Of the around 960 companies that undertake research and development in India, the number of firms investing over Rs.500 crore on R&D is only 8-10, according to Dean of Research Studies at ASCI Nirmalya Bagchi.
Addressing a conference organised as part of World IP Day Celebrations here on Wednesday, he said many of the companies in the country were not innovating but focused on just marketing.
The Indian Patent office ought to be strengthened in terms of infrastructure, information dissemination, quality of services and speedy examination of IP applications. Mr.Bagchi stressed on MSMEs taking advantage of expired patents and coming up with good business model for their sustainability, a release said.
An IP Tool Kit for startups and entrepreneurs, aimed at providing necessary understanding about various IPRs and their protection in India, was released at the conference organised by the Andhra Pradesh Technology Development & Promotion Centre of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Launching the kit, US Consul General Katherine B. Hadda said 25 inventions selected and funded, under a technology development fund set up jointly by India and the US, were at various levels of commercialization. There was tremendous potential for innovation and R&D in India, she said, adding the US Embassy and USPTO were working with India and several other countries to promote a strong IP ecosystem.
The release said past Chairman of CII-SR Anil Kumar Epur underscored the singnificance for enterprises to be aware of Intellectual Property Regime and how to make use of it to achieve business goals.
EOM
