CHENNAI:A 6.9 billion dollars was the cost Indian companies had to dish out as intellectual property (IP) royalty in the year 2013. This steep figure accounted for almost 18 per cent of the nations’ Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that year, said former Supreme Court judge, Justice AR Lakshmanan.
The IP royalty cost grew by more than two billion dollars in a matter of three years from 2009. As technology requiring large number of patents and trademark sprout everyday, the expenditure towards intellectual property has also skyrocketed.
In the past four years alone India’s IP expenditure increased by 57.43 per cent and is on the upward curve. The royalties paid on design and tech is particularly higher. “Community chat, cloud control, monitoring systems, identity determination, monitoring through GPS, disaster management are just some examples of new tech penetration in the country. The range of tech used in India now, both urban and rural is extensive. The focus on improving local manufacture led by Make in India should lead way to incurring less money spent on design and technology thereby reducing IP expenditure,” said the chief guest and former Supreme Court judge, Justice A R Lakshmanan, speaking at a two-day workshop conducted by the IIT-Madras on Friday.
The event was jointly organised with IP Dome strategy advisor, a private company, centering on theme, ‘Strategies for growth in the rea of IP rights’.
Speaking on a similar vein, Swapna Sundar, Managing Director, IP Dome stated, “With the Make in India goal ahead, the focus can shift back to the much needed manufacturing sector’s growth. And for this, the industry needs to regularly interact with academia on issues like IP.”
What is iP
Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the intellect for which a monopoly is assigned to designated owners by law
■ From 2009, IP royality cost grew by more than two billion dollars in 3 years
■ In 2013, Indian companies dish out 6.9 billion dollars as intellectual property royality