Csir Takes Lions Share Of Patents

While steep rise in the activity of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in filing patent in USA has pushed up the annual average number of patents obtained by Indian R&D organisation during post WTO phase, (January 1, 1995 onward) the public and private R&D organisations, however, are yet to have any significant share in the patenting activity.

According to a paper published in the latest issue of Current Science Journal of Current Science Association, an annual average number of patents obtained by Indian R&D organisation during post WTO phase has increased from 3.4, the average during pre-WTO phase, to 34.2. As many as 53 per cent of the total 171 patents obtained during January, 1, 1995 to September, 30,1999, is obtained by CSIR alone.

 

Authored by V K Gupta from National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies, the paper examines the trends in patenting by Indian R&D organisation in USA since WTO. Emphasizing the urgency of Indian R&D organisation to evolve a strategy of aggressively seeking protection of their intellectual property rights to compete in the international market place, the author, however, finds the performance of none of the other individual organization_private, public, and government_matching with the pioneering performance by the CSIR.

Some of the other public funded institutions which have taken patents in USA include the National Institute of Immunology-3 patents, Defense Research and Development Organization_2 patents, and Indian Space research Organisation, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology and National Informatics Centre_One patent each.

Talking about the Indian private R&D sector initiatives the drugs and pharmaceuticals takes the lead with 39 patents during the post-WTO phase. Of these 13 is been obtained by the Ranbaxy Laboratories alone.