The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, (IIT-K) filed 107 patents, including 97 national and 10 international, in the calendar year 2021, making it the highest number of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) ever filed by the institute by breaking its earlier record of 76 patents filed in 2019, said IIT Kanpur director prof Abhay Karandikar in a press release.
Among the IPRs filed, the different IPR prospects included 62 patents, 15 design registrations, 2 copyrights, and 24 trademark applications along with 4 US patent applications. This was achieved despite the catastrophic impact of the second wave of the pandemic, he said.
“IIT Kanpur has not only crossed a century in terms of patent filing in 2021 but has also reached a gross total of 810 IPRs over the period of time. With an exceptional technology transfer rate of 15.2% to industry partners from the total patents filed, the institute filed a record-breaking 107 patents in this calendar year,” prof Karandikar added.
“This is quite an achievement for the institute and is also indicative of the fact that, despite the pandemic, IIT Kanpur has diligently driven structural initiatives strengthening translational and transformational research contributing to a self-reliant India,” he said.
According to him, the patents included inventions ranging from MedTech to Nano technology. In view of the institute’s relentless contribution to the national efforts of mitigating the novel coronavirus pandemic, several Covid-related measures and inventions were protected through patent applications during the calendar year, he said.
{{/usCountry}}According to him, the patents included inventions ranging from MedTech to Nano technology. In view of the institute’s relentless contribution to the national efforts of mitigating the novel coronavirus pandemic, several Covid-related measures and inventions were protected through patent applications during the calendar year, he said.
{{/usCountry}}Two of the prominent inventions developed at IIT Kanpur are the reusable facemask consisting PVDF composite nano fibres and nasal spray formulation against Covid and related respiratory viruses.
Moreover, the institute brought out some other inventions like methods for treatment of industrial wastewater and biodegradable magnesium-based alloys for orthopaedic applications in the healthcare field, to name a few, he said.
The landmark of filing 107 IPRs was achieved with the presence of a supportive policy framework and synergistic teamwork at the IPR cell of the institute. The IP & Technology Transfer Office not only filed the highest number of IPRs but has also facilitated the highest number of technology transfer transactions, disseminating technologies from the institute laboratory to the assembly line of industries in the form of products, the director said.
“The commercialisation activities at IIT Kanpur have witnessed a two-fold increase in revenues from IP licensing. The institute addressed the nation’s oxygen crisis during the second wave of Covid by developing and commercialising two types of oxygen concentrators by transferring the said technology to six different companies,” the press release said.
The technology transfer was part of the Mission Bharat O2 project wherein thousands of oxygen concentrators were manufactured having capacity ranging from 10 litre per minute (LPM) to 500 LPM, an official said.
Another prominent technology transfer that found mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at the 54th convocation of IIT Kanpur, is the recently launched “Bhu Parikshak”— a portable, app-linked soil testing device that bears the potential to detect soil health within 90 seconds. “This device can be a milestone in revolutionising agricultural practices in the country,” he said.
“The exceptional technology transfer rate of 15.2% to industry partners from the total patents filed and the record-breaking filing of 107 patents in 2021 bear testimony to the flourishing and dynamic R&D eco-system of the institute,” prof Karandikar said.