Innovation Protection Unit (IPU)

Towards promoting IP culture within and strengthen Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) management, CSIR had implemented Intellectual Property and Technology Management (IPTM) scheme to proactively secure and manage the Intellectual Property assets to realize monetary and strategic value from it. Since its very inception in 1942, CSIR had established a Patent Cell to look after the patenting of inventions arising out of the R & D work carried out in the CSIR labs and Institutes.

The Innovation Protection Unit of CSIR (IPU-CSIR) caters to the protection of Intellectual Property generated across CSIR in various forms such as Patents, Trademarks, Designs and Copyrights whereby it aims to capture, secure and manage the formidable intellectual property asset so as to realize appropriate and commensurate monetary and strategic value therefrom for CSIR and the nation. 

Mandate

The functions of the Innovation Protection Unit (IPU) inter alia include:

• Protection of CSIR’s inventions - file, prosecute and maintain the patents accruing from the R&D generated across CSIR labs/institutes nationally and internationally;
• Secure other forms of IPRs viz., Trademarks, Designs and Copyrights;
• Police the CSIR’s IP for infringement and enforcement of IPRs;
• Acquaintance with various aspects of IP management as well as with the changing IP laws, while also updating the IP personnel, business development group and scientists w.r.t such changes by way of training programmes / workshop;
• Stimulate and encourage increased creativity and innovation in CSIR to gain economic advantage;
• Develop skills amongst the scientists to understand, interpret and analyse the techno-legal and business information contained in patents and other IP documents;
• Manage the patent portfolio, defensively and aggressively, to forge strategic alliances / international S&T collaborations, to gain business advantage and ward off competition;
• Mobilize and influence national and international thinking on IP related issues and concerns; and
• Creation of IP awareness among School Students, Scientists, Academicians and others who want to protect their IPs. 

The CSIR IP policy aims:

"To maximise the benefits to CSIR from its intellectual capital by stimulating higher levels of innovation through a judicious system of rewards, ensuring timely and effective legal protection for its IP and leveraging and forging strategic alliances for enhancing the value of its IP". 

About IPU

Effective management of Intellectual Property Rights has placed CSIR as an organization on the global IPR radar. CSIR adopted a centralized operation for its IPR protection.

The in-house Patent Cell/Unit was upgraded into Intellectual Property Management Division (IPMD) in 1995, now renamed as Innovation Protection Unit (IPU), to meet the post-WTO challenges in IP generation, protection and capacity building. Hence, with the coming into force of WTO, this Unit took up the professional management of Intellectual Property (IP) as a valuable resource. IPU has made massive efforts in the capacity building on diverse aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), Innovation and Technology Management.

The Innovation Protection Unit (IPU) protects the intellectual property generated as a result of important R&D activities carried out across CSIR Laboratories/Institutes as well as those generated by EMR grantees of CSIR, and CSIR schemes like NMITLI projects; at national and international level. The activities encompass protection of all types of intellectual property that include Patents, Trademarks, Designs, Copyrights, etc. The activities pertaining to obtaining patents in India and that of securing Patents, Trademarks, Designs, Copyrights is totally done in-house.

The activities thus cover the patentability assessment and framing of the techno-legal-commercial patent application as per the requirements of the different countries, prosecuting these to secure the IP rights and subsequently safeguarding and maintaining the CSIR’s IP property. It also encompasses Pre-Grant and Post-Grant Oppositions / Litigation.

Recently, IPU has initiated a comprehensive Thematic Review of CSIR’s IP portfolio in accordance with the eight themes of CSIR.

The activities pertaining to the compliance of the IPR issues related to the Biological Diversity Act of India, 2002 were also initiated at IPU as early as 2005; which included complete procedure for seeking approval of the National Biodiversity Authority in the case of inventions involving Biological Resources obtained from/occurring in India. The activity entails filing the application for approval, receiving approvals from the NBA by way of execution of Access and Benefit sharing [ABS] agreements and; and filing the approvals with the Indian Patent Office for compliance.

In addition to securing IP rights, IPU is also involved in vetting of all the MoUs and agreements of CSIR vis-à-vis the IP clauses.

IPU’s mandate also includes developing Human Resource in the field of IPR which includes conducting IP co-ordinators meet to harmonise the IP practices across all CSIR labs; provide on the job training to the TIFAC woman Scientists; provide short term internship to graduates; organize seminar/conference/meets in association with HRDC, URDIP, IPO and law firms on different aspects of IP management.

In an endeavour to create IP awareness among School Students, IPU annually hosts the CIASC - CSIR Innovation Award for School Children. The awarded proposals are provided all support to register their IPRs.