CII-TS MOOTS COVID INNOVATION AND IP POOL

The Author is Ms. Aashita Khandelwal, a student of 3rd-year B.B.A LL.B. (HONS.) from School of Law, Jagran Lakecity University, Bhopal.

A healthy and creative mind leads to innovation. Innovation leads to the development and growth of the economy of the country. A unique and legit innovation needs recognition and recognition can be obtained only through legal registration. The Outbreak of the Covid-19 crises has provided an opportunity for challenging thoughts to bring a change in the business environment.

India has occupied significant results by transferring meaningful technology from the labs to the market. Withal, extraordinary times entail extraordinary efforts and start-ups incubated in Bharat square measure taking the fight against COVID-19 to the subsequent level by developing technologies and medical devices on a war footing.

COVID-19 the outbreak has wreaked havoc across the world with ramifications poised to surpass any catastrophe in our living memory. It is believed that the fightback will start with the out-of-the-box innovative solutions and our ecosystem to change the course of this raging pandemic. Innovations in India has been undertaken in screening, diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines, containment strategies and public health. The Confederation of Indian Industry-Telangana (CII-TS) needs tiny and medium enterprises(SMEs)and different stakeholders to assume creatively once naming product and processes they're developing as solutions for COVID-19 problems.  It will help them to protect their interest and preserve their rights over the optimistic innovation and will bring safeguard measures for innovative thinkers. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the development of India, partnering industry, Government, and civil society, through advisory and consultative processes.

One of the foremost roles of the Confederation of Indian Industry-Telangana is to encourage and provoke small and medium enterprises and other stakeholders to think creatively while naming products and processes they are developing as a solution for COVID – 19 issues. Many small and medium scale industries have initiated a new business streamline to fight with the pandemic issues as a result of which their innovations are accepted by the authorities.

Many firms may be ignorant of the actual fact that they will find themselves going into other’s Intellectual Property (IP) and brands. Thus, filing for COVID related marks now may not yield the expected outcome. Alternatively, it may also lead them into a legal battle with brand owners. It must be kept in mind that each innovation should be preserved with a unique identity clause to avoid legal actions. Unawareness regarding registration of intellectual property can push many industries into a legal hole and it may lead to the abolishment of the new start-up. For the prevention of rights, it is necessary to get registration under the Intellectual Property Rights Act.

This becomes important given of a surge witnessed globally in filing trademarks for coronavirus and COVID related marks. Many opportunists have invented modern technologies and medical equipment which is helping humanity as well as the economy of the country. Such renowned inventions need to be protected from the curse of the legal hole. The need for reserving a unique name for the inventions has an important role so that the product can be protected from getting banned.

Ideally, SMEs and different stakeholders ought to use their inventive acumen throughout this era to consider new names for his or her product and method to be launched and explore to file IPs which could be the game-changer for them post the COVID-19 crisis. Log9Materials, a Sequoia and Exfinity funded start-ups, has to return up with associate degree innovative, first-of-its-kind product named CoronaOven that produces use of UV-C lightweight together with important style parameters to effectively sanitize the surfaces of assorted products/objects of normal use in healthcare and home settings, therefore preventing surface-to-human transmission of COVID-19.

 Graduated from TIDES, Log9 Materials developed this technology within two weeks, beating the lockdown challenges, and it is now ready for mass deployment.

Urging innovators to use IPR judiciously in the time of Covid-19 crisis, the apex trade and industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) proposed setting up of ‘COVID Innovation and IP Pool’ to accelerate the pace of innovation as well as its adoption. As per CII, there has been a surge in the number of applicants filing trademarks for 'Coronavirus' and 'COVID' related marks and many firms might be unaware of the fact that they may end up stepping into other's IP and brands which may result in a legal battle with brand owners later.

There is a pool of opportunities for the universities to file Intellectual Properties on Covid-19 related research and get their due recognition as after the crisis there might be instances of multiple innovators claiming rights on the same innovation.

Understanding the need for copyright and trademark is crucial for the innovators to secure their researches and securing the market with recognition. Many innovations have taken places such as hand sanitizers, face masks, PPE kits, ventilators and other medical equipment to overcome the pandemic crises. But only a few innovators have considered the importance of Intellectual Property to secure their innovations.

CII-TS Chairman Krishna Bodanapu said a patent is a form of IP where exclusivity is offered for offering innovative solutions. In the wake of the severe health risks and harm caused by COVID-19 worldwide, this may be associate degree acceptable instance to curtail exclusivity by forming a COVID Innovation and science Pool for licensing and transfer of technology at easier terms. Such a move can alter quicker implementation.

 COVID Innovation and IP Pool is an immense measure taken by the CII-TS for the ease of the implementation of the license and other legal formalities. Every innovator should get aware of the initiative taken by the CII-TS so that they can be prevented from getting into a legal battle with the brand owners. This step does not provide only safety but also provide confidence regarding obstacle-free survival.

The discussion led to an agreement on two main goals.

The primary was to accelerate innovative research to assist contain the proliferation of the epidemic and facilitate care for those affected. The second was to support research priorities that contribute to global research platforms in hopes of learning from the current pandemic response to higher brace oneself for the ensuing unforeseen epidemics. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the development of India, partnering industry, Government, and civil society, through advisory and consultative processes.