Cabinet approves India-Singapore MoU to give boost to innovation, creativity

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gave its approval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of Industrial Property Cooperation between Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), Ministry of Law, Government of Singapore.

The MoU will be signed at the upcoming visit of Singapore's Prime Minister to India from 4-7 October.

The MoU will enhance bilateral cooperation activities in the arena of Industrial Property Rights of Patents, Trademarks and Industrial Designs. It is intended to give a boost to innovation, creativity and technological advancement in both regions. The Priority initiatives under the MoU would be:

-Exchange of best practices, experiences and knowledge on Intellectual Property awareness among the public, businesses and educational institutions of both countries.

-Exchange of experts specialized in the field of intellectual property.

-Exchange and dissemination of best practices, experiences and knowledge on IP with the industry, universities, R & D organizations and Small and Medium Enterprises.

-Cooperation in the development of automation and implementation of modernization projects

-Partnership in IP-related training for local IP and business communities.

The MoU will enable India to exchange experiences in the innovation and IP ecosystems that will substantially benefit entrepreneurs, investor and businesses on both sides.

The exchange of best practices between the two countries will lead to improved protection and awareness about India's range of Intellectual creations which are as diverse as its people.

It will be a landmark step forward in India's journey towards becoming a major player in global innovation and will further the objectives of the National IPR Policy, 2016.