Date:14/12/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/12/14/stories/2005121401141900.htm

Back Kerala: Draft IPR policy formulated

Mony K. Mathew

Thiruvananthapuram , Dec. 13

THE Kerala Government has readied a draft intellectual property rights (IPR) policy that focuses, among other things, on protecting the State's traditional and indigenous knowledge.

The policy also aims at conservation and protection of intangible cultural heritage, ensuring intellectual property rights in respect of the software applications and operational systems developed for government projects and protection to trade secrets and undisclosed information in the industrial sector.

The policy, according to officials involved in the preparation of the draft, envisages establishment of an IPR Information System and Information Retrieval System. The information system is intended to create a database solution to take care of the IPR management task and the computerised retrieval system will help disseminate the information.

The system is designed to create awareness about IPRs in the State, provide training to all associated entities in the administration of IPRs, help the traditional knowledge holders and maintain the statistics on the intellectual property of the State.

In the area of traditional knowledge, a Traditional Knowledge Digital Library - Kerala project is already on at the Directorate of Ayurvedic Medical Education. It focuses on documenting in digitised format the knowledge available in the public domain on Ayurveda.

This apart, a Traditional Knowledge Resource Classification - Kerala project is also on the cards. This will facilitate systematic arrangement, dissemination and retrieval of information from the digital library system.

The policy seeks to form an Intellectual Property Management Committee to help administer the intellectual property rights and to make recommendations to the State Government in this regard. The Committee will also assist various agencies in all matters relating to intellectual property.

The committee will have the responsibility for valuing the intellectual property so that the State's interests are protected in negotiations. With close collaboration with the originator, the committee will determine the appropriate method of protection of the property.

As per the policy, intellectual property resulting from activities supported by the State or State funds will rest with the Government in the absence of any written agreement to the contrary.

The management committee will determine whether the State has a legal interest in the commercialisation of a property. However, the State will not be legally bound to commercialisation of each property and the originator may not claim such right. It will be the committee's discretion to determine the commercialisation of the property.

The primary objective and responsibility of the State will be to assure that the products of its intellectual property activities are brought into the widest possible use for the general benefit of the society.