Tamil Nadu Technology Development and Promotion Centre (TNTDPC), a joint initiative of the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), organised a one-day awareness seminar on ‘tellectual Property Rights’ here on Wednesday.
According to a release, the objective was to sensitise about IPR and their protection amongst MSMEs and individuals and to identify protectable products/processes and enable the participants to understand the purpose of using IP information, particularly relating to patents and designs, for further research and development of new product and process for business development.
M Mohammed Habibulla, Senior Examiner of trademarks and GI, stated that: “India is gradually metamorphosing into an innovation factory by exploiting its human capital. The significance of signing the Madrid Protocol is that trademarks can be filed from over 90 countries in one single language with one set of fees and application and this has increased the patenting filing rate from 40 per cent to 78 per cent in the month of February and March.”
Subhajit Saha, Head of Tamil Nadu Technology Development and Promotion Centre of the CII, said: “MSME should utilise IP as a business tool and should not limit themselves to patent alone.
Rohini Sridhar, Chairperson, CII Madurai Zone & COO & Director - Medical Services - Apollo Specialty Hospitals, stressed that innovation and IP go hand in hand and all industries should utilise IP for gaining competitive advantage.
The seminar was attended by representatives from MSMEs, individuals and academia from Madurai, the release added.