Weaknesses seen in bill on publicly funded research

The Protection and Utilization of Public Funded Intellectual Property Bill, 2008, is designed to harness the publicly funded research undertaken in universities. As such, it is similar to the Bayh-Dole Act in the United States. The bill aims to make the findings of research conducted at the universities available to industry for commercialization.

Some public institutions, including the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and the National Botanical Research Institute, already commercialize their research products and obtain patents for their inventions. However, not many universities are able to do the same. Accordingly, the Indian government has introduced the bill to enable effective exploitation of research undertaken by public sector organizations, and to streamline the link between academia and industry.

The National Knowledge Commission, which recommended the new legislation, believes the bill can unlock the value of publicly funded research in the country. The nation’s investment in such research is extensive: it is estimated that about 75% of research and development activities in the country are funded by the state.

Abhai Pandey is a lawyer with Lex Orbis IP Practice, a law firm specializing in intellectual property issues.