The National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), will host a national seminar on August 22 on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) to commemorate the launch of a month-long skill development training course in IPR.
The course, set to commence on August 16, aims to churn out professionals who could go on to become IPR experts or patent agents. A spokesman for CSIR-NIIST said Saji Gopinath, Vice-Chancellor, Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology (Digital University Kerala), will inaugurate the seminar. Experts will speak on topics ranging from fundamentals of IPR to patent laws and research.
RS Praveen Raj, Principal Scientist, CSIR-NIIST and Course Coordinator, will deliver the keynote on the ‘Philosophy of Patents.’ Others addressing the seminar on related topics include V Moni, Principal Scientist, and Nishy P, Chief Scientist, CSIR-NIIST; Ajit Prabu, Chief Scientist, and Safikh S, Technical Officer, Kerala State Council for Science, Education and Technology; and Rakesh CR, Patent Consultant.
Rewarding career
Praveen Raj, who handles IP management and technology transfer at CSIR-NIIST, told BusinessLine that a career as an IP professional (IPR attorneys, patent agents, examiner of patents or IP management experts) is highly rewarding. The one-month course, titled ‘Intellectual Property Rights, Patent drafting and Practice’, is part of skill development programmes for scientific personnel and students.
More Indians are filing patent applications, but IPR has not gained enough traction among science students in Kerala, Raj said. Global companies pay $5,000 (around ₹2 lakh) and above for preparing a patent document. “A skilled IP professional can demand service charges in tens of thousands of rupees locally. The required technical skills demand a good science background and extensive training, in addition to knowledge of IPR laws,” he added.