IPR is not only about patents but also contains other important elements such as copyright, trademark, trade secret and geographical indication, said Dr. R Saha, Advisor – Patent Facilitation Cell, TIFAC, Ministry of Science & Technology.
He said that government has decided to follow mandate protocol for trademarks and companies should be very careful while applying for trademarks.
Dr Saha said that the Contract Act of 1872 provides protection for trade secrets and Geographical Indication is a route to protect products with traditional origin. He said that SMEs should have knowledge of the intricacies of contracts where components of IP are embedded.
IPR is a $30 billion market in India and needs a lot of effort to be developed as a practice within the SMEs, said Mr. Mukundan Seshadri, CEO, Bluefile IP Services. He said that IP is a space which small companies generally ignore because of the high cost involved.
IP issues can be addressed by the knowledge and awareness about the global market and proceedings in the development of the products, added Mr. Seshadri.
Mr. Dominic Keating, First Secretary for Intellectual Property, Embassy of USA in India presented experiences on patenting by SMEs in USA and initiative taken by the government to specially support the SMEs with IPR.
India needs an IP culture and SMEs should be aware of the trends in global business in their respective sectors, said Mr. Anjan Das, Senior Director – Technology & IPR Division, CII.
He said that that IP Onus Committee has been formed by CII to promote and assist SMEs on IPR as CII has already facilitated 250 patents including three Geographical Indications. The IP awareness has a huge stake in the business of an SME and can be a growth factor for the companies, he added.
The faculty from the Patent Office of the Government of India gave demonstration of patent filing, design registration, trade marks and GI registration to the representatives of SMEs in the workshop.
Confederation of Indian Industry
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