Technology Start-ups and IP Protection in India

Abstract

In India, the trend of IPR filing has been documented for scientific agencies or academic institutions, firms in the software industry, manufacturing sector, handicrafts, glassware and other small-scale industries. However, the IPR filing behaviour or protection of IPRs by Indian Technology Start-ups leaves much to be desired. They do not have much awareness about Indian IPR system and government initiatives to promote such a system. At the government end too, there is a knowledge deficit. Indian regulatory and legislative reforms should be based on an analysis of the growth pattern and characteristics of start-ups; awareness and engagement of start-ups in IPR protection; challenges faced by them while applying for such protection; and also, their awareness and opinion about various policy reforms and schemes. With this backdrop, the objectives of this report are two-fold. First, it examines the level of awareness among Indian technology start-ups about various forms of IPR and their efforts for its protection. Secondly, it explores if the tech start-ups are availing the benefits of Indian government initiatives like Start-up India and similar other programmes/schemes. This report presents findings from a survey based on the views of 249 tech startup representatives from across India about their awareness of IP and engagement in its protection. Building on first-hand account of tech start-ups about their experience in dealing with the Indian IP offfice, this report also identifies key challenges that tech start-ups face during IPR protection. Taking lessons from the best practices in IP offices in other countries, the report provides recommendations on potential areas of improvement to make the system more user-friendly and transparent and robust.