Pune: CSIR-NCL hosts Roundtable on “Patenting of Inventions from Biotechnology and Medtech fields”
Pune, 4th September 2024: Under a collaborative initiative between the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) and the Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO), CSIR-NCL organized a roundtable discussion on the topic of “Patenting of Inventions from Biotechnology and Biomedical fields” on August 30, 2024, at CSIR-NCL, Pune.
This partnership aimed to explore patent practices in the biotechnology and biomedical sectors within both India and Denmark. The roundtable’s objective was to understand the unique challenges and opportunities in patenting these technologies and to evaluate whether the patent examination processes need to be modernized to keep up with the rapidly evolving landscape.
Hosted by the Intellectual Property Group of CSIR-NCL, the roundtable was attended by over 40 invited candidates. Attendees included officials from all four Indian Patent Offices, examiners from the Danish Patent Office, and representatives from CSIR labs that file intellectual property in the biotech and medtech domains. Participants also included representatives from Pune-based national labs such as ICMR-NIV, NCCS, ICAR-Grape Research Institute, as well as the industrial body ASSOCHAM. Given the increasing number of startups in the biomedical field, entrepreneurs and inventors with patent filings in Denmark, along with representatives from the Atal Incubation Center at IISER-Pune and Pinnacle Industries, which regularly supports such startups, also contributed their insights.
The discussions were initiated by Prof. Dr. Unnat Pandit, Controller General of the Patents, Design & Trademark Office of India, and Dr. Louise Boisen, IPR Counsellor at The Royal Danish Embassy in India, and were moderated by Dr. Nitin Tewari, Head of the Intellectual Property Group at CSIR-NCL. The Indian Patent Office examiners provided an overview of the examination process and requirements for biotech patent applications in India, including examples from the latest Indian case laws to provide context. They also discussed non-patentable subject matter under the Indian Patents Act. Meanwhile, Danish patent examiners elaborated on patenting practices for biotech and medtech inventions in Denmark individually and under the European Patent Convention.
Dr. Nitin Tewari, during her presentation on “IP contributions of CSIR-NCL,” highlighted the strong intellectual property culture within CSIR, tracing back to the 1940s with 29 patent filings and commercialization by Dr. Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar. She emphasized CSIR’s “publish, patent, prosper” approach, their role in landmark cases involving turmeric, basmati, and neem, and the development of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) for patent offices worldwide. Dr. Tewari also showcased CSIR-NCL’s strategic use of IP, exemplified by the establishment of the Venture Center business incubator 15 years ago, which has facilitated the creation of around 15 spin-offs by CSIR-NCL scientists and students.
The roundtable concluded with several key takeaways, including the need for clear guidelines on biotech and medtech examination and search practices in the Indian context, identifying technologies open for commercialization by the Indian Patent Office, and further discussions on the requirements for the deposition of biological material in patent applications and the National Biodiversity Authority.
