India’s secret (recruiting) weapon is patents

Posted by Jim Stroud
May 9, 2006

So check out this article I read today.

…snip-snip…

Thanks to international treaties such as the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) of the World Trade Organization, Indian IP laws were significantly revamped starting in the mid-1990s. In 1994, the Indian Copyright Act was amended to clearly explain the rights of a copyright holder and the penalties for infringement of copyrighted software. The law has been called one of the “toughest in the world.”

These changes, which significantly ramped up enforcement provisions, will undoubtedly prove the most important for copyright protection on the subcontinent — far ahead of other countries in Asia. The Indian courts have risen to the challenge. They have taken a broad approach to the applying new laws — especially to protect intellectual property in emerging fields such as information technology.

This trend continued last year when India put in place a new patent law that brought it further into line with international norms. For example, this law included new provisions that extended patent protection to computer software and pharmaceutical products. The changes provided new and powerful incentives for investment, both foreign and domestic, in the creation of new products in those fields. New Delhi has also improved the operation of its Patent Office, which handles patent applications. Today, a patent can be granted in less than three years, as opposed to only a few years ago, where it took up to an average of five to seven years.

As a result, copyright-based industries such as the Indian IT sector have enjoyed rapid growth. The annual average rate of growth of Indian software exports from 1994 to 2002 was 48%, marking a drastic surge from the preceding five years, when the average annual growth was about 35%. If New Delhi keeps up its commitment to rights protection, the numbers will continue to grow. Within the next few years, annual revenues from Indian software exports are expected to reach $50 billion.

Furthermore, Indian entrepreneurs, business and government labs are filing for patents at rapidly increasing rates.

READ: India’s Secret Weapon

***

Hmmm… If I was a Web2.0 entrepreneur with an intent to build and later flip a company, why not go to India and file my patents there? If my company flopped at least I would have a better chance of getting a patent (and a whole lot quicker) and cashing in on an infringement violation on down the road.

But besides all that… I think the siren song of quick patents will lure even more companies over to India and as a result, increase the need (even more) for technical talent. (I suspect this is more effective or as effective, as certain tax incentives.) So what do you guys think? Curious…

TAGS: , ,, , , , ,

Recruiting Rants and Commentary

If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Comments

No comments yet.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.