IIT­-Bombay’s intellectual property rules similar to that of MIT

MUMBAI: The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) is known to have budding designers and innovators who have time and again proved their genius by coming

MUMBAI: The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) is known to have budding designers and innovators who have time and again proved their genius by coming up with novel products and product ideas. Keeping this in mind, the institute’s in-house magazine, Insight, has analysed the newly upgraded version of IIT-B’s Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policy.

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In the article, the rules have been compared to the IPR policy at other universities, including other IITs as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). One of the main rules is that any IP produced by IIT-B personnel (student/ staff/research scholars/postdoctoral fellows) will be owned by the institute. “After putting the better half of one’s academic time on inventing something that can generate revenue for them, students shouldn’t think that the rule is unfair,” said Tejas Srinivasan of Insight.

While the IP policy is similar across IITs and MIT, royalty sharing models have differed, said students. In IIT-B and IIT-Kanpur, the share depends on the revenue generated on the IP. One thing common in these institutes is that the copyright on a thesis is solely given to the author. Revenues earned will be shared with the inventor in a 70:30 ratio. “The policy has been designed keeping in mind the rules and regulations followed by other top universities,” said a student.

The article has also got views of some former students. “In terms of royalty charges, revenue distribution and exclusive licensing, the policy is student-friendly. Filing a patent can be expensive and time-consuming,” said Ashray Malhotra, an IIT-B alumnus.