Time taken to grant patents should be minimal: VIT chancellor

VIT founder advocates for faster patent grants to encourage researchers, emphasizes need for technology in farming.

Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) founder and chancellor G. Viswanathan on Sunday advocated for a stipulated time frame to grant patents.

The Intellectual Property Office should take adequate steps in this regard, he said, adding that it would encourage more researchers to apply for patent rights.

Mr. Viswanathan was delivering his presidential address at the valedictory session of 15th edition of graVITas’24, the three-day annual international techno-management fest of the VIT.

According to him, it took at least four to five years to get patents from the date of application. Such a long delay made researchers reluctant to apply for patent rights. “Ideally, patents should be granted in one or two years,” he said.

He said that poor funding by the government was the reason for the lesser number of employees in patent offices. Having more employees would have helped clear the backlog of patent applications in the country. For example, China has 13,700 patent staff and the U.S., around 8,100. India, however, has only around 860 employees in patent offices, he contended.

He further spoke about the need to increase the usage of technology in farming.

Agriculture has been the backbone of northeast India. “Farmers in the region should be accustomed to using modern technology such as drones and artificial intelligence tools to increase agricultural productivity in hilly terrains. Israel has successfully done it by incorporating technology into farming to increase the yield,” he pointed out.