IPR protection:Govt wants to engage schools to drive awareness

To protect intellectual property rights (IPRs), government is looking at engaging the education sector to help deepen awareness on the important aspect, a senior official said today.
"Government is taking IP education and awareness programme right to schools and universities," controller- general of patents, design & trademarks, department of industrial & policy promotion, OP Gupta told an event on IPR organised by the industry lobby CII here.
Gupta said government has asked National Council of Educational Research & Training to include IP in the syllabus.
The Niti Aayog has also identified schools which will be housing "IP tinkering labs" to help students learn about intellectual property, he added.

Gupta also said the time taken for granting trademarks and patents to domestic companies has "come down considerably" to encourage companies to file more patents and protect their innovations."
Meanwhile, Maharashtra principal secretary for skill development & entrepreneurship Aseem Gupta said the economy can take off well with better IPR protection.
"The question is how do small and medium enterprises get resources for getting IP protection? We need to impart knowledge, handhold them especially startups," he said, adding signing non-disclosure agreements is important for startups.
Gupta also said Maharashtra would like to partner with the industry lobby grouping for IP facilitation.