Overwhelming response to Workshop @ Sardar Patel Inst. of Tech., Mumbai

Hello.

I had an opportunity to address 50+ students of Sardar Patel Inst. of Technology (SPIT) located at Andheri in Mumbai this Wed.-5th Oct 2011 thanks to the initiative taken by Prof. Talele.

We started off by discussing an NEN initiative whereby one is supposed to start a business with Rs.50 & it has aroused a lot of interest in campuses.

One of the student thought of an idea of selling popcorn in campuses during movies, college fest etc. and then I pushed them to think of a brand name for the same. One of the suggestion was "TIME PASS" after which I shared with them what could happen if the business grows & the brand is not protected!!

There were a lot of questions around patenting software since the Institute is focused on Information Technology & clearly some disappoint since software cannot be patented in India!!

But nonetheless, students were very hungry to know about Intellectual Property in general & it's implications.

One interesting question was posed by a lady Faculty who asked "What would happen if an individual X who was first to file a provisional patent compared to an individual Y who filed the patent subsequently but failed to file the final patent application in time which would mean the application is no more valid. Would individual Y now have the right to make a claim for the same invention": What do the readers make of the same; let me know your thoughts..

Also another question revolved around applicability of copyright for translation of original work.

All in all, a very interesting & enlightening session with students all of which took place due to the initiative of Prof. Talele who is keen to start engaging students & faculty for patenting of ideas and subsequently set up an Incubator in campus.

Kudos to him & hope you have a wonderful weekend!!!

Welcome back!! There are promises to be kept

Dear Bencil Speaks Blog followers,

Welcome back to our blog after a long sabbatical.

There are promises to keep and I promise this is a start of a new, more powerful engagement with all the followers of Bencil Speaks.

I have now dedicated 30 minutes in my work schedule and you will see an update from me atleast 3 times a week i.e. Mon., Wed. & Fri.

Here is an article link on "Intellectual Property & Entrepreneurship" which was published this month in Amity Innovation Incubator's Newsletter.

The link is : http://www.amity.edu/aii/emailer/shownews.asp?q=6

Look forward to your views & feedback on the article.

Cheers..

Rajeev

Overwhelming response to Tech Transfer Workshop

We have conceptualised a Technology Transfer Workshop which is taking place on 12 & 13 August. I was frankly surprised by the super duper response for the same with calls pouring in right through to accommodate Innovators in the Workshop; especially from Students.

This goes on to prove the desire amongst Innovators to take their ideas to the market and emergence of students to convert their projects into reality!!

I am convinced that engaging with Innovators and viewing the situation from their perspective will go a long way in commercialising their ideas.

Am very excited at the Workshop, will keep all of you posted.

Ciao for now..

The wait is over.. Results of IPQ survey!!

So the wait is over....

Here the results of IPQ survey: -

A#1: Intangible property such as ideas or creative work (100% correct response)

A#2: Ability to exclude others from using his IP w/o prior permission (100% correct response)

A#3: What is not a form of IP: Technology (55% correct response)

A#4: Do you require a prototype for filing patent: No (not surprisingly only 61% correct response)f

A#5: Does IP right exist after death of owner: Yes (89% correct response)

A#6: Sold | Licensed | Mortgaged (not in India at the moment) | Litigation (0% response with all 4 options)

A#7: Can a Movie be patented: No (only 56% correct response)

A#8: If BENCIL is a brand of pencil in market, can another co. launch it's range of pencil with the same name: Only if the pencil is launched in another country where BENCIL is not sold at that point of time (0% correct response)

A#9: How much according to you is Innovation directly linked to IP: Avg. Rating of 3.56 / 4 (Very high)

A#10: Do you think IP will matter to you even more in the years to come: Yes (94%)

Some expected responses but overall very interesting insights which will be very useful in shaping the book..

Look forward to your thoughts on what you would like covered in the book as also your thoughts on the survey.

Cheers..

Rajeev

BENCIL Speaks would like to check your IPQ

Hi, would you not like to know your IPQ (Intellectual Property Quotient) just like you test your IQ.

BENCIL Speaks wants you to complete a quick survey (less than the time it takes to make Maggi noodles) to help us understand your Intellectual Property Quotient.

No techno legal terms but very interesting questions you can relate to.

Your response will go a long way in understanding knowledge gaps and perceptions for my upcoming book on IP Basics.

Thanks and will post correct answers on blog after closure of survey on 18th July.

The survey link is: -

Click here to take survey

Insights into Technology Licensing Deals in Agri. sector

My interns, Satish & Monika have been working hard with me to compile data on Technology Licensing deals in Agriculture sector in India for the last 2 months and gather insights on active segments for deal making, valuation methodology, type of entrepreneurs etc.

Finally, they managed to put together 333 (magical, isn't it) active deals in the entire agriculture value chain in India across 18 Agri. Research Institutes.

Interesting Analysis: -

a. Top Segments for deal making: Agri. Machinery, Sericulture & Agri. Inputs

b. Most popular valuation methodology: Cost followed by Cost + Market approach

c. Licensee (Entrepreneurs) category: 67%-SMEs | 31.5%-Corporate | 1.5%-NGO

d. Highest upfront payment per technology: Rs.15,00,000

e. Average Royalty Rate: 2.72% (Min.: 2% | Max.: 5%)

Institutes focusing on high technology such as biochemicals, neem based value added products such as bio pesticides commanded high price whereas technology adaptation in agri. implements commanded a low price which makes perfect commercial sense!!

The full version of the compilation will be put on the blog on Sunday, so watch out for it!!

Dwelling into the mind of Inventors

I have just updated my profile with a picture of myself standing with a mask of Einstein who is and will be regarded as one of the greatest Scientists aka Inventor of all time!!

But it is ironic the stereotypical image we have created of Scientists /Techies / Inventors of being a geek oblivious of what is happening around him and nothing illustrates it better than the conversation over coffee in office today.

My colleague Yeshesvini and myself happened to meet a Telecom Researcher over coffee today and happened to ask him "What do you do" to which he responded "Research in creating Standards" and the obvious follow-up question was "What are the applications of your work" to which he responded saying they do industry projects and follow a public-private partnership model after which we ended our conversation.

Yeshesvini drew parallels and took a simple example"I asked him how much is Tomato worth" and he responded with an answer on the worth of Potato!!

The insight we drew was Scientists & Inventors are very inward looking and therefore very often not able to relate to the "outward world" which I believe should be a big lesson coz' therein lies the challenge and opportunity!!

Look forward to different views & perspective.

Ciao till the next post..