IIT Madras crosses 1,000-mark in patents made in India and abroad

NEW DELHI: Indian Institute of Technology Madras has crossed the 1,000-mark in patents generated by it in India and abroad, officials said. The number of patents filed by the institute has also doubled in the last five years with the US accounting for the highest number of patents filed outside India. As on March 31 this year, the total number of patents filed in India was 1,204 and the total number of international patents filed was 529. Of these, 155 patent applications were filed in the US.

IIT-Madras bears 70 per cent of the cost of filing foreign patents with the inventor bearing the rest. "Another significant factor was the large number of international patents (218) filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The PCT assists applicants in seeking patent protection internationally for their inventions. By filing one international patent application under the PCT, applicants can subsequently seek protection for an invention in all the countries that are party to the PCT (153 countries, as on date)," said Ravindra Gettu, Dean, Centre for ICSR.

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Gettu said the Centre has undertaken many initiatives in the recent years to drive this increase in patents being filed in India and abroad. "A dedicated IP Cell has been established at the International Centre for Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research (ICSR), which conducts intellectual property (IP) awareness programme regularly to sensitise students or faculty on the importance of IP protection and monetisation," he said.

Gettu said the institute has enabled patent filing through awareness campaigns among faculty members and students. "The processes have also been made easier and faster, without interfering in publications and thesis completion, which are often the primary focus of our researchers. Monetisation of IP is also a recent focus area to promote patenting and fund more developments," he said.

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