The National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy, recently approved by Union Cabinet, is a major development facilitated by the Government of India to spur creativity and stimulate innovation.
An IPR Task Force was constituted with the Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology (UCOST) director general Rajendra Dobhal being nominated as a member of the committee which would work-out on the strategy for implementation of Department of Science and Technology action points of National IPR Policy.
The action points include focus on improving IPR output of national laboratories, universities, technology institutions and other researchers by encouraging and facilitating the acquisition of Intellectual Property Rights by them. Action will also be focused on encouraging researchers in public funded academic and research and development institutions in IPR creation by linking it with research funding and career progression. Further, encouraging researchers in public funded academic and research and development institutions by having uniform guidelines for division of royalties between the organisations and individual innovators has also been included as an action point. According to information provided by the UCOST, the rationale for National IPR Policy lies in the need to create awareness about the importance of IPRs as a marketable financial asset and economic tool. With the vision statement to encourage innovation in science and technology, arts and cultural, traditional knowledge and biodiversity resources; new objectives of IPR policies were formulated.