Pune: National IPR Yatra was held in the city by the Ministry of MSME & AIC Pinnacle

Protection of intellectual property is necessary for the development of the country – Anuja Bapat

Pune: The National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Yatra was held in the city recently, by the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) & AIC Pinnacle Entrepreneurship Forum. Anuja Bapat, Deputy Director General of Ministry of MSME, Government of India was the chief guest for the inauguration of this yatra.

This one-day yatra was organized at MCCIA, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune. Dr. Sudhir Mehta, President of AIC Pinnacle Entrepreneurship Forum, Vinamra Mishra, Director (Technology & Projects) of the MSME, Senior Patent Controller (Rtd) Dr. K. S. Kardam, CEO of AIC Pinnacle Sunil Dhadiwal were present. Dr. Nitin Tewari (NCL), Dr. BP Singh (Former Chairman In-Charge & Technical Member-Patents), Dr. Mohan Dewan, Shridhar Parundekar, Swapnil Sanap, Vedant Pujari, Ajit Raul, Shailendra Bhandare, Ms. Rujuta Mehendale Phadke, Ms. Arti Bhatnagar & Ms. Sudha Kannan guided on various sessions.

Anuja Bapat emphasized the importance of IPR for strengthening the MSME. India has a lot of talent and intelligent people. Innovation and creativity are inherent in Indians. However, these intellectual property (Intellectual Property-IP) rights are not protected. This has to be protected. The protection of intellectual property is necessary for the development of the country. The Ministry of MSME is encouraging for registration of IP, patents & copyrights, she added.

This IP Yatra offered MSMEs a wealth of benefits, including strategic guidance, valuable networking opportunities, insights into legal and intellectual property rights, avenues for market expansion, optimization of resources, etc.

The various sessions were done during IP Yatra on Global Perspectives on IP: Identifying IP, Issues, Challenges, Opportunities, and Solutions, Protecting Your Brand: Strategies for Brand, Data & Trade Secret Protection and Counterfeiting Measures, International Practices on IPR: Insights from International Organizations, Impact of IPR on Business Growth: Understanding IP Filings & Procedures and the Legal Framework, Intellectual Property as a Tool for Business Growth and Competitiveness, Addressing False Advertising, Infringement Issues, and challenges faced, Monetization of Intellectual Property for startups and MSMEs & MSME Innovative Scheme for IP Expense Reimbursement and ASIC’s role as IPFC

Dr. Sudhir Mehta said “While the country is focusing on various national and international level priorities and schemes, Bharat has the potential to emerge as a strong innovator. To promote and support Innovation, the Ministry of MSME has taken a much-needed step in creating IP Facilitation Centres across the nation. We are proud to be a part of this support initiative. We have already supported a large number of MSMEs for patents, trademarks, Design, and copyright filing. We aim to support at least 100 more IPR filings in the year 2024.”