Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DIPP) has published its “Draft Model Guidelines on Implementation of IPR Policy for Academic Institutions” under the “Creative India; Innovative India” scheme.
The guidelines have been prepared by Cell for IPR Promotion & Management (CIPAM) and are based on the “Guidelines on Developing Intellectual Property Policy for Universities and R&D Organizations, WIPO, Geneva”. The guidelines also borrow from intellectual property policies of other universities published on WIPO.
In India Intellectual propertyrights are safely protected and controlled by well-being established statutory and judicial framework.
In simple terms Intellectual propertyis a property that arises from human intellect. It is a product of human creation. IP is protected in law by, for example, patents, copyright and trademarks, also called as Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), which enable people to obtain financial benefit or recognition from what they invent or create.
The universal aim of Model Guidelines on Implementation of IPR Policy for Academic Institutions is to protect the innovation techniques and helping those innovation to be exploited commercially.
OBJECTIVES OF MODEL GUIDELINES
1) To encourage innovation and creativity in the many areas like technology, sciences, and humanities by protecting new ideas and research.
2) To protect intellectual property (IP) rights created by personnel, students, and employees of the academic institution, by rendering their innovative work into IP rights.
3)To lay down an efficient and transparent process for obtaining IP rights and getting revenue generated by IP which are owned by academic institution.
4) To promote affinity between academia and industry through better lucidity on IP ownership and IP licensing.
5) To create a channel for the generation of knowledge and its commercial exploitation.
SCOPE OF THE GUIDELINES
1-These guidelines are applicable not only to the Intellectual Property generated at the academic institution, but also to all IP rights associated with them, from the date of executionof these guidelines.
2-These guidelines shall apply to all researchers who have established legal relationship with the academic institution, based on which the researcher is bound by these guidelines
3-These guidelines shall not apply in cases in which the researcher entered into an explicit arrangement to the contrary with the academic institution prior to the effective date of the guidelines, or the academic institution earlier entered into an contract with a third party which concerned with the rights and obligations set out in these guidelines.
LISCENSING AGREEMENT ANDSHARING
1-The academic institution gets the opportunity to enter into return sharing agreements with the researchers or the scholars
2- In case the IP filing costs were not borne by the academic institution, the researcher may be allowed to first deduct the costs incurred for filing of applications
3-The researcher gets a plus point that is he would get his share he is associated with the academic institution or not.
4-In the case when more than one researcher is involved in the creation of IP, all those researchers who qualify for benefit sharing in that IP may sign at the time of filing the application.
WAVIER OF IP RIGHTS BY ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS
1- The academic institution may waive its rights, if the academic institution decides not to pursue the protection of IP within a period fixed by the academic institution
2. The academic institution shall take all efforts to convey the decision to the researcher, whether to pursue or not pursue the protection of IP, within a stipulated time period, after satisfactory acknowledgement by the researcher, to the academic institution. Under all such outlook, unless explicitly agreed to, the academic institution, shall keep a non-absolute, royalty-free, irreversible, and global license to use the IP for research and educational purposes.
FEW TERMS IN REALTION TO CIPAM
1. Author- An author is as defined under Section 2(d) of the Copyright Act, 1957[1]
2. Intellectual Property- Intellectual Property, as provided under Article I[2] of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), refers to all categories of intellectual property that are subject of Sections 1 to 7 of Part II of the TRIPS Agreement.
3. Moral Rights- Moral rights are enshrined under the aegis of Section 57 of the Copyright Act, 1957[3]. They are the author’s special rights which include: the right to paternity and the right to integrity.
All users of information, documents or data within the academic institution, must ensure that the same is always held securely and all activities pertaining to such information, documents or data will be kept confidential by the users and will be used only for purpose of such activities. The academic institution shall strive to protect the data and personal information against unauthorized access, loss, destruction or breach. It is suggested to have proper nondisclosure agreements with the users in place to secure such confidential information, documents or data.
CONCLUSION
The draft provides a fast track solution to solve any conflict between two parties.
These guidelines have been drafted to entitle all the partners of the researcher of academic institution for ensuring promotion of innovation and smooth operations.
These guidelines shall be applicative to the IP created at the academic institution, as well as, all IP rights correlated with them, from the date of implementation of these norms.
[1] Section 2(d) defines author, it says “Author” means –
(1) In relation to a literary or dramatic work, the author of the work;
(2) In relation to a music work, the composer;
(3) In relation to artistic work other than a photograph, the artist;
(4) In relation to photograph, the person taking the photograph, the artist;
(5) In relation to a cinematograph film or sound recording, the producer; and (6) In relation to any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work which is computer- generated, the person who causes the work to be created.
[2]https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/27-trips.pdf
[3] Section 57 – Author’s special right: (1) Independently of the author’s copyright and even after the assignment either wholly or partially of the said copyright, the author of a work shall have the right – (a) to claim authorship of the work; and (b) to restrain or claim damages in respect of any distortion, mutilation, modification or other act in relation to the said work which is done before the expiration of the term of copyright if such distortion, mutilation, modification or other act would be prejudicial to his honour or reputation: Provided that the author shall not have any right to restrain of claim damages in respect of any adaptation of a computer programme to which clause (aa) of sub-section (1) of section 52 applies. Explanation.—Failure to display a work or to display it to the satisfaction of the author shall not be deemed to be an infringement of the rights conferred by this section. (2) The right conferred upon an author of a work by sub-section (1), other than the right to claim authorship of the work, may be exercised by the legal representatives of the author.
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