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India lacks patent law on inventions: Blackwell

The absence in India of a world-class product patent law that covers inventions consistent with World Trade Organisation norms is a serious obstacle to the promotion of public-private sector co-operation, foreign investment and thus to the economic growth of the country, US Ambassador to India Robert D Blackwill said on Friday.

Inaugurating a symposium in New Delhi on 'Managing intellectual property rights in public private partnerships' in the presence of scientific adviser to the government R Chidambaram, Blackwill said Indian and foreign firms alike will be reluctant to invest in research and development in India unless they are sure their innovations will be safe from unauthorised exploitation.

The US ambassador cautioned that each day action on this vital issue is postponed, Indian intellectual capital produced by scientists, research institutes and leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms remains underutilised or pilfered.

Lauding as excellent India's laws regarding copyright safeguards for literary works, music, theatrical performances and computer software, he said that US was looking at ways to assist India in processing quickly the estimated 30,000 pending patent applications.

Dr Chidambaram, addressing the day-long symposium, said unlike developed nations about 80 per cent of R&D funding in India is provided by the government. Not surprisingly then, most scientific advancements will come from the publicly funded institutions, which must be translated into workable and viable technologies, he said.

Stressing the need to build public-private relationship, Dr Chidambaram informed that the number of patent applications filed by Indians and Indian companies in India and elsewhere has gone up.

Blackwill observed that in modern economies the intellectual capital on which wealth formation depends comes in the first instance not from large organisations but from the original ideas of individuals.

''Tapping into this vast reservoir of intellectual power in India and in the United States is indispensable to the economic futures of our two nations,'' he stressed.

Referring to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's commitment to address the country's health, agricultural, environmental and industrial needs by increasing spending on research to two per cent of GDP by 2005, the US ambassador said this increased expenditure should result in a corresponding boost in the pace of study and innovation in India's public sector laboratories.

However, he pointed out that original research and product improvement comes not only from a strong commitment to R&D in the public arena but also through research in the private sector.

''An essential foundation of any fruitful public-private partnership that capitalises on intellectual property is a legal regime that protects innovation and encourages technology transfer,'' Blackwill added.

UNI

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