India has been experiencing rapid economic growth in recent years, and its potential for further growth is immense. One of the ways in which India can fuel this growth is by leveraging its intellectual property rights (IPR) regime. Intellectual property is a key driver of innovation, and innovation is the engine that powers economic growth.

With India poised to become a Global Economic Power and an emerging innovation hub, and in the context of the current G20 Summit being hosted by India, it is crucial to raise awareness and understanding among various sections of society as to the importance and value of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), Geographic Indicators (GI), and how to protect our own intellectual properties in today’s technology driven world.

The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCC&I) organized India IPR Conclave − From Rights to Value, focusing on Intellectual Property Rights in India. The conclave was held at Yashwantrao Chavan Centre, Mumbai on Friday, 28th April, 2023. The programme was partnered with VCAN a Citizens− Government engagement organisation.

The Conclave was addressed by the policymakers, think−tanks, academia, industry and other relevant stakeholders who are interested in strengthening the country’s Intellectual Property Rights ecosystem.

Some of the eminent speakers who took part in the conclave are:

• Shri. Sanjeev Sanyal, Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India and Hony. Member, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCC&I)
• Prof. (Dr) Unnat P. Pandit, Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks (CGPDTM)
• Dr. Rajani Kant, Padma Shri Awardee, GI Expert, General Secretary Human Welfare Association
• Smt. Ashwini Bhide, IAS, Addl. Municipal Commissioner (ES), Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and MD Mumbai Metro Corporation

In the inaugural session, Shri Sanjeev Sanyal, Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India and Hony. Member, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCC&I) said that India has quadrupled its throughput in patenting innovations in last five years. He also said that process reform is a major focus area of the Government as ease of doing business is highly reliant on that. He informed the audience that there has been a landmark process reform going on in patent offices across the country. Referring to statistics he said that as soon as process reform has commenced at Indian patent ecosystem, there has been a dramatic change. Earlier, Indians did not even bother to apply for patent for their innovations. In 2015−16, number of applications for patent were 45,444 and out of which only 29% were from Indian companies or persons, rest were filed by multinational companies. Due to the increasing awareness on protecting innovations and process reform, the applications in last 5 years jumped by 100% and more than 50% were from Indian companies or persons.

Prof. (Dr.) Unnat P. Pandit, Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks (CGPDTM) who has been leading the execution of process reform in the patent office’s said that the mission of “Amrit Kaal” is to revolutionize Indian innovations and due to the Government initiative now India is the third largest start−up ecosystem of the world and many of them turned unicorns.

As part of the overhauling and accelerating the entire Indian patenting ecosystem, there will be 400 Controllers and 100 Examiners, additional 525 posts in next 3 years and 210 contractual posts of Technical Assistants to the Controllers only for strengthening patent ecosystem. 580 contractual posts have been sanctioned for trademarks and 40 contractual posts of Consultant, Senior Research Associates, Research Associates and Young Professionals were hired for fast−tracking the process. Shri. Sanjeev Sanyal also added that there will be Legislative changes too for fixing the timeline for pre−grant opposition.

Dr. Rajani Kant, Padma Shri Awardee and who is an eminent GI Expert gave a special address to the conclave and spoke of making consumers aware about the geographical uniqueness of GI tagged products as it is important for protecting Indian craftmanship and at the same time creating sustainable livelihood. Not only consumers even craftsmen of India are not aware of what wonders they have been creating since decades. So, it is not only the responsibility of the Government, Dr. Kant added that citizens’ organizations play major role in such initiatives

Smt. Indrani Malkani, Chairman, V Citizens Action Network (VCAN) introduced the distinguished speakers participating in the conclave and set the context of the day’s proceedings with her opening address.

Apart from the inaugural session, the conclave had a business session oriented towards “Discussion on Patent, Designs, Trade Marks, GI and Addressing Counterfeit: Evolving Role of Industry, and other Stakeholders”. This session was moderated by Shri Deb A Mukherjee, Former President, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCC&I) and Trustee, V Citizens Action Network (VCAN). The other panelists were Dr. Vinodh Mewani PhD, Leader − Intellectual Property, Mahindra and Mahindra and Shri. Nishad Nadkarni, Partner, Khaitan and Co.

Shri Munish Sudan, Head, Intellectual Property & External Research Collaborations, Tata Steel Ltd. had given his Industry address on “Green Intellectual Property − A Way Forward towards Sustainability”

The Conclave brought together experts, practitioners, and stakeholders in the field of intellectual property rights who share their insights, experiences, and best practices, providing valuable perspectives on leveraging technology for effective management of IPRs and GI and their take on latest trends.

India IPR Conclave looked to enable the interface of government with citizens at large, civil society organisations and entrepreneurs. Through the interactions, the endeavour was to make possible a practical understanding of the short− comings and challenges faced in the current usage of technology and to learn about recent initiatives taken by the Government and how an enabling policy ecosystem will be instrumental for smoothening the IPR process.

Overall, India's moment is now, and leveraging its IPR regime can help drive economic growth and position the country as a global leader in innovation and entrepreneurship. Overall, leveraging IPR can help India fuel economic growth, create jobs, and become a leader in innovation. By promoting innovation, strengthening IPR laws, promoting technology transfer, supporting startups, and increasing awareness, India can realize the full potential of its intellectual property assets.

The other speakers in the programme were...

• Shri. V. Ranganathan, IAS (Retd), Former Chief Secretary, Maharashtra and Trustee, V Citizens Action Network (VCAN)
• Shri. Ajit Kumar Jain, IAS (Retd), Former Addl Chief Secretary and Former Information Commissioner, Maharashtra
• Dr. Devender Narain Singh, D. L. Shah Chair Professor for Innovation, Department of Civil Engineering − IIT−B
• Dr. Mrudula Bele, Prof. of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Patent Consultant
• Dr. Prashant Mali, Advocate, Cyber and Privacy Expert