Page 9 - WINGS OF AGRI-INNOVATIONS

CHAPTER 1

Intellectual Property Management at Public Research Institutions

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) have become crucial in the fast changing and emerging scenario of trade
environment, which is characterized by evolving and ever-changing global competition, high innovation risks,
small product cycles, necessity for rapid and continuous technology changes and improvements, growing
needs for investments in research and development (R&D), production, marketing and demand for highly
skilled human capital.

Hence, IP management at the research and academic institutions becomes an essential tool to protect their
scientific research, technologies and innovations created out of collaborative and/or consultancy projects,
along with the innovation within the institutions which are commercialised through licensing and partnerships.
IP management at research institutions and universities relates to protecting every form of intellectual
property generated as a result of research including inventions, technologies, databases, publications,
software, algorithms, branding and logos etc.

Good IP management practices are not limited to protecting the various intellectual properties, but also
involves developing human resources trained in IP management skills.
"Owning the intellectual property is like owning land: You need to keep investing in
it again and again to get a payoff; you can't simply sit back and collect rent." Intellectual Property (IP) Management at ICAR- Indian Agriculture Research Institute
IP management practices at ICAR-IARI have evolved incessantly according to the changes in the policies at
institutional and national levels. The IARI now holds structured and well laid down IP management protocols
and guidelines for the protection of various forms of intellectual properties generated by the institute. It is
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based on the IPR framework of the ICAR as laid down in its “Guidelines for IP Management and Technology
Transfer Commercialization”, which are in conformation to the current national IPR laws and policies,
legal framework of TRIPS Agreement, provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the
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International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA). Utmost efforts are
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being made continuously for the harmonization of the new guidelines and / or amendments, if any, with the
related national and international laws and relevant norms through reviews, revision and reassessment.

1. ICAR, 2018. ICAR Guidelines for Intellectual Property Management and Technology Transfer/Commercialization (Revised in 2018)Indian Council
of Agricultural Research, New Delhi.
2. The WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), negotiated during the 1986-94 Uruguay Round,
introduced intellectual property rules into the multilateral trading system for the first time.
3. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is the international legal instrument for “the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable
use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources” that has been ratified
by 196 nations. It entered into force on 29 December 1993.
4. International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The
objectives of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture are the conservation and sustainable use of all plant
genetic resources for food and agriculture and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use, in harmony with the Convention
on Biological Diversity, for sustainable agriculture and food security.

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