Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. IP is protected in law by, for example, patents, copyright and trademarks, which enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create.

IPR protection is critical to fostering innovation. It aids to the businesses and individuals to reap the full benefits of their ideas, inventions and creativity further encouraging them to focus more creation of intellectual properties.

IPR commercialization is critical for encouraging the investment in R&D and encouraging the creators of such IPRs. It also encourages the creators of the IPRs to share their creations with the world and make them available for public use. Without IPRs, many existing innovations would be kept secret, and third parties would have to re-invent (or to steal) them to have access to them.

Patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs, plant breeders and farmers’ rights, geographical indications, and layout design for integrated circuits are the intellectual property rights protections are available in India.

A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that provides a new technical and inventive solution to a problem. To get a patent, technical information about the invention must be disclosed to the public in a patent application.

Any invention, that is a new product or process involving an inventive step and capable of industrial application, having feature(s) that involves technical advance as compared to the existing knowledge or having economic significance or both and that makes the invention not obvious to a person skilled in the art, and not a prohibited subject matter under the patent law is patentable.

Prior art is any evidence that your invention is already known. Prior art constitutes those references or documents which may be used to determine. novelty and/or non-obviousness of claimed subject matter in a patent application.

A provisional patent application is a legal document filed with the patent office that establishes an early filing date, but does not mature into an issued patent unless the applicant files a regular non-provisional patent application within one year.

Copyright (or author’s right) is a legal term used to describe the rights that creators have over their literary and artistic works. Works covered by copyright range from books, music, paintings, sculpture, and films, to computer programs, databases, advertisements, maps, and technical drawings.

A trademark is a sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises.

An Invention should be disclosed under non-confidentiality agreement (NDA). Such NDA should comprise of necessary protective clauses for dissemination of information pertaining to the invention.

It is always advised that no publication, public disclosure or public use should be done before filing for patent application. However, in case any such public disclosure has already been done, then one should apply for the patent in India within 12 months of such disclosure.

A Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) is a contract that governs the transfer of materials between institutions for use in research. Materials may include cell lines, plasmids, nucleotides, proteins, transgenic animals, plant varieties, bacteria, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals.

It is the process of conveying results stemming from scientific and technological research to the market place and to wider society, along with associated skills and procedures, and is as such an intrinsic part of the technological innovation process.

A licensing agreement is a written contract between two parties, in which a property owner permits another party to use that property under a specific set of parameters. A licensing agreement or license agreement typically involves a licensor and a licensee. The most common types of licensing agreements include technology (patents), trademarks (merchandise), copyright and trade secrets (know-how) licensing agreements.

Technology Transfer Office (TTO) is the office that is responsible for IP protection and technology transfer and other aspects of the commercialization of research. TTOs engage in a variety of commercial activities that are meant to facilitate the process of bringing research developments to market, often acting as a channel between academia and industry.