Patents and Innovation in Higher Education Institutions

Patents and Innovation in Higher Education Institutions

Intellectual Property and Universities

  • Patents help universities to improve their ranking, establish an innovation ecosystem, incubate knowledge-based start-ups, earn additional revenue and measure research activity.
  • The number of patents applied for, granted and commercialised by universities and institutes are factored in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings.
  • The top ranked engineering institutes in India are also the leading filers of patent.
  • The National Assessment and Accreditation Council awards up to 24 points to an institute which sets up an innovation ecosystem and has a facility for identifying and promoting IPRs.

Need for IP at Universities

  • Patents help universities to improve their ranking, establish an innovation ecosystem, incubate knowledge-based start-ups, earn additional revenue and measure research activity
  • The number of patents applied for, granted and commercialised by universities and institutes is factored in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings
  • Whether a higher educational institute has an innovation ecosystem could also have a bearing, with the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, awarding up to 24 points to an institute which sets up an innovation ecosystem and has a facility for identifying and promoting IPRs
  • The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) model curriculum for its member institutions lays emphasis on the need for IPR education in technical institutes

The problem: Dearth of IP professionals

  • Despite the policy push to have more IP, we simply do not have enough IP professionals in the country.
  • The rising dearth of IP professionals is due to various international treaties and trade agreements, along with the legal-centric approach where law schools and colleges are the only institutions which mandate teaching these subjects.
  • India has a poor patent agent density, with only about 2,000 registered patent agents currently in practice.
  • The last time when the Patent Office conducted the patent agent exam, in 2016, around 2,600 candidates took it, a paltry number if one looks at the ambitious goals set by the IPR Policy.

Qualifications for an IP professional: Patent exam

  • The Central government conducts the only competitive examination in the country to check a person’s proficiency in IP.
  • This year, the government conducted the competitive examination to test proficiency in patent law, a type of intellectual property right (IPR), after a gap of two years.
  • Any Indian citizen with a bachelor’s degree in science or technology can take the examination.
  • Upon clearing it the person is entitled to practise before the Patent Office as a registered patent agent.
  • Qualifying the exam allows science graduates to draft, file and procure patents from the Patent Office on behalf of inventors.

Location: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

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