Stories
Experts Urge India to Bridge Gap Between Patent Filing and Commercialisation
- •Experts emphasize that India must strengthen the pathway from research and patent protection to commercialisation and value creation.
- •Simply filing patents does not guarantee market success, global competitiveness, or economic impact without proper translation into the market.
- •Sacha Wunsch-Vincent from WIPO noted that intellectual property must not sit in university drawers but needs to be licensed and commercialized.
- •Key recommendations include building stronger university-industry linkages, supporting student innovation, and expanding high-tech manufacturing.
- •The insights were shared by experts during an OP Manthan session held in New Delhi on October 8.
Key Questions Answered
Experts stated that India needs to strengthen the pathway from research and patent protection to commercialisation and value creation, noting that patent filings alone do not guarantee market success or economic impact.
Sacha Wunsch-Vincent and Shivani Singh emphasized the need for stronger university-industry linkages, commercialisation of university IP, support for student and grassroots innovation, open research systems, and targeted deep-science financing.
Many promising innovations struggle during the journey from laboratory prototypes to commercially viable products due to a lack of substantial funding, specialised facilities, years of development, and a mismatch between academic resources and investor risk appetite, often referred to as the valley of death.
