How India's new IPR policy can boost R&D,innovation and entrepreneurship in the country

The Cabinet has approved the national intellectual property rights (IPR) policy with a view to promoting creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. The aim is to create awareness about economic, social and cultural benefits of IPRs among all sections of society, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said while briefing reporters about yesterday's Cabinet decisions.

The minister also let out that by 2017, the window for trademark registration will be brought down to one month.

The policy aims to create and exploit synergies between all forms of intellectual property (IP), statutes concerned and agencies, he said.

According to Jaitley, there are seven objectives that guided the policy mechanism, which include IPR public awareness, stimulation of generation of IPRs, need for strong and effective laws and strengthening enforcement and adjudicatory mechanisms to combat infringements.

The policy also puts a premium on enhancing access to healthcare, food security and environmental protection. It is expected to lay the future road map for intellectual property in India, besides putting in place an institutional mechanism for implementation, monitoring and review.

The idea is to incorporate global best practices in the Indian context and adapt to the same.

This policy shall weave in strengths of the government, research and development organisations, educational institutions, corporate entities, including MSMEs, start-ups and other stakeholders towards creation of an innovation-conducive environment, an official statement read.

Also read : Who owns the IP rights when a startup emerges from a University?

The end product stimulates creativity and innovation across sectors as also facilitates a stable, transparent and service-oriented IPR administration in the country, it stressed. Giving due recognition to the growing criticality of IPR in the global arena, the blueprint makes out a case for increasing its awareness in India, whether it is owned by oneself or according respect to others.

The importance of IPRs as a marketable financial asset and economic tool also needs to be recognised. For this, domestic IP filings as also commercialization of patents granted need to increase. Innovation and sub-optimal spending on R&D too are issues to be addressed, the statement said further.

The policy, with a tagline of Creative India: Innovative India, also calls for updating various intellectual property laws, including the Indian Cinematography Act, to remove anomalies and inconsistencies in consultation with stakeholders. Jaitley also commented that,

The aim is to create awareness about economic, social and cultural benefits of IPRs among all sections of society... The policy aims to create and exploit synergies between all forms of IP, statutes concerned and agencies.

The seven objectives of the policy, he said, include IPR awareness, stimulation of generation of IPRs, need for strong and effective laws and strengthening enforcement and adjudicatory mechanisms to combat infringements. The policy seeks to promote R&D through tax benefits available under various laws and simplification of procedures for availing of direct and indirect tax benefits.

It also called for providing financial support to the less empowered groups of IP owners or creators such as farmers, weavers and artisans through financial institutions like rural banks or co-operative banks offering IP-friendly loans. For supporting financial aspects of IPR commercialisation, it asked for financial support to develop IP assets through links with financial institutions, including banks, VC funds, angel funds and crowd-funding mechanisms.

To achieve the objective of strengthening enforcement and adjudicatory mechanisms to combat IPR infringements, it called for taking actions against attempts to treat generic drugs as spurious or counterfeit and undertake stringent measures to curb manufacture and sale of misbranded, adulterated and spurious drugs.

The Indian Cinematography Act, 1952, may be suitably amended to provide for penal provisions for illegal duplication of films, the policy said.