th

105 FoCARS
Foundation Course For Agricultural Research Service

Digital Repository of
Course Materials

• International and National Agricultural Research System in India

• Challenges and Management of Agricultural Extension in the New Millennium
• Production Systems Approach
• Economic Policies and Agricultural Development
• WTO and Agriculture Research and Development
• Intellectual Property Rights in Indian Agriculture
• Copyrights
• Designs as Ips
• Geographical Indicators
• Patents
• Trade Secrets
• Trademarks
• Application of Bioinformatics in Agriculture
Course Coordinators
K. Kareemulla and S. Ravichandran

Support Team
P. Krishnan and P. Namdev
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
IN INDIAN AGRICULTURE*

R.Kalpana Sastry1

1. Introduction

Rising population and accelerating economic growth require enhancing

intensification of agricultural practices to meet the increasing demands for
food. The demands would not only be in terms of the quantity of food
produced, but also of its quality. It is increasingly being realized that
some of these challenges can be overcome through more innovative
approaches for technology development and creating better concerted
diffusion systems to benefit more stakeholders. Notwithstanding successes
in higher food grain production over the four decades in making India food
secure, it is now documented that some of the existing practices have led
to stress on natural resources including water and soil. Problems leading to
the energy crisis, deterioration of soil health, and declining water resources
are some of the critical areas needing more innovations approaches to
make agriculture more sustainable (Kalpana Sastry et al,2010a). Keeping
the guiding principle of inclusive growth in view, the current approach at
the national level is to rebuild agriculture as an important source of
livelihood generation both in the farm and non-farm sectors and ensure
that there is adequate and nutritive food for the growing population. For
instance, the recent initiative of the Government of India through SETU
(Self-Employment and Talent Utilization) under National Institution for
Transforming India (NITI Aayog, 2016) is one such step with several
opportunities for support of start-up businesses, and other self-
employment activities, particularly in technology-driven areas including
those impacting agriculture-production systems (PCS).

In India, the concept of commercialization of technology from R&D is

relatively new in most sectors; especially in agriculture. The Government
of India has recently announced the “National Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR) policy (GoI, 2016a). The policy advocates promotion of a holistic

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Joint Director, NAARM

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105th FOCARS

and conducive ecosystem for catalysing the intellectual property for

economic, socio-cultural development and protecting public interest. The
policy document put forth seven objectives namely i) IPR awareness:
outreach and promotion, ii) generation of IPRs, iii) legal and legislative
framework, iv) administrative management, v) commercialization of IPR,
vi) enforcement and adjudication and vii) human capital development. The
policy aims at strengthening the national initiatives such as “Make in
India” (GoI, 2016b), “Skill India” (GoI, 2016c), “Start Up India” (GoI,
2016d), “Smart Cities” (GoI, 2016e), “Digital India” (GoI, 2016f). The
flagship programme of the Government like Start Up India aims at
building a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovations and Start-ups in the
country (GoI, 2016d). Under this, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is the
action plan envisaged with the focus on promotion of entrepreneurship and
innovation in sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, health and
education (GoI, 2016d).

2. Current Statutory IP Laws in India vis-vis Agri-based

Technologies in India

The WTO-TRIPS agreement of 1995 (WTO,2016), which is binding on all

member countries including India, provided for minimum norms and
standards in respect of protection of IPR in several categories: patents,
copyrights, trademarks, plant varieties, geographical indications, industrial
designs, layout designs of integrated circuits, and trade secrets. This
agreement led India to put in place a set of appropriate and compliant
mechanisms and instruments. Some of the legal instruments passed by the
Indian Parliament as part of compliance process to the TRIPS include The
Patents Act, 1970 (39 of 1970), The Patents (Amendment) Act, 1999 (17
of 1999), The Patents (Amendment) Act 2002 (38 of 2002), The Patents
(Amendment) Act 2005 (15 of 2005), The Geographical Indications of
Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 ( Office of Controller
General of Patents Designs and Trade Marks,2016) and The Protection of
Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act, 2001 (PPV FR Act) (53 of 2001)
(PPV&FR Authority. 2016.) Apart from these, the Government of India
also enacted an umbrella legislation called the Biological Diversity Act,
2002 (No.18 of 2003). (NBA,2008) as part of the country‟s commitment to
Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD). There is no specific IPR Act to
provide protection for undisclosed information (trade secret). The Indian
Contract Act of 1872 and common law have provisions covering this with
the Ministry of Law and Justice as the nodal agency (Sudhir
Kochhar,2008). A compilation of the major types of IP assets in

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 National Academy of Agricultural Research Management

agriculture R&D with their qualifying attributes under relevant legislations

in India is presented in Annexure. The broad institutional mechanisms,
legislative provisions and potential returns to the stakeholders of agri-
value chain are also depicted. Considering special nature of use of bio-
resources and traditional knowledge (TK) in agriculture, the various
provisions and legal mechanisms for protection of these are also
enumerated.

3. IP and Technology Management in ICAR System

The IP&TM scheme launched by the ICAR during 2008 is a driver

towards implementation of the policy (ICAR, 2014). Capacity building of
the manpower engaged in the scheme formed the primary focus of the
initial implementation process leading to series of awareness building and
sensitization programmes. These initiatives resulted in emergence of a
pool of about 100 trained IP professionals across the system.
Notwithstanding initial apprehensions on IP protection towards stimulate
investment in research in agriculture (Kumar and Sinha, 2015), these
initial steps of ITMU scheme grants led to the building of vibrant IP
ecosystem in the NARES. In terms of visible gains, the number of filings
under various IP categories have increased significantly in last ten years
(ICAR,2014c). The recent recognition of ICAR as an organisation
through grant of the „Thomson Reuters India Innovation award 2015‟ is
yet another testimony to this fact (Thomson Reuters 2016). Thus a viable
governance mechanism (ICAR,2014a) gives a conducive environment for
and necessitate an understanding of regulatory and statutory laws in the
country for better positioning of technologies and related products and
services in markets. Only then can it lead to trigger better opportunities for
business in this sector.

Recent reports of agri-start-ups successfully bringing new technologies in

markets signify this fact. For example, the success of Barix, a start-up
advocating eco-friendly, low cost crop protection methods to increase crop
produce and quality at low cost. (Amit Tiwari, 2016) There are other
successful start-ups like BIOSAT which uses Biochar based organic Soil
Amendment Technology as an soil additive, Nashik-based start-up,
MITRA (Machines, Information, Technology, Resources for Agriculture)
which works on improving mechanization at horticulture farms with the
use of R&D and high quality farm equipment like sprayers (Rashmi
Ramesh, 2015). These instances are early-stage successes of technologies
in agriculture leading to commercialization and setting of agri-start-ups. In

1. Session on this topic-105 FOCARS. Jan2017.ICAR-NAARM.

2. To be used as part of academic reading during the course of FOCARS 105 [Jan 5 to April4, 2017 by
the scientist-trainees only.
ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Management. Hyderabad.
105th FOCARS

the current ecosystem, start-up trend in India is picking up in academic

and R&D institutions (Raghavi Rao Kodati, 2016), where researchers are
looking beyond just publishing or licensing technologies to the industry.
This isalso relevant for technologies applicable in agri and food sector.

4. Concluding Remarks

Summarized below are few points for R&D professionals and technology
developers engaged agricultural research in NARES to consider:

i. Current legal framework India affords several opportunities for R&D

outputs with applications in agricultural PCS to be protected. Multiple IPs
and portfolio building is possible and may be harnessed for building
business models for technology developers.
ii. Compliances with regulatory bodies on use of agro-biodiversity and
related knowledge is mandatory. These should form part of SOP for due
diligence during the entire process of technology development and its
transfer.
iii. Capacity building for R&D professionals in IP and technology
commercialization should be intensified
iv. Technology developers or seekers for plant protection technologies
should be encouraged through enabling ecosystem and enter as start-ups.
These should form part of curriculum at University level in line with
National IP Policy.
v. Encouraging the use of IP informatics for research projects proposals
and execution as part of due diligence processes for understanding
technology push and market –pull forces before R&D investments are
made. This would more useful for technology development in SME sector.

Thus, the early successes in transferring technologies as businesses signal

positive returns on R&D investments. This is further accelerated through
the fillip given by current GOI policies on innovation, incubation
including building vibrant ecosystem for triggering start up culture in
agriculture sector. Researchers and technology generators in agricultural
sector need to recognise these opportunities and re-orient their R&D
efforts. Such efforts will not only bring innovation to combat crop losses
but also bring a more vibrancy and better returns in agribusinesses
engaged in this sector.

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5. References and Suggested Further Reading

i. Amit Tiwari. (2016). Notable Indian Start-upsIn Agriculture Space!

February 22, 2016. At: http://techstory.in/agriculture-startups-india/.
[Accessed on June17, 2016].
ii. CGIAR, 2014. Old knowledge and new science: using traditional
knowledge in CGIAR research. January 15, 2014. At:
http://www.cgiar.org/consortium-news/old-knowledge-and-new-
science-using-traditional-knowledge-in-cgiar-research/ [accessed on
May19 2016.]
iii. David Castle, Peter W.B. Phillips, Abbe Brown, Keith Culver,
Daniela Castrataro, Tania Bubela, Shawn Harmon, Graham Dutfield
and Patricia Barclay.2010. Knowledge Management and The
Contextualisation of Intellectual Property Rights in Innovation
Systems. SCRIPTed. Volume 7, Issue 1, April 2010 DOI:
10.2966/scrip. 070110.32
iv. GoI, (2016a), National Intellectual Property Rights Policy.
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. Ministry of
Commerce and Industry, Government of India.
v. GoI, (2016b), Make in India, Available online on
http://www.makeinindia.com/home. Accessed on 14-04-2016.
vi. GoI, (2016c), Skill India, Available online on http://skillindia.gov.in/.
Accessed on 14-05-2016.
vii. GoI, (2016d), Action Plan: Start Up India, Available online on
http://startupindia.gov.in/. Accessed on 14-05-2016.
viii. GoI, (2016e), Smart Cities, Available online on
http://startupindia.gov.in/. Accessed on 14-05-2016.
ix. GoI, (2016f), Digital India, Available online on
http://www.digitalindia.gov.in/. Accessed on 14-05-2016.
x. ICAR, (2006), ICAR Guidelines for Intellectual Property
Management and Technology Transfer/Commercialization. Indian
Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi.
xi. ICAR, (2014a), ICAR Rules and Guidelines for Professional Service
Functions. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi.
xii. ICAR, (2014b), ICAR Guidelines for Internal Evaluation and
Forwarding Research Papers to Scientific Journals and Data
Management in ICAR Institutes. Indian Council of Agricultural
Research, New Delhi.
xiii. ICAR, (2014c). National Agricultural Innovation Foundation. XII
Plan EFC document approved.

1. Session on this topic-105 FOCARS. Jan2017.ICAR-NAARM.

2. To be used as part of academic reading during the course of FOCARS 105 [Jan 5 to April4, 2017 by
the scientist-trainees only.
ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Management. Hyderabad.
105th FOCARS

xiv. Indian Patent Office, Guidelines for processing of patent applications

related to traditional knowledge and biological materials. Available at
http://www.ipindia.nic.in/iponew/TK_Guidelines_18December2012.p
df. Accessed on 06.03.2013.
xv. KalpanaSastry,R and Srivastava A. (2013). Emerging Intellectual
Property Regimes and Traditional Knowledge Systems in Indian
Agriculture. In: Indigenous traditional Knowledge for Promotion of
Sustainable Agriculture, edited by V S Babu, K Suman Chandra & S
M Ilyas (NIRD, Hyderabad, India), 2013, pp.145-160.
xvi. KalpanaSastry, R., H. B. Rashmi and N. H. Rao,.(2010).
Nanotechnology for enhancing food security in India. Food Policy
Volume 36 (3): 391-400.
xvii. Kochhar, Sudhir. (2008). Institution and capacity building for the
evolution of IPR regime in India: Protection of Plant Varieties and
Farmers Rights. Journal of Intellectual Property Rights.Vol. 13,
January 2008, pp.51-56
xviii. Kumar, V and Sinha, K, (2015.) Status and Challenges of
Intellectual Property Rights in Agricultural Innovation in India”.
Journal of Intellectual Property Rights. Vol. 20, pp. 288-296
xix. NBA, (2008). The Biological Diversity Act 2002. At:
http://nbaindia.org/content/25/19/1/act.html [ Accessed on May
20,2016]
xx. NITI Aayog, (2016). National Institution for Transforming India.
At:http://niti.gov.in/content/self-employement-talent-utilization.
[Accessed as on May 26,2016].
xxi. Office of Controller General of Patents Designs and Trade Marks.
(2016). http://www.ipindia.nic.in/IPActs_Rules/IPActs_Rules.htm.
[Accessed on June 15,2016]
xxii. PPV&FR Authority. (2016) Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers'
Rights Act, 2001. http://www.plantauthority.gov.in/gazette.htm.
[Accessed on June 15,2016]
xxiii. Raghavi Rao Kodati .(2016).Why Academic Startups in India Have
it Trickier Than Most ? The Wire. 30.5. 2015.At:
http://thewire.in/39372/why-academic-startups-in-india-have-it-
trickier-than-most/. [accessed on june 15,2016]
xxiv. Rashmi Ramesh (2015). 10 technological innovations that are
revolutionizing Indian agriculture. Sep 14, 2015. At:
http://www.thealternative.in/business/10-technological-innovations-
revolutionizing-indian-agriculture/ [Accessed on June 15,2016]
xxv. Samuel, M.P., Sastry, Kalpana. R., Venkattakumar, R, (2014), “Status
and prospects of IP regime in India: Implication for Agricultural

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Education”. Journal of Intellectual Property Rights, Vol. 19, pp. 189-

201
xxvi. Shawn Harmon, Graham Dutfield and Patricia Barclay (2010).
Knowledge management and the contextualisation of intellectual
property rights in innovation systems, SCRIPTed, 7 (1) (2010) 32.-43
xxvii. Thomson Reuters (2016). Thomson Reuters India Innovation
Award. Available online on
http://interest.ip.thomsonreuters.com/InnovationAwards. Accessed on
14-05-2016.
xxviii. TKDL.2016. Bio-piracy of Traditional Knowledge. In : Traditional
Knowledge Digital Library. Collaborative Project of Council of
Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Department of Ayurveda,
Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH). At:
http://www.tkdl.res.in/tkdl/langdefault/common/Biopiracy.asp?GL=E
ng [accessed on June19 2016.]
xxix. WTO, (2016). Overview: the TRIPS Agreement. At:
https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/intel2_e.htm [Accessed
on June 15,2016]

6. Task for the Class

i. The class is divided into groups of 5-6 members.

ii. Each group will be given a set of base documents relevant to area
allotted to that group.
iii. Your task is to discuss among each member the documents given for
30 minutes and make a group presentation on the learnings gained by
the group.
iv. After this and based on the class discussion, the group has to complete
the list of prospective technologies from R&D which can under that
specific IP form.

1. Session on this topic-105 FOCARS. Jan2017.ICAR-NAARM.

2. To be used as part of academic reading during the course of FOCARS 105 [Jan 5 to April4, 2017 by
the scientist-trainees only.
ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Management. Hyderabad.
 105th FOCARS

Annexure
Current Statutory IP Laws in India vis-vis Agri-based Technologies in
India

Table 1 - Institutional mechanism(s), legislative provisions for specific IP and related forms
of knowledge and resources for agricultural technologies
S. IP Legislation Administrat Qualifying Indicative Potential
No ion attributes list of stakeholder
authority prospective (s) to benefit
technologie
s in
agricultural
sector*
1. Patent Patents Act, Controller Novel, non- Inventors,
1970 General of obvious, traders,
and Intellectual capable of economy
amendments Property industrial
thereon Rights application
and not fall
within the
provisions of
Section 3 and
4 of the
Patents Act,
1970; Also
Statutory
Compliance
with Section
10 for those
innovators
based on
biological
resources

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 National Academy of Agricultural Research Management

2. Design Design Act, Controller

New or Industry;
2000and General of
original; SMEs
amendments Intellectual
significantly
thereon Property
distinguishable
Rights
from known
designs or
combination of
known designs
3. Trademark Trade Marks Controller Capable of Industry/SME:
Act, General of distinguishing products and
1999and Intellectual features of service sector
amendments Property goods and
thereon Rights services,
capable of
graphical
representation,
used or
proposed to be
used to identify
goods/services

4. Geographical Geographica Controller

Specific Communities,
indication l Indications General of
geographical traditional
(Registration Intellectual
origin, practitioners,
and Property
possessing knowledge
Protection) Rights
qualities, holders
Act, 1999 reputation or
characteristics
that are
essentially
attributable to
that place of
origin
5. Copyright Copyright Controller Original Creators of all
Act, General of expressions of works
1957and Intellectual ideas,
amendments Property creations
thereon Rights
6. Integrated Semicondu Controller Original; not Electronic
circuit design ctor General of commercially industry,
Integrated Intellectual exploited traders, SMEs

1. Session on this topic-105 FOCARS. Jan2017.ICAR-NAARM.

2. To be used as part of academic reading during the course of FOCARS 105 [Jan 5 to April4, 2017 by
the scientist-trainees only.
ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Management. Hyderabad.
 105th FOCARS

Circuits Property anywhere in

Layout- Rights India or in a
Design Act, convention
2000 country;
inherently
distinctive;
inherently
capable of
being
distinguishable
from any other
registered
layout-design
7. Plant varieties Protection Chairperson, New, distinct, Plant breeders,
of Plant Protection of stable and farmers,
Varieties Plant uniform industry
and Varieties and
Farmers‟ Farmers‟
Rights Act, Rights
2001 (PPV&FR)
Authority/Re
gistry
8. Biodiversity Biological Chairperson, Biological Knowledge
Diversity National resources, holders,
Act, 2002 Biodiversity herbal farmers,
Authority remedies, communities,
(NBA) associated researchers,
traditional etc.
knowledge
9. Traditional None Secretary of Traditional Knowledge
knowledge the knowledge/ holders in
concerned genetic communities
Ministry resources by sharing of
(ies) accrued
knowledge
*Adapted from Samuel et al, 2014 and also on based on data collected by
the author from various sources.

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