IIT Kanpur filed 107 patents in 2021, highest in institute's history

New Delhi: An anti-viral nasal filter, a touch-sensitive watch for visually impaired, an oxygen concentrator equipped with pressure swing adsorption (PSA) technique and a soil health testing device are among the 107 patents filed by IIT Kanpur during 2021, highest in the institutes' history.

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Among the 107 intellectual property rights (IPRs), the different IPR prospects include 62 patents, 15 design registrations, two copyrights and 24 trademark applications along with four US patent applications. The institute broke its earlier record of 76 patents filed in 2019.

"I am glad to share that IIT Kanpur has not only crossed a century in terms of patent filing in 2021, but has also reached a gross total of 810 IPRs over the period of time. With an exceptional technology transfer rate of 15.2 per cent to industry partners from the total patents filed, the institute filed a record-breaking 107 patents in this calendar year," said IIT Kanpur Director Abhay Karandikar.

"This is quite an achievement for the institute and is also indicative of the fact that despite the pandemic, IIT Kanpur has diligently driven structural initiatives strengthening translational and transformational research contributing to a self-reliant India," he added.

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The patents included inventions ranging from MedTech to nanotechnology. In view of the institute's relentless contribution to the national efforts of mitigating the novel coronavirus pandemic, several COVID-19-related measures and inventions were protected through patent applications during the calendar year. Among those, two of the prominent inventions developed at IIT Kanpur are a reusable face mask consisting of PVDF composite nano-fibers and a nasal spray formulation against COVID-19 and related respiratory viruses.