the contemporary world. Desalination membranes, low-cost point-of-use filtration, pathogen detection tools, remote sensing and hydraulic modelling software—are protected by intellectual property (IP) rights. Current study explores the relationship between the right to clean water and intellectual property (IP), considering both international frameworks and the constitutional domain of India. This research attempts to establish a link between these two domains—clean water rights and intellectual property rights.