National Workshop on Significance of IPR and its Interplay with Research

National Workshop on Significance of IPR and its Interplay with Research

The Inauguration of CMRU- KSCST IP Cell and National Workshop on significance of IPR was held on 4^th May 2019 at CMR University, School of Legal Studies. The workshop was organised with the motive of spreading the knowledge on the Intellectual Property Rights, its importance and protection.

The workshop began with the invocation song by the students of the CMRU and was followed by the Welcome Address by Prof. (DR.). T. R. Subramanya, Dean of the CMRU, School of Legal Studies. He welcomed the Honourable Guests for the workshop and gave a brief introduction on the IPR. The Dignitaries and faculty of the CMRU lit the ceremonial lamp.

The first speaker for the day was Prof. (DR.). T. Ramakrishna, who is not only a Professor of Law and Chair Professor, IPR Chair at NLSIU. He stressed on the point: “Every Policy has emphasis on Intellectual Property”. He linked the other polices with the Intellectual property, explained the origin of the Intellectual Property Policy and stated its development over time. He concluded by giving suggestions for established the Intellectual Property policy for the IP Cell and gave advice for its smooth administration.

The next speaker was MR. Hemant Kumar H., Chief Scientific Officer at Karnataka State Council for Science & Technology. He is currently investigating the Karnataka Natural Data Management (NRDMS). He inspired the audience by sharing his working experience in this field. He elaborated on the policies and technologies being followed by the KSCST. He concluded by sharing his aim to establish 100 IP cells. He also shared that he had been successful to establish 10 cells from 2015.

After such an inspiring inauguration, there was prize distribution for the winners of competitions held on the 20^th World IP Day i.e. on 26^th April 2019. The Vice Chancellor of CMRU SOLS congratulated the winners and expressed his insights for such an auspicious day. He also enlightened the audience by focusing on the importance of the IP cell in the institution and also explained the importance of the research. He concluded by affirming thus: “Research is a meaningful Job”.

The first session of the workshop was addressed by Dr. M. N. Bheemesh, who is currently Hon. Director at NIALS and Senior Advisor at ALMT Legal, Advocates & Solicitors Bangalore. He explained the meaning of the intellectual property through video sessions followed by the inspiring examples in this field such as Dr. Vishal Rao, Noted Scientist Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, and Mr. Suresh Garimella. He also gave current cases to explain the protection of these rights and the responsibility of lawyers to protect these rights. He concluded the session by quoting J.K. Rowling “Anything is possible if you have got enough nerve”.

The next session was led by Mr. Shubham Istrewal, who is a lawyer and is an Assistant Manager with Cell for Intellectual Property Rights Promotion and Management (CIPAM) team. He started with the background of the IPR policy framed, its vision and mission statement, and its objectives. He elaborated the work of the CIPAM team and awareness programs. He explained the four major sectors such as awareness, enforcement, commercialisation and misc. He concluded with the phrase “Creative India, Innovative India”.

After a satisfying lunch, the gathering came together again for the afternoon session. The first speaker to start off the session was Mr. C.N. Shashidhara who has been serving as the Deputy Controller of Patents and Designs. Through his speech, he simplified the concepts in a way that was beneficial to the audience. His speech focused around understanding patents, filing and processing of patent application, types of patent applications, filing requirements, procedure and the fees required. Thus, he gave an overview of the entire process of patenting in a simple and profound way.

The next speaker was Dr. Sarasija Padmanabhan, who is currently an IP Analyst and Patent Agent, and is also working as an Associate Expert in a project with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). Her main area of focus was a very interesting topic- Prior art. She first delved into the definition of prior art (any evidence that your invention is already known), and then went on to the objectives and importance of prior art search. She posed interesting questions to the audience and kept them entertained and well-informed by giving illustrative cases such as the “Donald Duck as prior art” case. After that, she applied the theoretical part practically through a series of videos that showcased exactly how to conduct the prior art search which was undoubtedly very useful to the audience.

The first speaker in the post tea session was Dr. Souravi Karpakal, who has a PhD in biotechnology from IIHR, Bangalore, and is currently a post- doctoral research associate in the Indian Institute of Science. Her presentation assimilated all the theory from the previous speakers and brought them to life with real life examples and illustrations. She spoke extensively on the area of patent commercialisation and the different options available to a person once their work is patented. She ended her speech with a very relevant quote from Bill Gates, “Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana.” After all, if the mind stays stagnant, then so does the patent.

The next speaker was Mr. B. Vivek Anand Sagar who is a consultant and an IPR Attorney in Patent Information Centre, Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology in IISC Campus, Bangalore. His presentation was full of life, and he did not shy away from having fun with the audience and lightening the mood by adding a few jokes in between. He combined all the points of the previous speakers before him and delivered his own view points in his own unique style. He broached the subject of Traditional Knowledge Digital Library which is an excellent tool to protect the ideas that have been part of the Indian culture since time immemorial. With the help of some fun Trademark Identification games, he engaged the audience fully and gave a fitting summary to all that had been spoken in the workshop.

The concluding speech was delivered by Mr. M.G. Kodandaram, IRS, who is an Assistant Director (Retd), Master Trainer of GST for CBIC, GOI and has contributed immensely to the field of training and capacity building. His speech was eloquent and heartfelt as he talked about the negative effects that widespread commercialization of patents has had on humanity. He spoke about how this kind of commercialisation has led to the upliftment of individual interest rather than public interest and has propelled humankind to be more and more materialistic each day. Yet, he accepted the fact that this change is now inevitable and is a part of life, and therefore, encouraged everyone to inculcate ethical habits especially in matters of intellectual property rights. Lastly, he cheered on the spirit of innovation, which is the need of the hour today. The workshop then came to an end and needless to say, it had been a grand success.