IEEE amends it Patent (FRAND) Policy endorsing royalty payment on chip and not on the product.

Readers are familiar with court cases concerning royalty payments on essential patents for standards. Licensors like Qualcomm, Ericsson demand royalty of final product (mobile phone) whereas Indian Licensee feel royalty should be on the chip and not on the mobile or other form of finished products incorporating the chip. On February 8th the standard setting organisation IEEE voted to change patent policy and these changes largely relate to the commitment of IEEE members to license patents to users of IEEE standards on terms that are “fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory” (FRAND). 
The contentious part says:

“Reasonable Rate” shall mean appropriate compensation to the patent holder for the practice of an Essential Patent Claim excluding the value, if any, resulting from the inclusion of that Essential Patent Claim’s technology in the IEEE Standard. In addition, determination of such Reasonable Rates should include, but need not be limited to, the consideration of:

• The value that the functionality of the claimed invention or inventive feature within the Essential Patent Claim contributes to the value of the relevant functionality of the smallest saleable Compliant Implementation that practices the Essential Patent Claim.
• The value that the Essential Patent Claim contributes to the smallest saleable Compliant Implementation that practices that claim, in light of the value contributed by all Essential Patent Claims for the same IEEE Standard practiced in that Compliant Implementation.
• Existing licenses covering use of the Essential Patent Claim, where such licenses were not obtained under the explicit or implicit threat of a Prohibitive Order, and where the circumstances and resulting licenses are otherwise sufficiently comparable to the circumstances of the contemplated license.

The vigorous pubic debate over the IEEE amendments highlights a rift in the standardization world between Patent Centric and Product Centric firms.  The business models that these firms have adopted are different, yet they have co-existed for decades.  Some have predicted that important contributors will leave IEEE as a result of the recent amendments. 

Qualcomm argument; 

Defining a “reasonable” royalty using controversial and unworkable valuation methodologies—including tying a royalty rate to the “smallest saleable component” of a standard-compliant device—all of which are intended to minimize licensing fees for SEPs.

Indian perspective

 IEEE endorsed a calculation based on the value of the chip inside the device, even if many other aspects of the device benefit from or use the contributed technology. This benefits local assembly of mobile phones and most other network based products and can enable Make-In-India.

Declaration of the Organic Farmers community of India at the 5th National Organic Farmers’ Convention, 2015, Chandigarh, India

the participants representing the organic farming community of India, declare:

1. Organic farming practices CAN meet all the food and nutritional needs of our nation, and it is the only sustainable way to safeguard the food security of present and future generations. The growing number of organic farmers and rising demand for organic produce is evidence of its rapid spread.
2. The IAASTD World Agriculture Report, authored by 400 international experts, including UN representatives, and endorsed by 58 nations, including India, recommends agro-ecological practices and small family farms, suitably adapted to local needs and conditions. It adds that GM crops are no solution to hunger, poverty, climate change as well as ecological, energy and economic challenges.
3. We categorically reject Genetically Modified Organisms as an unnecessary technology with numerous potential hazards. It is also an example of bad science. We also object to open field trials of GM crops, since they pose a threat to our food, farming and environment, while blatantly disregarding recommendations of several Government, Parliament and Supreme Court appointed committees.
4. We pledge to safeguard the integrity of our eco-systems and work towards the conservation, protection and re-generation of soil health, water resources, forests, biodiversity and seed sovereignty.
5. Land, water and other natural resources must be prioritized for sustainably meeting basic needs and nutritional security. Land under food cultivation must not be allowed to be diverted for other purposes through forced land acquisition. Similarly, water resources for irrigation must be directed to essential food needs rather than water guzzling monocultures of sugarcane or other industrial non-priority uses.

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XI International Salon of Inventions and New Technologies, October, 1-3 (2015) Sevastopol (Russian Federation).

X International Salon of Inventions and New Technologies and International Forum was held in Sevastopol on September 25-27, 2014. Leading innovative organizations, companies and firms from 18 countries took part in the Salon’s proceedings. India innovators interested in exploring Russian market are invited to participate in the XIth International Salon of Inventions. The business negotiations could include:

•  sell patent
• sell licenses
• find manufacturers
• find investors or financiers
• find sales agents.

Contact: 

Mr. Yuriy Skomorovskyy, Dr.S. (Biol), Prof., Gen. manager 

of Salon, +7-978-7915913, e-mail: el-voz@yandex.ru 
 

IIT Kanpur and KIIT in Global University Business Incubator ranking.

University Business Incubators (UBI) Index, is a Sweden-based global body that identifies top incubators by evaluating their performance over time. Rice University tops the list in 2014 and none from India find a place in top 25. However SIDBI incubator at IIT Kanpur is ranked in the Asia & Oceania list of top 10, also KIIT Technology Incubator gets award as Top Challenger in the same category. Both richly deserve the honour.

The Economic Contribution of University/Nonprofit Inventions in the United States: 1996- 2013,

The report, entitled, “The Economic Contribution of University/Nonprofit Inventions in the United States: 1996- 2013,” estimates that during this 18-year time period academic-industry patent licensing bolstered U.S. gross industry output by up to $1.18 trillion, U.S gross domestic product (GDP) by up to $518 billion, and supported up to 3,824,000 U.S. jobs.

2013 survey:

• 818 start-up companies formed around academic patents (up 16% from 2012)—which is more than two new companies created every working day of the year;
• 4,200 start-ups in operation, mostly located in the same state as the parent research institution, creating regional economic development;
• $22.8 billion in product sales from commercialized academic inventions; and
• 719 new products introduced into the market (up 22% from 2012) – or more than two new products introduced every day of the year.

Data Exclusivity for Pesticides

The subject is in news again. Some important documents/ views are:
TRIPs provision
“Members when requiring, as a condition of approving the marketing of pharmaceutical or of agricultural chemical products which utilize new chemical entities, the submission of undisclosed test or other data, the 2 ntroduction origination of which involves a considerable effort, shall protect such data against unfair commercial use. In addition, Members shall protect such data against disclosure, except where necessary to protect the public, or unless steps are taken to ensure that the data are protected against unfair commercial use.”

Report on Steps to be taken by Government of India in the context of Data Protection Provisions of Article 39.3 of TRIPS Agreement  by Mrs Satwant Reddy,  Secretary Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers Government of India and Mr Gurdial Singh Sandhu,  Joint Secretary Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers Government of India , 31st May, 2007.
Test Data protection: WIPO perspective

Protection of Regulatory Data, position paper by CropLife America.

Road to Technology Transfer

http://www.fuentek.com/techtransfer-process-infographic.php

Building Global Innovators (BGI) invites proposals from Indian startups

BGI is a deep innovation global accelerator based in Lisbon (Portugal) and Cambridge (MA/USA). BGI is directed at would-be tech entrepreneurs and Innovators (tech start-up / university spin-outs under 5 years old), working on 4 market verticals:

1. Medical Technologies & Health IT,

2. Smart cities & Industrial Tech,

3. Enterprise IT & Smart Data,

4. Ocean Economy.

Every year:

- 20 teams are selected to BGI accelerator and benefit from expert mentoring amounting to over 1.150h, which includes boot camps in Lisbon (Portugal) and Cambridge (USA). This free of charge in kind support is valued at 1 million €.

- About 11 out of the 20 accelerated teams attracts some form of venture financing (40% non dilutive and 60% risk capital sources).

- 4 selected ventures are also supported by BGI Award sponsor - Caixa Capital, with up to €500.000 in convertible notes.

5th edition awardees are: nuRISE, lokkupp, doDOC, CorPower Ocean

Last date: 24th May 2015.

Contact:

Arindam Dutta

BGI Ambassador in India 

website:  http://www.startupfacilitator.com 

Author, An Entrepreneur's Journey in pre-Liberal India (Amazon and Kindle)

Member At-Large Advisory Board

Acara, U of Minnesota, USA

http://acara.environment.umn.edu/about/acara-at-large-advisory-board/

mob:  +919830236263

skype: arindamd 

Global innovation has become a three-horse race. Three countries—the US, Japan and China—accounted for over 60% of patent applications in 2014

Global innovation has become a three-horse race. Three countries—the US, Japan and China—accounted for over 60% of patent applications in 2014, according to a report released by the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO)

• The U.S. was the primary country of origin for PCT filers in 2014, with 61,492 applications and 7.1% growth. Japan followed with 42,459 applications, representing a 3% decline on 2013. Applicants from China filed 25,539 applications – an 18.7% annual increase.
• Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. of China, with 3,442 published PCT applications, overtook Panasonic Corp. of Japan as the largest applicant in 2014. U.S.-based Qualcomm Inc. was the second largest applicant in 2014, with 2,409 published applications, while China’s ZTE Corp. took third place with 2,179 PCT applications.
• After China, India (1,394) is the largest user of the PCT system among BRICS countries, followed by the Russian Federation (890), Brazil (581) and South Africa (297).
• The University of California, with 413 published applications, is the top applicant among educational institutions followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (234), the University of Texas System (154) and Harvard University (147). 
• Computer technology with 17,653 published applications – or 8.4% of the total – accounted for the largest share of PCT applications, followed by digital communication (7.7%) and electronic machinery (7.3%). Amongst the top 10 fields, computer technology saw the fastest growth (+19.4%), followed by medical technology (+17.1%) and digital communication (+14.5%). 
• The share of pharmaceutical patenting via the PCT has continuously declined since 2007. Pharmaceutical patents represent the seventh largest field. Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. is the largest filer with 171 applications, followed by Novartis AG (141), F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (135) and the University of California (111).Universities and public research organizations show a strong presence in this field, accounting for 26% of pharmaceutical PCT filings. This is in contrast to computer technology and digital communication where these entities accounted for 4.6% and 2.8%, respectively.

4th edition of WalloniaTech India programme launched

The goal of the innovative WalloniaTECH programme is to identify the brightest entrepreneurial talent in India and connect these entrepreneurs with investors and strategic partners in Belgium and Europe in order to turn their innovations into a global success.

This year applications are invited from companies with breakthrough technologies in the following sectors: • Aeronautics and Space Industry • Life Science • Agro-industry • Transport and Logistics • Mechanical Engineering • Environment and Sustainable Development.

The selected companies will be invited to participate in a special training program and investor’s forum in Wallonia, Belgium in September 2015 (tentative), in order to expose them to the European market and provide them with support and mentoring services for accelerating their expansion in Europe through Wallonia.

The WalloniaTECH INDIA program will culminate with a "Technology Commercialization conference and Investment forum" where the participants will have the opportunity to pitch their business plans in front of an audience composed mainly of public and private investors and technical partners.

For clarification contact: 

Dr Anil Wali, Managing Director, FITT, IITD,mdfitt@gmail.com