IIT Kanpur filed 152 Intellectual Property Rights in 2024; highest ever and seven patents in US

NEW DELHI: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has filed 152 Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in 2024. The institute has filled the highest number of IPRs this year including 124 patents, 10 design registrations, 2 copyrights, and 6 trademark applications. The institute has also increased its global presence by filing 7 patents in the US, 2 patents in China, and 1 patent in Europe.

The institute reports that this year marks the fourth consecutive year of growth in intellectual property rights (IPR) filings. This leads to a total of 1,200 IPRs filed to date. The licensing rate to industry partners stands at 12.91% for the year, indicating a commitment to collaboration within the industry.

IIT Kanpur IPR Filing 2024: Key domains

The institute has filled IPRs in various key domains including medtech and nanotechnology. Some notable inventions include a transdermal patch for drug delivery, Kryptoceler for cryptographic acceleration, and a chop saw metal-cutting machine. Other patents include a hybrid-powered electric tower car and a contactless automated tool for measuring crack growth.

STEM Impact Award recognition

In addition to, success in IPR filings, the institute has also received the STEM Impact Award for 2024 for its technology transfer activities. As per the institute, this is the third time the IIT Kanpur has received the STEM Impact Award. This year, the award was given for the technology transfer of the "Haptic Smart Watch for the Blind and Visually Impaired," which has created significant socio-economic impact.

IIT Kanpur: 217 IPRs granted in 2024

According to the official press release, in 2024, IIT Kanpur saw an increase in the number of IPRs granted, with a total of 217 previously filed IPRs approved this year. Among these, notable patents include a smart electric meter, a portable medical suction device, a quadcopter drone with an out-of-plane folding mechanism, a broadband uniform-efficiency orbital angular momentum detector for quantum technologies, and a process for fabricating an ultra-thin polymer composite electrolyte.

The institute has also licensed 7 technologies and launched two ground-breaking products including the "Air Sampling Device" and the "Metamaterial Cloaking System".

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IP licensing revenues rise

IIT Kanpur has reported a two-fold increase in revenue from Intellectual Property (IP) licensing. The institute has also launched two pioneering technologies including an air sampling device, licensed to Airshed Planning Professionals Pvt. Ltd., and the 'Analakshya' metamaterial cloaking system, licensed to Meta Tattva Systems Pvt. Ltd.

Director of IIT Kanpur, Manindra Agrawal, said, "Achieving 152 IPR filings in 2024 and seeing a significant increase in granted patents affirms IIT Kanpur's commitment to pioneering translational research to bridge the gap between research and real world applications.”

“We are grateful to our researchers, government, other stakeholders, and the institute's IPR Cell for their invaluable role in transferring technologies from academia to the industry. As we move into 2025, we are focused on enhancing our R&D capabilities across domains and strengthen industry-academia collaborations to create innovations that will have a lasting impact on society," he further said.