IPR laws facilitator, not barrier in process of research & development: FM

Intellectual property rights (IPR) laws, the policy are all being given a certain push as research and development are happening in very big scale in India now because the environment is being made conducive for that purpose, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday.

"So, we are trying to make them (IPR laws) as a facilitator, booster, and not certainly a barrier in the process of R&D. We've taken quite a few steps and I singularly thank the prime minister for this particular policy, which after a lot of consultation has come up in 2016," she said.

The law is a balance of protection for those who innovate, and the commercial propositions with which patents can be of use for the society, she said at the book launch event of Justice Prathiba M Singh on Patent Law.

Sharing details of the law, Sitharaman said, eight different items which have something to do with intellectual property have all been brought together under one umbrella.

Everything to do with the policy management on intellectual property rights are now under one framework, be it patents trademark, industrial designs, copyrights, geographical indications, semiconductor integrated circuit layout design, trade secrets, and also plant varieties, she said.

The legislative framework is Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) compliant, she said, adding, "it is necessarily for safeguarding IPR and as I said earlier it is trying to balance between patent protection as much as development concerns which they have to address".

Talking about steps taken encouraging greater patenting and also registering of patents, the minister said, the government has reduced the fee for startups and MSMEs and also for education institutions.

"We are fast-tracking examinations and making sure specific applicant groups are treated with a bit more care, and with efficiency," she said.

There is a particular scheme which the government has brought out called a scheme for pedagogy and research in IPRs for holistic education and academia, she added.