The Hindu Business Line : `Patents Act change can trigger spurt in IP violations'

Many countries have made a special provision in their Constitutions that in case of incompatibility with international treaty obligations, the national law shall prevail.

Thiruvananthapuram , July 25

AMENDMENTS to the Patents Act will require research and development institutions and technology-driven companies to deal with frequent instances of intellectual property violation.

This warning was found in the keynote address by Dr A. D. Damodaran, former director, Regional Research Laboratory-Thiruvananthapuram (RRL-T), at the inauguration of a two-day workshop on patents, designs, trademarks and copyrights at the Institution of Engineers Hall.

The Centre for Intellectual Property Management at the Institution of Engineers (India), Kerala State Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, organised the workshop.

In his address, Dr Damodaran outlined the functions of intellectual property management. These include use of patent databases for evaluation of technology trends, valuation of intellectual property and equipping managements to work out corporate R&D strategy. Patent filing expertise is essential for technology followers, he added.

Earlier, Mr R. V. Perumal, Director (Projects), Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, inaugurated the programme. In his address, Dr Perumal dwelt on the need to bring about a competitive business environment, which would have a beneficial rub-off effect on the consumer. But, fair competition through innovation presupposes a strong intellectual property regime, Dr Perumal added.

In his address, Mr V. Govindarajulu, Head, Intellectual Property Management Division, RRL-T, gave an overview of the Patents Act and its amendments in comparison to international patent laws.

Many countries have made a special provision in their Constitutions that in case of incompatibility with international treaty obligations, the national law shall prevail. This is true for India and the US, he said.

Mr V. P. Balagangadharan, Head, Technology Transfer and Industrial Coordination Division, VSSC, dealt with drafting and filing of patent applications and clarified that a patent specification was not a `know-how document'.

Mr Benoy Kadavan, Advocate, underlined the efficacy of trademarks protection. He also explained how these can be used during the monopoly phase of patent protection in creating a lasting brand value for the product, which may be exploited even after patent protection has expired.

Dr K. V. Valsarajan, Chairman, IE(I), Kerala State Centre, said the promotion of inventions was a Charter objective of the Institution of Engineers.

The Centre for Intellectual Property Management will be a resource hub for inventors besides being a think-tank to intervene with the Government on intellectual property matters.

Inventors from institutions in the South made a series of case study presentations on patented inventions.

These inventions related to processes for extraction of natural products, natural plant protection, chemicals formulations, innovative power supply and metering equipment, electrical signal slip rings for rotating devices, new polymeric materials, equipment for pollution control, biomedical devices and new magnetic fluid materials.