About DPIIT IPR Chair
Department for Promotion of Industries and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, launched a Scheme for Pedagogy & Research in IPRs for Holistic Education & Academia (SPRIHA) in 2016 under which IPR Chairs have been set up in select universities and academic institutes.
This was in accordance with the National IPR Policy launched by the Government of India in 2016, which proclaims, under section 7.2, to “Strengthen IP Chairs in educational institutes of higher learning to provide quality teaching and research, develop teaching capacity and curricula and evaluate their work on performance-based criteria.”
MNLU Mumbai has been selected by the DPIIT as one of the 12 universities/organizations for setting up IPR Chairs in the country.
The University appointed Dr. W. M. Dhumane, Former Senior Joint Controller of Patents and Designs, as IPR Chair Professor with effect from 10th June 2020.
Objectives and Functions
The objectives for creation and institution of IPR Chairs under SPRIHA are to encourage the study of, education in and research on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), as well as to promote outreach in IPRs, as elaborated below:
- Promoting IP education by introducing IPR course at undergraduate level, post-graduate degree/diploma course on IPR, Certificate courses in IPR and Distance learning/Online courses on IPR;
- Foster research in IPR-related matters and highlight the policy relevance thereof;
- Conducting Studies commissioned by DPIIT;
- Creation of IPR knowledge database, repository of case-studies on IPR matters etc.;
- Develop, formulate and collate inputs/recommendations of industry, practitioners and academia on IPR issues for policy makers;
- Providing Scholarships for conducting research in new and emerging IPR areas of interest;
- Preparation of repertoire of resources/tool kit/guidance/instruction materials for various levels of IPR Courses;
- Facilitate filing of IPR applications to further strengthen IP as a key driver for India’s knowledge-driven economy;
- Focus on research on industry-academia mutual relationship and cooperation, as well as identify the communication gaps between academia and industries in effective technology sharing/joint research.
