Top Indian researchers promote awareness about intellectual property at World Innovation Patent Conclave

The number of patents filed in India has increased by more than 50 per cent in a span of the past seven years, according to a recent PIB report. The patents filed have increased from 42763 in 2014-15 to 66440 in 2021-22. The number of patents granted has also witnessed a five-fold increase from 5978 in 2014-15 to 30,074 in 2021-22.

Over the years, the Indian government has taken several initiatives to promote Intellectual Property (IP) awareness through fee concessions like 10 per cent rebate on online filing and 80 per cent concession for startups, small entities, and educational institutions, among other initiatives. While the overall increase in patents is impressive, the numbers are far less than that of other countries including China and the US.

The reasons could be multiple. Apart from provisions made by the government, there is a lot more to be done to raise awareness about IP among academicians. “There is not much awareness about filing patents among academicians. Therefore, they prefer publishing articles more. A researcher needs professional help when filing a patent. Besides, the economic cost incurred in getting a patent can be a deterrent,” said Dr Anoop Pandey, professor in Commerce, Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Uttarakhand. Dr Pandey was a speaker at the ‘World Innovation Patent Conclave 2022’ organised by Apeejay School of Management (ASM) this month.

The two-day conclave was sponsored by WeGrow Pvt Ltd. ASM director Dr Alka Munjal was the patron while the event was guided by dean Professor Kamal Kishore and deputy director Dr Etinder Pal Singh. Anuj Kumar, assistant professor, ASM, and Dr Ramesh Chandra Panda, chief scientist, WeGrow, were the conveners.

Need for novelty in innovation

The road to getting a patent begins with creativity and innovation, said the eminent speakers at the conclave. Said international patent holder and scientist Dr Panda, “Innovation means you have to define the problem statement with solutions. Repetition is not allowed in research practices. We have to look for novelty. When you are developing theories, take care of citation and bibliography. Make learning a habit if you want to be the best. Learning is earning.”

Dr Amrish Chandra, an established academician, research scientist, and registered patent agent with the Indian Patent Office, Government of India, engaged the audience with an interactive presentation highlighting several instances of innovation. He also spoke of patent rights and how to file provisional patents during the ideation phase.

Professor Dr Sunil Kumar Pandey, professor and director-IT, Institute of Technology and Science Mohan Nagar, Ghaziabad, said innovation is not just a tangible end product but can also be a process or a service. “Research is a continuous process that requires focused, deep study to come out with certain salient features that you need to work on and assess whether it is something new which can help the society.”

A well-known name in the field of patents, with several volumes of books and patents to his name, Dr Pandey added, “Institutions today are now emphasising research and promoting it. India has recorded its highest-ever patent filing this year.”

Strategies for innovation

But innovation is not something that comes spontaneously to everyone. One may exhaust their ideas. Dr Tanmay Pramanik, vice president, Institutional compliance at the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, shared some strategic techniques for the generation of innovative ideas at the conclave. He introduced what he called the ‘SCAMPER’ technique. “It is a very effective tool to generate ideas, which is based on the principle of substitution, combination, adapt, minify/modify and reverse/rearrange (SCAMPER)…You don’t need to always have sophisticated labs to be innovative. You need to have an innovative mind first,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, many speakers also shared insightful PowerPoint presentations on innovative research in their respective areas of expertise. Dr Prateek Kalia, research specialist-post doctorate, Department of Corporate Economy, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Masaryk University, Czech Republic, talked about his latest research on smartphone penetration called ‘Cellulographics: A novel smartphone user classification metrics’.

Professor Dr Mayuri Mehta from the department of Computer Engineering, Sarvajanik College of Engineering and Technology, Surat, highlighted research and innovation opportunities in healthcare using artificial intelligence (AI). Dr Monica Apte, associate professor, Sinhgad Institute of Management, spoke on the technology behind blockchain. Dr Abhimanyu Kumar Jha, professor and head, department of Biotechnology, Sharda University, spoke on his research on the ‘Reversal of epigenetic changes in cancer’. Dr Ankit Ojha, on the other hand, spoke on the research opportunities in the advanced micro-machining process.

Gaurav Jayaswal shared an interesting presentation on harvesting waste heat to produce electricity using a smart device. Dr Heena Thanki, assistant professor, Shri Jairambhai Patel Institute of Business Management & Computer Applications, Gandhinagar, spoke on “quirky” ways of social science research and how people are getting patents for it.

Dr Dimpal Vij, principal, AKP (PG) College, Khurja (Bulandshahr) talked about her work in the field of skill education and enlightened the students about the new areas of research in health and education.

Meanwhile, Dr Jyoti Chauhan, chief manager, IPR, Gujarat Flurochemicals Ltd, shared a detailed presentation on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), the need for innovation, patent content, drafting, complexities, patent study, and more.

The first day of the conclave turned out to be a success. Students were able to learn a lot from the academic experts. The event concluded with a formal vote of thanks by Dr Preeti Suryawanshi, assistant professor, ASM.