How new IPR policy is start-up friendly

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How new IPR policy is start-up friendly

The IPR policy was approved by the Indian government to promote creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. The main aim of the policy is to create awareness about economic, social and cultural benefits of IPRs among all the strata of the society. India, for long, has been a part of globalisation movement and Intellectual Property Law is already in compliance with WIPO (WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION) and TRIPS (The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights),  the international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property (IP) regulation as applied to nationals of other WTO Members. However, being a country that strives to be a superpower in near future, India always lacked proper implementation of its IP Policy for strengthening its position as sought after destination of Business and Trade Investment.

In so many ways is the new policy friendly for the start-up boom. To begin with the window for the trademark registration is going to be brought down to one month. This will definitely ensure that the time taken to register trademark for a new company is reduced and made hassle free.

Among other major objectives, the policy also aims at creating conducive environment for the development of start-ups in India. The newly framed policies aim at effective laws and strengthening the already existing ones for combating infringements related to start-ups. It will also endeavour to promote, research and development through various tax benefits available under many laws and simplification of procedures for availing of direct and indirect tax benefits. Naturally this will boost the growth of start-ups which are always on a lookout for means to support their R&D. Although, farmer do not necessarily fall in the category of entrepreneurs but artisans do and this IPR policy seeks to stabilize their financial status by ensuring easy and safe flow of funds at times of need. The current government has taken some giant strides under the new IPR policy and has made efforts to ease the process of doing business in India.

India already is a start-up hub with cities like Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mumbai leading the chart and there has been some incredible growth as far as creating a support system for start-ups is concerned and with newly framed policies, more and more private companies are expected to get lured towards the Indian market. The start-up India mission is one of the few initiatives under the new IPR policy that aims to support the new start-ups.

One of the major hindrances for start-ups in India is to get their inventions patented. Sometimes, the buffer period may last up to 5 years. The process is not just tiring and time taking, it also costs big on the pocket. The IPR policy is expected to come in handy and sort this problem out. Much like the railways, there will be a TATKAL facility and also the fees for the patenting will be reduced by introducing certain amendments.

The new policy will also promote the Research and Development pre and post production by funding able projects. However, there are a few drawbacks which need to be sorted out or we can say that the government has conveniently ignored those.
It does not talk about software patenting issue in India.

1. There are no policies to discuss the matter of how to strengthen copyright protection for software, either online or for market places.
2. No clear prospective on prototyping laws and protecting and commercializing subsequent IPR issues while prototyping.

Despite a couple of drawbacks which can be easily worked upon, the new IPR policy is expected to act as a catalyst for the growth of start-ups. The proposed Support systems coupled with the provision of access to the traditional knowledge digital library is a huge advantage for new businesses. Though the doubters still are playing the waiting game advising people to give it some time, there are many are thrilled at the prospect of what is to come in near future. About how this policy will affect start-ups in the short run. We will have to wait and watch.

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