IPR – The KGP Chronicle

Hon’ble Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan visits IIT Kharagpur Research Park

To foster an ecosystem for cutting-edge research, commercialization of technologies, and strategic partnerships with industries in West Bengal, Hon’ble Union Minister for Education Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of State for Education Dr. Sukanta Majumdar visited the IIT Kharagpur Research Park in Kolkata on 20^th August 2024. The Research Park is a concept of integrated eco-system that provides research facilities including technical and infrastructure support along with other paraphernalia services. It focuses on R&D-driven innovation and product-oriented developmental activities using the institute’s wide expertise base and catering to the needs of the Nation and the interests of industry, entrepreneurs, and government agencies.

The IIT Kharagpur Research Park at Rajarhat, Kolkata, is a Section 8 Company, which is a globally recognized hub for innovation, research and technology transfer. With a built-up area of about 1.8 lakh square feet, a carpet area of 1.0 lakh square feet has been developed at Rajarhat, New Town, in Kolkata with funding from the Ministry of Education. It aims to emerge as a single window for national missions, start-ups, industry collaborations, host institutes’ incubators, R&D activities and outreach activities with different partners associated with the Institute and acts as an interface for the industry to collaborate on the commercialization of innovations.

The goals and objectives of the Research Park are to promote collaborative and interdisciplinary research through the sharing of facilities; Enabling technology transfer and commercialization of innovations; Supporting and incubating science and technology-based start-ups; Providing specialized training programs and workshops; Undertaking community outreach initiatives to promote awareness on scientific advancements; and Attracting international partnerships and projects to address global challenges.

The Research Park aims to facilitate the activities of academic units and Centres of Excellence at IIT KGP. Aiming to drive breakthroughs in science and technology research for the benefit of society through strategic partnerships and state-of-the-art facilities, the research park started a nursery industrial estate for small-scale industries at suitable places. It created a pool of sophisticated machine tools, analytical and test equipment, computers with semi-industrial processors and other facilities to support both industrial and central services to sponsored entrepreneurs.

At the same time, it will work with aspiring students, research scholars, staff and faculty members for technology and knowledge-based business development by hand-holding, ease of doing business, and providing IPR and patenting services, developing mechanisms to promote the dissemination of knowledge, cross-fertilization of ideas, and intellectual collaboration. Such interactions aim at enabling the creation of advanced technological solutions for the present and envisaged future industrial and social ecosystem.

During their visit, the Ministers took a tour of the state-of-the-art facilities at the IIT Kharagpur Research Park and met the TCS team of researchers and consultants. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has booked about 30,000 sq ft of space in the science and research park to house its research and development team.

Hon’ble Minister for Education Shri Dharmendra Pradhan took cognizance of the collaborative efforts of the 9 Higher Educational Institutions in West Bengal including NIT Durgapur, IISER Kolkata, IIEST Shibpur, IIIT Kalyani, Visva Bharti, IIM Kolkata, NITTR Kolkata, GKCIET Malda, and IIT Kharagpur in terms of research, technology transfer and commercialization, entrepreneurship, training programs, community engagement and infrastructure development. Shri Pradhan reviewed the intuitions, their academic performance, research projects, industry collaborations, rankings and ratings of IIT Kharagpur and other centrally-funded higher education institutions (HEIs) in West Bengal, as well as their future plans for growth and development. He also reiterated the words of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, urging the institutions to reignite the spirit of Nalanda, aiming to transform them into world-class knowledge hubs and contribute to the vision of “Viksit Bharat.”

Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur, remarked, “This visit highlights the continued focus of the Ministry of Education on strengthening India’s position as a global leader in education, research, and innovation. The IIT Kharagpur Research Park, with its advanced research capabilities and robust industry ties, plays a pivotal role in this vision. It fosters a dynamic environment for cutting-edge research and entrepreneurship, offering academic credits for start-up activities, supporting faculty-driven projects, and facilitating alumni startups through the EIR program and IPR licensing. Startups associated with the Institute or its technologies receive priority support.”

Media Coverage:

Indian Express	The Print
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By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer)
Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007

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Intellectual Property is the Possession of a Curious Mind – Celebrating the World Intellectual Property Day 2024 at IIT Kharagpur

On the occasion of the World Intellectual Property Day, the Intellectual Property (IP) Cell of the Office of Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy (SRIC), IIT Kharagpur organized a programme on Intellectual Property in Ben Gupta Auditorium of the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law (RGSOIPL) on 26^th April, 2024. The programme accentuates the importance of IP in modern science and transformational technological pursuits and was inaugurated by Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur, in attendance by a large number of students, research scholars faculty and staff members.

The theme of The World IP Day 2024 was to align the inventions towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). IIT Kharagpur has already taken a leap towards aligning with SDGs and has published the Sustainability Policy of the Institute in the Website. The Institute has also taken initiatives towards directing the innovations towards attainment of the SDGs for shaping our future together with the Intellectual Property.

In the opening address, Prof. Santanu Dhara, Associate Dean R&D and Professor In-Charge of Intellectual Property Rights (PIC-IPR), talked about the genesis and history of the IPR and introduced its basic aspects. He also touched upon the various IPR and patent filing activities of IIT Kharagpur and urged the faculty, students and scholars to secure their IPR by filing patents.

Prof. Rintu Banerjee, Dean R&D, IIT Kharagpur

Prof. Rintu Banerjee, Dean R&D, presented the record of annual patent filing at IIT Kharagpur which showed a positive trend over the last few years. Prof. Banerjee also compared the details of patents filed and granted from IIT Kharagpur with those from the other top academic institutions in India and the world. Overall, Prof. Banerjee emphasized on the importance of filing patents for institutional and national development and called the IIT Kharagpur community to come forward and make the endeavour of ‘100 patents in 100 hours’ successful. Prof. Banerjee also shared some of the administrative and academic measures the institute is going to implement for promoting the IP drive.

Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur

In the Chairman’s speech, Prof. V K Tewari delivered a fascinating and encouraging lecture covering the journey of patent filing at IIT Kharagpur. It is wonderful to hear that back in 1982 Prof. Tewari visited the patent office in Kolkata every day for around two weeks to learn the rules and regulations of patent filing following the advice of his M.Tech supervisor, which resulted in the filing of the first patent from this institute. Prof. Tewari continued his drive and owned as many as twenty patents throughout his academic journey. Prof. Tewari particularly focused on the importance of securing IP and translating that to successful start-ups to foster the country’s economy and generate employment.

There were two successive lectures first by Prof. Padmavati Machikanti from RGSOIPL on the overview of different forms of IP and subsequently by Prof. Tapas Kumar Bandyopadhyay, Professor of the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, on the patenting aspects in Indian context. Prof. Banerjee also touched upon how technological research can benefit the rural economy through IPR.

Mr. Sumit Chatterjee, Legal Associate, SRIC, briefly mentioned the IP-related activities of SRIC

In the end, Prof. Banerjee and Prof. Dhara thanked the tremendous support extended by the IIT Kharagpur faculty members in performing a timely review of the proposals submitted for patent filing. The programme ended with a long Q&A session where Prof. Goutam Saha, former PIC of IPR, and Prof. Soumitra Paul, Head of the Mechanical Engineering Department, shared some of their opinion and suggestions to make the patent drive at IIT Kharagpur a more effective one. [Read : IIT Kharagpur calls for 100 Patents in 100 days]

Finally, in the vote of thanks Prof. Niharika Sahoo Bhattacharya acknowledged the Director, Dean R&D, Associate Dean R&D, the speakers and attendees for making the event successful. Special thanks was imparted to the Deans and all the faculty and staff members of the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law for extending all support in organizing the event at their venue.

About WIPO

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO was created to promote and protect Intellectual Property (IP) across the world by cooperating with countries as well as international organizations. It began operations on 26 April 1970 when the convention entered into force. The current Director General is Singaporean Daren Tang, former head of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, who began his term on 1st October 2020.

WIPO’s activities include hosting forums to discuss and shape international IP rules and policies, providing global services that register and protect IP in different countries, resolving transboundary IP disputes, helping connect IP systems through uniform standards and infrastructure, and serving as a general reference database on all IP matters; this includes providing reports and statistics on the state of IP protection or innovation both globally and in specific countries. WIPO also works with governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and individuals to utilize IP for socio-economic development.

WIPO administers 26 international treaties that concern a wide variety of intellectual property issues, ranging from the protection of audiovisual works to establishing international patent classification. It is governed by the General Assembly and the Coordination Committee, which together set policy and serve as the main decision making bodies. The General Assembly also elects WIPO’s chief administrator, the Director General, currently Daren Tang of Singapore, who took office on 1st October 2020. WIPO is administered by a Secretariat that helps carry out its day-to-day activities.

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, WIPO has external offices around the world, including in Algiers (Algeria); Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Beijing (China), Tokyo (Japan); Abuja (Nigeria); Moscow (Russia); and Singapore (Singapore). Unlike most UN organizations, WIPO does not rely heavily on assessed or voluntary contributions from member states; 95 percent of its budget comes from fees related to its global services.

WIPO currently has 193 member states, including 190 UN member states and the Cook Islands, Holy See and Niue; Palestine has permanent observer status. The only non-members, among the countries recognized by the UN are the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and South Sudan.

WIPO was formally created by the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, which entered into force on 26 April 1970. That date is commemorated annually as World Intellectual Property Day, which raises awareness of the importance of IP. Under Article 3 of this convention, WIPO seeks to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world. WIPO became a specialized agency of the UN in 1974. The Agreement between the United Nations and the World Intellectual Property Organization notes in Article 1 that WIPO is responsible:

“For promoting creative intellectual activity and for facilitating the transfer of technology related to industrial property to the developing countries in order to accelerate economic, social and cultural development, subject to the competence and responsibilities of the United Nations and its organs, particularly the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, as well as of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and of other agencies within the United Nations system.”

WIPO Development Agenda

In October 2004, WIPO agreed to adopt a proposal offered by Argentina and Brazil, the Proposal for the Establishment of a Development Agenda for WIPO —from the Geneva Declaration on the Future of the World Intellectual Property Organization. This proposal was well supported by developing countries. The agreed “WIPO Development Agenda” was the culmination of a long process of transformation for the organization from one that had historically been primarily aimed at protecting the interests of rightholders, to one that has increasingly incorporated the interests of other stakeholders in the international intellectual property system as well as integrating into the broader corpus of international law on human rights, environment and economic cooperation. In 2009, WIPO started drafting future treaties on intellectual property and genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore in relation with indigenous peoples and local communities.

In December 2011, WIPO published its first World Intellectual Property Report on the Changing Face of Innovation, the first such report of the new Office of the Chief Economist. WIPO is also a co-publisher of the Global Innovation Index.

Recent Events

WIPO, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the WTO launched on 11 April 2022 their new Trilateral COVID-19 Technical Assistance Platform. This new tool aims to help members and WTO accession candidates address their capacity building needs to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Platform provides members and accession candidates with a single contact form which they can use to reach out to the trilateral organizations.

World Intellectual Property Day

World Intellectual Property Day is observed annually on 26 April. The event was established by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2000 to raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks and designs impact on daily life and to celebrate creativity, and the contribution made by creators and innovators to the development of economies and societies across the globe.World Intellectual Property Day is WIPO’s largest Intellectual Property (IP) public outreach campaign, instituted with the aim of establishing a set up framework for broader mobilization and awareness, to open up access to the promotional aspect of innovation and to recognize the achievements of promoters of intellectual property throughout the world.

Inputs by:Prof. Debalay Chakrabarti, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, IIT Kharagpur
Email: debalay@metal.iitkgp.ac.in

Edited By: Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer)
Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007

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Order Order!! The 5th National Moot Court Competition was a star-struck affair at IIT Kharagpur

Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law (RGSoPIL) of IIT Kharagpur conducted the 5th National Moot Court Competition from 29th to 31st March, 2024. The inaugural ceremony witnessed the presence of eminent law practitioners including Hon’ble Justice Mr. I P Mukherjee, Judge, Calcutta High Court who was the Chief Guest of the programme along with Prof. (Dr.) Dilip Ukey, VC, MNLU, Mumbai, the Guest of Honour. Prof. Dipa Dube and Dr. Shreya Matilal RGSoPIL were the convenors of the programme.

IIT Kharagpur has been organizing the National Moot Court Competition (NMCC) with great enthusiasm. Through its rigorous and engaging format, NMCC continues to serve as a beacon of legal excellence, fostering the growth of future legal professionals in India. NMCC is an event that focuses on numerous areas of law. This brings for law students an excellent opportunity to hone their advocacy skills, test their knowledge of law, and engage in constructive legal interaction and discourse. NMCC follows a format typical of moot court competitions, where participants are required to prepare written memorials and present oral arguments. The competition includes various rounds, including preliminary rounds, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final. A distinguished panel of judges, comprising legal experts and practitioners evaluates the performance of the participating teams.

The valedictory session of the Moot Court saw a footfall of Hon’ble Justice Sanjay Karol, Judge, Supreme Court of India who was the Chief Guest of the program and Guests of Honour Justice Sampa Sarkar, Judge, High Court at Calcutta; Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, Judge, High Court, Calcutta and Justice Mriganga Shekhar Sahu, Judge, High Court at Orissa in the presence of Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur. The dignitaries lit up the lamp to celebrate the indomitable spirit of legal scholarship and advocacy that has been on display throughout its duration that is echoing the halls of the school after over half a decade. Over the past two decades, the institute has witnessed the extraordinary talent, dedication and passion of the participants as they grapple with complex legal issues, presented complex legal arguments and are engaged in spirited debates.

“Today marks the culmination of the days filled with intense competitions, spirited debates and invaluable learning experiences throughout the last two days. We have witnessed the remarkable talents, dedication and passion exhibited by the participating teams from various corners of the country. Your commitment to the excellence and pursuit of legal knowledge have truly being commendable and it is a testament to your unwavering determination and hardwork. Once again I extend my warmest welcome to each and every one of you to this valedictory session, may it be a memorable and inspiring conclusion to what has been a truly remarkable journey of learning, growth and camaraderie,” said Prof. Dipa Dube, Dean, Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law (RGSoIPL).

While welcoming the Chief Guest and Guests of Honour, Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur, remarked, “I am delighted to be here in the presence of the members of the highest justice imparting bodies of this nation especially Supreme Court Judge, Hon’ble Sanjay Karol ji. We are humbled that he accepted our invitation. Today IITians are every where around the world and we would like the participating judges to give lectures in their domain area of expertise. Even the case studies which you will discuss will be very good for our students and faculty members because that is an invariable experience you have while judging the cases of different types and I think the amount of psychology and human face that you keep in taking those decisions is marvelous. We need such personalities like you to come and encourage the students and the faculties at IIT Kharagpur. Lectures from these stalwarts will be an asset to the students that will impart professional insights which the students won’t get from just the books. After meeting some of the advocates, I can tell you students, that they actually read large number of books, more than we can imagine. As far as IIT Kharagpur is concerned, we are the first IIT of the world, started at 1951. It has the maximum number of departments, schools and centres as an higher education institution with Department of Agriculture, Mining, Architecture etc. Vinod Gupta School of Management was the first school in the which has the name upon an Alumni Donar of an institute. We also have a holistic approach to study curriculum with Academy of Classical and Folk Arts, School of Happiness, School for Leadership etc. All the works that IIT Kharagpur has done till now are in lines with the G-20 declaration. Whether you talk about disaster management, rare earth metals, innovation, AI, technology management etc., we have these kind of expertise here at IIT Kharagpur which we are proud of. MOOT Court is a great opportunity for the students to express their point of view in an open platform infront of others and should be indulged more often in terms of growing and networking among the teams that participated. We would definitely want our Alumni to be the judges of the Supreme Court in the near future. The spirit of participation should always be encouraged in these competition.”

While addressing the Moot Court Competition, Hon’ble Judge Sampa Sarkar, High Court at Calcutta, said “Thank you for this honour, because I knew that I would never clear IIT JEE entrance exam to set my foot here at IIT. Atleast you have made an opportunity for me to come here, which is a great privilege. I would like to ask Sir that do we have to pass the JEE exam to get into the faculty of school of happiness because learning how to be happy is a crucial question. Often we try to introspect that and try to develop it within ourselves to a point where we can learn to be happy. But if you are taught to be happy, it gets easier. Coming back to the Moot Court, it was one of the toughest MOOT proposition I have ever came across. I would like to congratulate all the students who could comprehend to start a research on this MOOT topic. It was a great effort, great MOOTING, interjections are only their to make you more ready and help you to think on your legs which we are at times supposed to do. Mooting is like making a product rightable. Its an idea, an expression, your skill that you develop and place as the finished product. It is the same way a lawyer places a case, its labour, skill, expression and delivering. Mooting has its own advantages, it helps you to express yourself better and helps you to research better on legal topics because you have to as a lawyer research and you have to be ready with what kind of questions the bench proposes which you will have to answer at that stage. You cannot fumble, you cannot avoid the question because that can go against you. First and most importantly it helps the spirit of team building. Every profession as a lawyer or even judges, team building and team spirit is very important because that it how you improve and learn and you can be a better version of yourself when you learn from others. We have been to very basic institutions but you have been very lucky to have this opportunity to come to an institution which has great infrastructure, use of AI, all these things are really a progress.”

On the same lines Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, High Court Judge of Calcutta remarked, “Things have changed so far as the curriculum of law is concerned. Of late, this Moot court mediation, arbitration going on in the law schools were never there when we were in college. In our days Moot court was something, where you were given a particular case law which you have to mug up and the best you could produce in front of the professor was how you were given a number. This competition and fighting or debating amongst two teams or two individuals were never there with our curriculum. It was just a basic way of introducing how you can open your mouth before a set of people. This total concept has changed now. Visiting institutes I find now, the biggest challenge is that how many of these students passing out will come to the litigating sector, this is also a challenge. Persons passing out of these institutions mostly joins the multinationals, so dearth in the BAR Council continues. The topic was definitely good today, it was a challenging topic, may not be a subject that we as professionals are associated with, but the question is the subject which India as a whole honours. Those who have presented, have presented to the best of their abilities. Don’t be hurt with whatever the outcome is, this is the starting of a life. All of you have long way to go. These topics are for the multi-nationals, come to the basic topics of life. You should also have topics where you all must argue on all the subjects, the easy maintenance cases which you start with. If you start a professional career, you will find a destitute lady coming to you with a brief who has been deserted by her husband and often don’t get assistance from the legal aid. Legal aid is again a sector where we invite the newcomers to join and start because litigation is a sector which you will continue to be in these kind of ligitaions through out your career but those would give you exposure in only the litigation sectors. All subjects are taught in here but as it has been said the curriculum includes something where you have an expressed intensity of these IPR laws which are over here. These are laws of the multinationals but you should also think on topics which the commoners have and touch the grassroot level of this country. One day when you are successful, you have got to think about the commoners, the citizens of this country. I wish all of you a bright career and better life ahead.”

Guest of Honour Justice Mruganka Sekhar Sahoo, Judge High Court of Orissa,commented, “My learning from this MOOT court is that no one is a loser. It is indeed a privilege to enter into the hallowed pristine of this august institution. Though I have not cleared JEE but I came here for the first time in 1999 when my younger brother got through JEE. I would like to state what my other seniors have stated that this is the height of multi-tasking. While arguing, you have to hear the other side, you have to hear the judge and be on your legs. You have to develop a point, that is a charm of being a student of law. I still have my notes from the teaching of my professors even after 25 years of career span and being a Judge. It is a process, it can be a thousand steps, a ten thousand steps as the Director said. I wish all the best to all the students and congratulate the entire team for the warm hospitality and the students for the interesting MOOT court problem and as suggested by my earlier speaker that never forget about the problem faced by a common man as the people look up to the courts to give solutions to all their problems. Problems like divorces which might not have a strict legal solution but still people have a hope, hope to get justice so I once again thank you all for this privilege.”

Chief Guest Supreme Court Judge Sanjay Karol gave his valedictory address and said, “I must pay homage to martyrs and the freedom fighters who were imprisoned here in this hijli prison. A visit to this place only reminded me of my childhood days in Shimla. I must also thank you to be a part of the process of great learning because education is something that is continuous till the last breathe. Coming here, I learnt that this great institution is not only of National Importance but also of Eminence. I am sure that the students who pass out of this institution or get exposed to this institution would excel in their lives in every aspect of the matter. At the outset, I thank this great institution for inviting me for the 5th year of this Moot Court. This is a testament as to how law has acquiesced as an exponential growth in India. Today, you are very fortunate through the process of these Moot court competition, you learn at least one thing that life is not only about talking, thinking and speaking on your legs, it is also understanding when not to speak. Life is also about making out a difference between respect for law and fear of law. I would like to highlight the interplay between the rule of law, the economic development and the role of the judiciary especially the judges and the lawyers. Some of you inspired with the experiences as the part of this MOOT may seek out careers in and around many intersections of intellectual property laws. The opportunities are many fold right from in-house council in these multinational conglomerates, government agencies, independent council and private institutions including teaching. Intellectual property rights and IPR as we commonly say serve as a common stone, creativity and economic growth in this 21st century. From patents to copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets, IPR encompasses a diverse way of legal mechanism designed to protect intangible assets and foster conducive environment for innovation and creativity. Strong intellectual property rights, laws served as a catalyst for economic growth by incentivising innovation fostering creativity and promoting investment in research and development. When individuals and businessmen have confidence that their intellectual property will be protected and rewarded, they are more likely to invest time, resources and expertise in developing new technology product and service. By encouraging a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship strong IPR laws stimulate competitive drive productivity gains and fuel economic growth in both develop and developing machines and economies, moreover effective enforcement of IPR laws ensures level playing field for businesses, prevents unfair competition and enhances consumer confidence in the market place.

“It is not imperative for me to delve into the statutory regime of the IPR laws in India and its dynamic nature also has the institutionalized international regime, as we know what WTO trips and that is the change in the economic and world scenario shifting liberalization in India and opening up a world economy. We saw we were rushed to protect and preserve what was our culture and heritage and ultimately we succeeded in protecting the trademark, the patents and the copyright be it a Basmati, Tulsi or Haldi among others. In the last three days you have delve into the intricacies of intellectual property law during this MOOT. The effective protection enforcement of these rights hinge upon a robust legal framework rooted in the principals of rule of law. It is something which is enshrined in the very core of our constitution, protection and promotion of core human rights and has been the focus of both the preamble Part III, Part IV, Part IV A of the constitution. Our constitutional forefathers have foreseen the role of judiciary in securing the rights of all kinds including the economic growth of the people of India. This has brought in the preamble of the constitution which says that the people of India having resolve to secure justice, social, economic and political for all its citizens. Judicial independence is of absolute importance. The 40 crore people in the country must have this confidence and resolve in their mind that they can come forward and seek justice which is not only a satisfaction but justice which is secured by the means of just, fair and proper. A robust and independent court with integrity is one of the reasons for it to be known as the third pillar of the Indian democracy. Every judge be it at whatever level and also every member of the BAR along with the law students have lot to contribute in this field and aspect of independence of judiciary. You cannot be a mute spectator, you have to voice your feelings, your thought and speech within the frame of Part III of the constitution. Rule of Law is intrinsically linked with economic development and in every thriving economy, the rule of law serves as a bedrock upon which all other structures are built. It ensures predictability, stability and fairness creating an environment conducive to economic growth and investment. Economic development which is directly correlated with the achievement of the principals initiated in the constitution, indicates not only the development of an individual, but development of a nation. Every 140 crore Indian must be benefited of this economic growth which is to happen in India,” he added.

Listen to the full speech by clicking the link below:

Ms. Konkona Banerjee from Amity University Kolkata has been adjudged as the Best Researcher of the 5th Moot Court Competition at IIT Kharagpur. The Best Memorial was adjudged to Ms. Muskan Verma, Ms. Raashi and Mr. Aditya from the University Institute of Legal Studies Punjab University Chandigarh and the Best Speaker Prelims was given Mr. Nikhil Kumar Mishra from Lyod Law College, Greater Noida for the preliminary rounds. For the Best Speaker Final, it was adjudged to Mr. K Swaminathan from School of Law, Shastri University. The runners up of the 5th Moot Court Competition at IIT Kharagpur was the University Institute of Legal Studies from Punjab University comprising of Ms. Muskan Verma, Ms. Raashi and Mr. Aditya. The winners trophy was awarded to the School of Law, Sastra University of Tamil Nadu comprising of Mr. Hariharan, Jerin Mathew and K. Swaminathan. The prize money have been sponsored by Agarwal Atol headed by our Alumnus Mr. Pranav Agarwal and Technology Council Foundation. Prof. Uday Shankar gave the the vote of thanks to conclude the programme.

Established in 2006, the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law (RGSOIPL) is unique within the IIT system for its focus on technology and law. It offers LL.B. program with an emphasis on Intellectual Property Law, and also LLM and PhD programs in Law. The faculty is multidisciplinary and engaged in various research projects, while the curriculum is global. Practical training is offered through workshops and clinical courses, and students have excelled in competitions and conferences. RGSOIPL alumni work in diverse sectors, from industry to academia.

https://www.livelaw.in/lawschool/moot-courts/rgsoipl-iit-kharagpur-moot-court-competition-251828

https://www.livelaw.in/pdf_upload/nmcc-2024-brochure-2-526446.pdf

Edited By: Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer)
Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007

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IIT Kharagpur Law Students to Draft Real-time Patents for Institute’s Innovations

In 2006 IIT Kharagpur had introduced a new academic discipline in the IIT system – Intellectual Property Law, seed-funded by distinguished alumnus Dr. Vinod Gupta. Over the years, Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, the law school at IIT Kharagpur has not only expanded its scope across all academic verticals of law education but has emerged as one of India’s top law schools. With Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) still as the key domain, the school has been instrumental in promoting IPR workshops for young innovators. A few years back a drive was undertaken at the School to promote Geographical Indication tag for traditional crafts across the country. In the Spring semester, the School conducted project-based learning by enabling the law students to draft patent documents of actual innovations made by the researchers at IIT Kharagpur.

“While we routinely conduct patent drafting exercises this is the first time we have adopted real-time patent applications prepared by the students. In its endeavour to enhance practical understanding for students, RGSOIPL has yet another time taken a unique approach not typically done in other law schools. Our law school students have the best benefit of being in an IIT system by meeting face to face the institute inventors who are working on high-end technologies and also understand the entire process of converting the invention disclosure to the patent application,” remarked Dean of the School Prof. Goutam Saha.

The process involved studying the invention disclosure and preparing the patent application with the claims in line with the statutory requirements under patent law and the examination practice. An innovator from IIT Kharagpur also participated in the session so that technical queries in relation to research works could be clarified.

“Students of the law school have been involved in conducting patentability searches, participating in inventor interview meets to enhance practical knowledge. Further, as part of the Legal Aid and IP Facilitation Cell, they have been working along with the faculty of the School in conducting IP search and analytics,” said Prof. M Padmavati, Former Head of the School. She further opined on the background of the LL.B honours students who are from the engineering or science background and pursuing specialization in IP Law.

The exercise was facilitated by the IPR Cell of IIT Kharagpur. The drafted claims and patent specifications were evaluated by the patent attorney of the Institute. The patent attorney provided students important insights into the drafting of patent specifications and claims including the cross-jurisdiction practice. The session was conducted with utmost regard to safeguarding IP and maintaining IP compliance.

To know more visit: http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/department/IP

Contact:

School: dean@rgsoipl.iitkgp.ac.in Media & Communications Cell: media@iitkgp.ac.in

Media Coverage

Data Quest	ABP Education	UNI
Shiksha	India Today

Raising awareness

On August 2, 2019, IIT Kharagpur won recognition as ‘IP Campus of the Year (Non Legal) 2019” at the Intellectual Property Fest, an event organized by IP Promotion Outreach Foundation. The award acknowledged a campus that had made outstanding contribution to spreading awareness in the field of Intellectual Property law, rights and practice in the last academic year.

IPPOF is a knowledge-sharing and training arm in Intellectual Property with two decades of expertise in this domain and has been working on networking and implementation, and increasing awareness through seminars and online guidance sessions. It believes that the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise sector needs to focus on commercialization of technology, promotion of innovative products through IPR protection, implementation, awareness and training.

IIT Kharagpur thinks similarly, although its focus does not devolve on any one sector. The Institute endeavours to promote and facilitate IP activities within the Institute and around the campus. It has taken several initiatives to build up community IP, raising awareness among IP creators and enforcement personnel. The Institute also connects inventors with industries and facilitates the transfer of technologies invented or created in the Institute. The Technology Transfer Group, a student run body, of IIT Kharagpur facilitates IP awareness activities.

Over the past year, there have been several workshops and interactive sessions held at IIT Kharapgur in order to give researchers and inventors a broad overview of patent laws in different countries, guide them on how to file patents and protect their IP. For example, an IPR workshop for students and researchers of the Departments of Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering, G.S. Sanyal School of Telecommunication, School of Medical Science and Technology and Centre for Educational Technology was conducted February 3, 2018, with distinguished patent advocate, Mr. Naren Thapetta, as the special guest speaker. In another session last August on “Roadmap for Patent Creation”, attended by more than a hundred researchers of the Institute, they were taught the fundamentals of patent creation and patent filing procedure in two sessions. There was a similar workshop on IP Management of Academic and Research Institute taken by faculty of Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law in March this year.

Workshop on IP Powerhouse: the fuel for startups (2nd March 2019) Dr.Malathi Lakshmi Kumaran, Executive Director, Lakshmisri Law Firm, New Delhi

Faculty of RGSOIPL have conducted short-term courses and workshops to disseminate information and train academicians and even personnel on IP rights and issues. For example, the short-term course on “Biotechnology and Intellectual Property Law” in February 2019 that taught participants from various institutes of national importance the importance of IP protection. Participants were encouraged to establish IPR Cell in their institute and file IPs in biotechnology. An IPR workshop for for Swami Vivekananda State Police Academy (SVSPA), Kolkata in January 2019 saw the participation of several police personnel, including Deputy Superintendent of Police, Police Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors. There was also a two day training workshop on IPR conducted for the National Defense Academy for Production, Nagpur to train junior and senior level officers in IP.

IIT Kharagpur has developed an online portal to facilitate the protection of Geographical Indication to build up community IP and emphasize IP creation that empowers the marginalized people. The Institute is pursuing several GI cases. Take the ongoing work on GoynaBori, a potential GI.

Part B registration for ‘Joynagar Moa’, a GI of West Bengal has also been initiated based on the visits to geographical location. Initial work on the registration of Kalkatti Jewellery, a potential GI has been started. Similarly, documentation work has been undertaken with respect to Axomiya Jewellery of Assam.

As many as 62 patents have been filed at the patent office of the Institute in 2018-19 in the key categories of agriculture, biotechnology, chemical, electronics, electrical and mechanical engineering and by the School of Medical Science and Technology. Every year, IIT Kharagpur celebrates the World IP Day on April 26 to raise IP awareness among student and researchers and felicitating the inventors whose patent has been granted.

Prof. C. Retna Raj, Professor-in-Charge of IPR & IR at the Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy wing of IIT Kharagpur said, “The IPPO award is a recognition for developing in-house IP ecosystem through awareness and promotional activities, the pioneering steps taken by IIT Kharagpur to build up community IP and sensitizing the surrounding social stratum and creating awareness among IP creators & enforcement personnel.”

Feathers in the Cap

Careers 360 India Education Diary

IIT Kharagpur has emerged among the country’s best and as the only IIT to qualify and excel in four disciplines – Architecture (1st), Engineering (4th), Law (4th) and Management (6th), taking on specialized schools in their domains.

Speaking about the feat of excelling in non-engineering categories, Director Prof. P P Chakrabarti emphasised on the uniqueness of each of these specialized disciplines within the IIT system.

“While there are specialized institutions in these subject areas, being part of IIT Kharagpur has catapulted the growth of these disciplines in a matter of a few decades due to the convergence culture of IIT Kharagpur typically focusing on research, multidisciplinary academics and overall career development of students enabling a unique symbiotic approach to excellence.”

IIT Kharagpur is leading in ‘Research and Professional Practice’ and ‘Graduate Outcome’ in the categories of Architecture, Law and Management while holding a competitive rank in Engineering.

“Our research publications and citations are extremely high domestically as evident from Scopus and SCI. However, there is a need for transforming research into industrial and consumer applications. In recent times we have undertaken several initiatives in the forms of Centres of Excellence which are focused towards technology development for industry and giving a thrust to the startup culture,” he said.

The Institute has launched centres of excellence and undertaken projects of national importance in six thrust areas which include Advanced Manufacturing, Intelligent and Smart Transportation, Affordable Healthcare, Digital Convergence, Innovative Infrastructure and Geoscience for Future of Earth with support from the government and industry. The research collaboration and impact thereof can be witnessed across various engineering and other disciplines such as management, law, social sciences, architecture etc.

Also, the multidisciplinary approach has led to specialized thrust areas in academics which is flexible and unique. The course design and curricula of the programs above deliver the country’s crème graduates leading to the best-in-class graduate outcomes.

“Focus on the integrated and growth-oriented strategy adopted by IIT Kharagpur has enabled us to sustain our top position while keeping the societal and industrial needs in mind in launching new courses and also massively using our alumni resources,” says Dean, Planning & Coordination Prof. M K Tiwari.

The Department of Architecture and Regional Planning clearly exhibits this trait with its key area of regional planning addressing the diverse regional planning needs of a country like India which are more in the lines of a subcontinent with intermittent regions within her cities, townships and villages, opines Prof. Joy Sen, Head of the department, who himself is a well-known Regional Planner.

“We focus on regional sciences, regional econometrics and regional programming which enable us to develop inclusive and innovative regional planning models,” remarks Prof. Joy Sen.

Similar is the case with the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law at IIT Kharagpur which has carved its excellence in the domain of Intellectual Property law while successfully running LLB with specialization in IP, LLM and Doctoral programs.

“I do see a lot of interest in students to take up courses like AI and Law, Energy Law, IP Management, IP and Competition Law, Law of the Sea, Information Technology Law to name a few,” says Prof. Padmavati Manchikanti, Dean of the School. “In fact, some of the thrust areas of the School, AI and Law, Biodiversity Law, Energy Law, Energy Policy and Governance, are unique in the country,” she adds.

Prof. Prabina Rajib, Dean of Vinod Gupta School of Management which has been ranked 6th following the top 5 IIMs, emphasized at the interdisciplinary elective courses in engineering, science and mathematics offered by other departments, centres and schools at IIT Kharagpur. This sharpens their interdisciplinary knowledge and capability as efficient managers.

“Our students are mostly from engineering background and their career path follows a direction more oriented towards technology management. Keeping in line with the industry needs, we have introduced many new electives in Business Analytics area and also offer electives in emerging topics like Artificial Intelligence and Business Law, Internet of Things Cyber Security, Intellectual Property Rights ,” says Prof. Prabina.

The teaching, learning and resources parameter has been affected in this year’s NIRF rank as well, acknowledges the Director. However, he indicated this has more to do with the high number of students at IIT Kharagpur which has the largest number of academic disciplines with 19 departments, 12 schools and 17 centres of excellence.

“We are further working on recruiting more faculty which will also accelerate up our research initiatives. In the past three years, more than a hundred faculty members have been inducted in the system,” he added.

Earn your spurs

Science and technology can be used to create a number of innovations useful in various facets of life. Sometimes the true value of a research work remains unexplored and the innovator is unable to fully exploit the invention commercially. A different situation may arise where some other person copies or misuses an invention without the permission of the true inventor. So it is essential to protect the right of an inventor which not only prevents misuse and copying of an invention but also promotes further innovation. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are a kind of legal right which gives privileges to the owner or inventor of a work.

IPR gives “limited entitlements to eligible right holders to exclude others from certain uses of the protected material.” Patents form the most integral part of IP rights, but there are others such as copyright, trademarks and trade secrets. Patents are a kind of monopolistic right given for twenty years of time period for an invention which is novel, involves an inventive step and have some industrial applicability. Not all inventions are patent eligible. Each country has its own law that dictates the patentability of a particular invention. Further in case of biotechnological inventions the ethical and moral dimension plays a critical role. As biotechnology can be used in every sphere of life from creation of life-form to destruction of the same, for making life saving drugs to life destroying kits; undue protection through patents may affect the society or the public at large. The recent incidence of use of gene editing technology “the CRISPR technology” for removal of undesirable trait from an embryo is a live example of ethical issue in biotechnology.

Together the different forms of IPR try to ensure that human dignity is not compromised, there is equitable access to the outcomes of biological research, there is protection of animals and the environment and the research does not go against public order and morality, that is, the value system of different communities.

Even then, the questions of ethics and morality are not always easy to resolve. For example, should a publicly funded agency patent its research results when they can substantially impact public health? Should the holder of a patent over a basic research tool or a production technology issue license in a restrictive way?

“The question of ethics is very important to biotechnology. We have to know what is patentable and what is not. With patents, you can protect any invention which is new, involves inventive step and has industrial application. But then, can we make a bioweapon and protect it? Will that be ethical? Anything against public order and morality is not patentable. But different societies have different value systems. This is why GM food has gained wide accepted in the US but are held with caution in Europe,” said Prof. Niharika Bhattacharya of the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, who recently organized a short term course on ‘Biotechnology and Intellectual Property Law’ at the IIT Kharagpur law school.

Apart from familiarizing participants with the ethical quandary of scientists and lawmakers, the AICTE-QIP sponsored short term course had another purpose – to inform those dealing/researching with biotechnology about when and how to protect that research, how to transfer and licence that technology. “Researchers are often satisfied with the publication of the research in a journal but when it comes to protecting an innovative outcome of research, and the nitty gritty of technology transfer, most academicians are in the dark, especially in the smaller academic institutions,” said Prof. Bhattacharya.

Dr Avinash Kumar, a participant of the course illustrated this point. A teacher of biotechnology at the Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University at Agra, Dr Kumar has to teach ‘Patenting of Biological Life’ as part of the curriculum. But he also wanted to learn the nitty gritty of patenting as he is himself is considering patenting an invention of his that deals with domestic effluents. He had earlier filed for a patent for his friend’s invention and failed to process it. “I filled up all the five or six forms for patenting, but they never came back to me for the next stage of processing.”

At what stage protection of invention/research IP should be initiated, what can be the long term benefits, how IPR is helpful for entrepreneurship, all these were questions addressed in the course. There were practical aspects too, the participants were taken through the entire modalities of filing for patents. There was also demonstration by Questel, which offers the software for searching, analysing and managing IP. Dr Veena from Reva University in Bangalore who specializes in microbiology and cancer research talked about how the course had helped her to locate patents, something that will invariably aid her work.

There was another aspect of the course that was highlighted by another participant. Prof. Manjit Kaur from Maharshi Dayanand University of Rohtak, Haryana, was mainly there to facilitate her teaching of biotechnology, which, given the new AICTE norms, necessitates introducing students the basics of IPR. She said, “I not only gained the practical knowledge that will go a long way in helping my students who are doing B.Tech or PhD in biotechnology, but also learnt about the job prospects for students in this area. They can be patent agents, patent attorneys and examiners.” The participants were also taken for a field visit to IIT Kharagpur’s STEP to show them how technologies can promote entrepreneurship.

“When researchers are investing time, money and doing R&D, the outcome whether a process or a product should bring them some commercial value. Also it has to be remembered that the larger goal of research is that the technology should be, and can be, made available to the public. This is why I thought it is necessary to introduce and explain the concept of IPR to such scientists/researchers to create more awareness and which will further help them generating commercial value from their research,” signed off Prof. Bhattacharya. The short course on Biotechnology and Intellectual Property Law ended on February 10, 2019.

Of matters strictly legal

The Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law (RGSOIPL) of IIT Kharagpur is the only law school of its kind in the country

The Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law or RGSOIPL, with its long Doric columns, stands diagonically opposite one of the largest open spaces in IIT Kharagpur – the sports complex, where every day students muddy themselves playing various kinds of games. This forms one of the most fulfilling part of their student years. RGSOIPL too engages in field activity that involves a lot of insight and endurance to grapple with issues.

The law school, the first of its kind in the IIT system, recently started a Legal Aid and IP facilitation Cell that provides legal service to the needy and enables legal literacy in neighbouring rural areas. The Cell meets villagers and those in need of its legal help frequently. The cell began work in February 2018, but it has already handled numerous cases. RGSOIPL was also at the centre of much action during the documentation process initiated to get goyna bari, a lentil product peculiar to Midnapore, a GI (geographical indication). The School is committed to identifying more such products in the country that require GI tags, and using its IP expertise in bringing to local communities the much-deserved honour and protection that a GI tag entails.

RGSOIPL was set up in 2006 to cater to the growing need for lawyers with technical expertise. “We see ourselves as part of the global endeavor to integrate technology and law in order to produce technical lawyers with the expertise necessary to deal with legal issues that arise at the interface of technology and law. As such, we are the only law school in the country with a technology focus,” says Prof. Padmavati Manchikanti, Dean, RGSOIPL, IIT Kharagpur.

Both technology and law have an inseparable connection with today’s “smart” society, although this connection is not easily understood. But the connection is so important that a professional now is required to have considerable legal knowledge about the technological applications he/she is about to launch in the market or whether the process about to be implemented in the industry is in line with regulatory processes, norms and standards. Prof. Padmavati says, “Every biotech manager today needs to know the applicable biotech laws. But you cannot expect a manager to go and find out about laws. An enormous time is lost that way. That is why law schools that merge technology and law are so important today and will, eventually, become more numerous. IIT KGP is thus a pioneer in this matter.”

RGSOIPL’s focus on IP is not incidental either. Nor is its insistence that its students should be first class degree holders in engineering, technology, medicine, science, pharmacy or equivalent fields.

Nations throughout the world are keen to protect the country’s innovations and intellect with strict IP laws. As one of the fastest developing countries, especially one that has made “Make in India” its prime objective, India is keen on protecting its intellectual property through laws as well. Not surprisingly, patent lawyers are among the highest paid today.

Prof. Padmavati says, “Much of IP law, especially patents, aspects of GI, aspects of synthetic biology and IP issues in the newer domains like 3D printing and AI involve a mixture of matters of fact and matters of law. If you do not understand the discipline well, you cannot apply the law. For e.g., in case of cyber security issue coming up, you have to understand the IP address, technical aspects related to computers that only a technologist would know. Also, the reason why we take students who are BTech or MSc is because they come with the requisite knowledge and then add the law component so that they become technology lawyers. And there is a huge demand for such lawyers in the market.”

RGSOIPL’s uniqueness also lies in the fact that it is the only law school where IP is taught in a comparative mode, and that too at the graduate level. “When we teach patents, copyright law and other such aspects of IP law,” says Dean Padmavati, “along with the Indian law, we teach them US, European law” Prof. Padmavati adds, “Patent law, remember, has never been Indian in origin and the major jurisdiction for the filings are in the US and Europe. So our students have to learn the law in the markets they have to deal with. Ours is the only law school that studies comparative law right at the undergraduate level.”

The law school of IIT Kharagpur also offers unique electives such as music law, energy law, biodiversity law, air and space law, water law, infrastructure regulations and so on. RGSOIPL puts great emphasis on research. The Dean of RGSOIPL says, “The Institute has fostered the research program by giving scholarship to students doing research. We have a PhD programme in all areas of laws and some current research being undertaken includes IT, privacy, corporate governance, international FTAs etc.,.” One of RGSOIPL students, in fact, she says, is doing research on law related to undersea cables which requires a high degree of technological understanding.

In another first, RGSOIPL has started an interdisciplinary course in Artificial Intelligence. In several parts of the world, AI has already transformed the way lawyers work and provide their services. Several courts have also started to rely on AI aids in their judicial process. Since the new era of hybrid sociology demands a rethinking of the modes of societal governance and law, challenging the fundamentals of jurisprudence related to Personhood, Responsibilities, Contracts, Liabilities, Creativity, IPR, e-commerce, data protection and security, ethics and so on, RGSOIPL has structured a one semester interdisciplinary course titled “Artificial Intelligence and Law” to address the rapidly-evolving jurisprudence in this area. This is to prepare students, law students in particular, and to familiarize them with diverse issues arising from the interface of AI and Law, and the influence of these issues on the creation of an acceptable international legal regime, keeping in mind the operative trans-border nature of such evolving technologies.

The law school can lay claim to another distinction. It runs the Government of India’s Kiran-IPR programme, the only one to do so in the eastern region. This is a programme for woman scientists training in IP for one year. Every year, woman scientists who qualify a national entrance test are trained in IP law. This programme is also for women who have specialized in science but have had a break in their career for social or family compulsions. IIT Kharagpur, through RGSOIPL and its other departments, schools and centres, allows these women to go back to the mainstream.

RGSOIPL’s faculty are a vibrant group drawn from different disciplines of law. They also teach across different IIT departments, conduct various international, governmental as well as sponsored industrial research projects. The school invites several guest faculty, adjunct faculty, industry experts to build practical exposure to students in different areas of law. Workshops, clinical legal courses, court room exercises provide the students in-house training in practical aspects. Its alumni are in important positions in industry, law firms, practice, institutions and academia. Many other former students have started new ventures.

The amalgamation of law, science and technology that is seen in RGSOIPL follows from the able guidance and wider vision of IIT Kharagpur’s distinguished alumni who, given their extensive national and international exposure, continue to help the institute chart its future course. They not only provide the right advice, but they also contribute generously to fulfil each of its dreams. Vinod Gupta, who provided the seed money for RGSOIPL, is among the many IITians who have contributed to the culture of “giving back” to their alma mater.

RGSOIPL has grand plans for the future. It is radically refurbishing its curriculum to introduce new courses. It is planning to create a group of paralegal volunteers who will work with the District Legal Services. Prof. Padmavati hopes that the recently launched legal cell will eventually go online in order to provide legal assistance to a larger number of people. It goes without saying that as in all other endeavors, RGSOIPL, is also looking forward to the advice and support of the Institute’s alumnus to achieve its goals.