The Council for Industrial and Scientific Research (CSIR) is the top producer of Intellectual Property in India. Over the past 40 years CSIR has filed over 3000 patents. CSIR employs about 10,000 scientists across 45 labs in India. Many of them hold PhD degrees from the top educational institutions in India.
Top Indian Patent Filing Companies/Organizations, 1968-2004
| Applicant | No of Patents |
|---|---|
| CSIR | 3083 |
| HLL | 946 |
| Hoechst | 766 |
| Siemens | 685 |
| Westinghouse Electric Corp | 477 |
| Union Carbide | 365 |
| Proctor & Gamble | 337 |
| Riter AG Maschif | 336 |
| Lucas Ind Plc | 326 |
| ICI Plc | 308 |
Every year till 2005 CSIR filed the maximum number of patent applications in the Indian Patent office. However, in 2006 that changed. Microsoft emerged out of nowhere to become the top applicant of Indian patents in 2006.
Top ten Indian patent applicants in 2006
| Applicant | No of Patents |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Corp | 584 |
| CSIR | 476 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 271 |
| Qualcomm Inc | 249 |
| Honda Motor Co Ltd | 237 |
| Samsung Electronics | 216 |
| Konink Philips Electric | 194 |
| Thomson Licensing SA | 157 |
| Hindustan Lever Ltd | 146 |
| Motorola Inc | 145 |
In 2006 there were 28,882 patents filed in India. Of these only 5,314 patents originated in India. The majority (19,768) originated abroad with 6,955 patent applications originating in the US.
Patent Filings in India by Country of Origin in 2006
While it is great that CSIR owns a large number of Indian patents, we must realize that they do not go and commercialize their ideas. So in effect these patents largely remain ideas in their scientists' head.
Contrast this with Tata Motors. In the process of making Nano, Tata Motors filed just 34 patents. This is a minuscule number by any standards. But can you imagine the immense value this one car is bringing to Tata Motors and to India? Tata used not only its own 34 patented components but also existing patented components from other car companies to put together an innovative car in ways thought impossible before.
Chandrayaan was a grand success. Again in its creation a lot of intellectual property was created by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) scientists. I am not sure ISRO chose to patent these ideas. However, it is clear that lots of new ideas were generated in achieving the moon mission.
The World Bank Institute offers a formal definition of a knowledge economy as one that creates, disseminates, and uses knowledge to enhance its growth and development. For sometime now it has been claimed that India is at the forefront of this new knowledge driven world. But the truth is we are still not there.
We have to create a culture of innovation. To do that we have to encourage innovation. We have to learn how to identify innovation and we have to learn how to reward it. We have been flaunting the low cost of our moon mission. But the truth is that has been achieved by underpaying the scientists who made the mission possible. Very few of the components used in the mission were bought off the shelf. Most of them were unique and innovative components that the ISRO scientists created. So in effect the intellectual property cost of the mission was kept artificially low by underpaying for the innovations.
While it is true that we have the ingredients to become a leading knowledge economy, we are still not marshaling our resources properly to achieve this. We have one of the largest pool of technical manpower in the world with our universities producing over half a million engineering, mathematics and science graduates every year. We have a vibrant entrepreneurial and business community. We have a large Indian Diaspora working in high technology in the US and other western nations. But in spite of all this we continue to be a net user of intellectual property. We need to change that quickly.
Hi,
ReplyDeletegood research from you. thanks a lot.
let me tell you ,what I have seen hitherto.
1.Post independence we didn't have any technical education to cater 70-80 crores people( there were some 7 IITS and 10+ NITS + some small time colleges in states). the people had opportunity to study only Arts , languages,accountancy etc. many people joined this courses just to put that they have done BA/B.com in their wedding invitations ,so that they can get enough dowry . those who were good in these BA/B.com Joined Banks , Teachers in Language ,History etc . so there was no point to expect a innovation/patents from them.
2.Post reforms in India i,e after 1991, I find Only the Trojan Horses in the name of MNC/TNC's . we people are very happy to work in a office which has AC,can get Credit cards, can have foreign visit. so we are in a hurry to get trained on computers from NIIT's. If we have money, then we can afford a to join a engineer course!.
It is better we talk less on products of these engineering colleges ( I did graduation in Electronics, I don't think that I will teach my children how a Transistor works .I know NPN and PNP junctions. god know why we should have them as NPN and PNP ) it is the same thing with majority youth. World bank reported in 2007 , that only 10-15% of the Indian graduates are eligible for some kind of employment .
My lecturers( majority) used to teach in college, just because they didn't find any other employment. how can you expect a disciple of such people to file patent :)
what has globalization brought to India? my answer is Pizzas,Burgers,multiplexes,Malls,Beauty parlors( for our women :) ).
I have seen some people saying that they are part of development team in a software company. the thought or objective of the development arises somewhere in US and they outsource it to here. we are more happy to write a program than to test the code. Programming is nothing more than some 50 keywords arranging in a required manner! we work for 5 days in a week (they call so ) and take 2 days rest/week.
is it justified to take a rest of 2days/weeks ? ,see i'm not saying that there shouldn't be a leisure to an individual. I find that people are just thinking that they have done something which others can't do. So the habit has become a menace to India,which resulted in india being a knowledge dessert with some oasis( the Pan IITs )
I expect a proportional a representation in patents too , we must file thrice the American( ~300 million people) patents ( we are of 1100million people).
I know, India has produced greatest scientists in world. I have respect towards them, we must invent things in India,our thoughts should power the world! India is not just a mere infosys or wipro .we have to march towards creating many googles and microsofts( I have taken service sector as an example. it is the same with other sectors ).the first step towards this is to provide "Inclusive Education" to our children.
In a nutshell, we( majority ) study just because we have a pressure in family ,if not we study just for fame :). God take my country to the highest possible Heights!
L.V.S.- I think that even if small-scale manufacturers have made innovations in their manufacturing processes, they may not always go out and get these patented. They may find the process of getting a patent too cumbersome.
ReplyDeleteLarge -scale manufacturers and institutes like the CSIR may find this easier.
It's Chinese new year's eve today, I wish you a Happy OX year!
ReplyDelete牛年快乐，身体健康，万事如意！
Agree with your post. CSIR does a tremendous job like you say but they donot care whether the innovation is put to pratical use, or if the innovation has practical application. We need to develop systems approach.
ReplyDeleteI believe that America is way ahead of us because of three reasons: Patriotism, systems approach and positive attitude of its people reflected in their government too. We are lagging on all three accounts. The day we become patriotic, we (educated Indians) would create systems that would benefit India and Indians first, and everyone around us would develop a positive attitude, and get over their cynicism. I firmly believe that technology, patents, and everything else in national life are linked to these three attributes of its people. I need to change....WE NEED TO CHANGE. Let's celebrate the Republic Day tomorrow with joy and pride, as a first step. Sorry for the long comment.
Comments are always welcome....especially long ones....often the comments are more instructive than my articles.
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