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Raja Simhan T E

CHENNAI, Feb. 23

THE Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, is looking at `sizeable' revenue from royalty of its IPs (intellectual property). The institute got five more patents last week. Last year it got five patents for various innovations, and between 1997-2002, IIT-M filed for 25 patents. An IIT-M official said that four more patents were to be filed in a few days.

Mr S. Srinivasa Murthy, Professor, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning, and Dean, Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research (IC&SR), IIT- M, told Business Line that the institute could earn revenues of Rs 10-15 crore from royalty in the next three years, and about Rs 80 crore in 10 years when the innovations, mainly in IT and telecom, would go commercial in full stream.

The title of the invention for which patents were granted to IIT-M last week included a method to manufacture a `giant magnetostictive material' (filed in 1994), a device for measuring `elastic creep in a belt drive' (filed in 1994), a process for the preparation of `new anti-friction materials' (filed in 1994) and for a process for the preparation of `FCC Catalyst for use in petroleum refining' (process I and II and the patent was filed in 1995). It takes between six and eight years to get a patent, he added.

According to Mr Srinivasa Murthy, so far, IIT-M never thought seriously about royalty revenue. However, going forward, it would have a clear roadmap for royalty revenues, including the setting up of a separate company to manage the consultancy and industry-sponsored research. Called `The Technovator', the company would have a separate board, with IIT-M, Director, as the Chairman, and a Managing Director would be appointed to take up industrial projects from the IC&SR, he said.

In 2002, the institute got patents for innovations including `ceramic/ceramic composite members and a method of near net shape forming thereof by plasma spraying,' `micro fines circular fluid energy mill for producing ultra fine powders'', `digital Internet access systems modified as a device for simultaneously providing permanent Internet access and normal voice telephony to subscribers using conventional telephone lines,' and a `two-way process for making silicon carbide whiskers for sodium silicate'.

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