INSTRUCTOR
Prof Anil Gupta, Wing 13, ext. 4927
AREA
Centre for Management in Agriculture
SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES
Nurturance of creativity and innovation
in a society is crucial for making it competitive in the wake
of globalization. Protection of intellectual property rights(
IPRs) plays an important role in giving boost to the inventive
and innovative activity in any society. IPRs signify a social
contract between the society and the inventor. In lieu of
the disclosure of the invention, society allows the inventor
to exclude others from utilising the invention for any commercial
purpose without authorization or license from the inventor
for a given period of time. The importance of IPRs can be
gauged from the fact that most globally competitive corporations
strategically protect their intellectual properties in all
potential markets/countries by filing patents, trademark protection
or other IPR arrangements. For Indian enterprises to compete
globally, recognition and reward of innovations and inventions
is imperative. IPRs provide one of the major instruments for
doing so.
In agriculture sector, the role of IPRs is
becoming even more important because much of the R and D has
been concentrated in public sector so far and private sector
R and R is only emerging slowly. However, for technology development
with in the country as well as for its acquisition from abroad
or transfer to other countries, IPRs may play an important
role.
The provisions of TRIPS (Trade Related Intellectual
Property Rights) agreed upon by most countries of the world
as the consequence of GATT and WTO require individuals and
institutions engaged in inventive activity to protect the
same through a harmonised patent law within a specified period
depending upon the economic situation of the country concerned.
Knowledge of various kinds of IPRs equip a manager and an
organisational leader to not only develop mechanisms within
the firms to protect the IPRs but also to acquire external
intellectual property through licensing.
India has already enacted Plant Variety and
Farmers’ Rights Act last year. The course will involve
detailed examination of this act so that we can learn about
the options for seed industry and plant cutting industry.
IPRs are increasingly becoming an important
competitive instrument in the liberalising Indian economy.
It is, therefore, imperative for today's managers and research
scholars to have some basic understanding of the IPRs and
their potential strategic relevance. Provision of such an
understanding is the purpose of this course. It aims to sensitise
the students not only to the international contexts of various
kinds of IPRs and emerging trends in the global trade arena
but also generate awareness about the basic rules involved
in complying with the provisions of TRIPS.
The course will generate awareness
about the strategic role IPRs play in safeguarding intra corporate
as well as individual inventive activities. More specifically,
it will have the following objectives:
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Expose the participants to the basic
concepts of IPRs, their coverage and scope.
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Provide some insights into the strategic
role of IPRs in the current Indian context.
-
Generate understanding of issues relating
to the management of IPRs within an organisation.
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Enable the participants to appreciate
the role of policy in the strategic management of IPRs.
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Equip the participants with some practical
aspects of patent drafting and reading if necessary through
interactions with external experts.
It is hoped that the course will help explore
the process of negotiations involved in intra and inter organisational
IPR disputes so that in future one safeguards the globally
respected standards and avoids costly disputes. It will also
provide some insights into the dynamics of licensing of IPRs
for competitive advantage. Finally, the role of IPRs in some
specific sectors of India economy such as seeds, biodiversity,
herbal drugs, biotechnology, , etc., will be looked into so
as to understand the dynamics of IPR protection and commercialisation
better.
This course is slightly modified version
of the course on the subject being taught in general PGP by
Profs. Rakesh Basant and Anil K Gupta and in ABM by Prof Anil
K Gupta..
PEDAGOGY AND EVALUATION
Lectures and student presentations will
be the main vehicle of learning in this course. Assignments
and project re ports will supplement this. The sessions will
be of two hours duration. For a few sessions Visiting Faculty
may also be invited.
Grading Scheme
It is going to be one and a half unit course and evaluation
will be based on class presentations, project work and final
exam:
- Class Presentations 40%
- Project Report 30%
- Final examination 30%
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The course will be divided into five modules. The first module
will introduce the course and discuss various IPRs. It will
also broadly establish the strategic relevance of the management
of IPRs in the current Indian context. Module II will highlight
some basic conceptual and strategic issues relating to IPRs
in the context of specific types of IPRs. The role of IPRs
in licensing arrangements and strategic alliances will be
covered in Module III. Module IV will cover issues relating
to internal assessment of IPRs and the role of reward systems,
and valuation of IPRs. The final module will try to provide
an integrated view of various strategic dimensions of IPRs.
MODULE I: IPRs AND THEIR STRATEGIC
RELEVANCE: AN OVERVIEW
The purpose of this module is to provide an overview of the
course, the nature of IPRs and their strategic relevance.
Sessions 1: Type
of IPRs and Strategy
This session will discuss various types of IPRs including
patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, industrial
design, integrated circuits, plant protection and geographical
indications. In addition, these sessions will provide a brief
overview of the various strategic issues relevant vis-a-vis
IPRs, so that the subsequent sessions can be seen in a larger
context.
Readings:
-
R. Basant (1998), “Intellectual Property
Rights: A Note”, IIMA, Mimeo.
-
Anil K Gupta,.(2001). “Do Patents Matter
: An overview of patent by Indians in USPTO till August,
2001.
-
R A Mashelkar “Intellectual Property
Rights and the Third World”.CSIR, New Delhi www.sustsci.harvard.edu/ists/TWAS_0202/mashelkar_undated.pdf
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Patent Basics. www.iprindia.org
-
Anil K Gupta (2000). “Towards a Learning
Society”: Transforming KITE (knowledge, information, technology
and education) network., IIMA mimeo
-
Laurence R., Hefter and Litowitz Robert
D.“Protecting Intellectual Property”. Prosperity paper
No. 7, p.1-20. http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/archive/prosper/prosper7.htm
Session 2: Filing Patent
Applications: Procedural and Strategic Issues
The requirements and process of filing a patent application
will be discussed. Strategic concerns relating to the content
of the application will also be explored.
Reading:
R. Bishnoi (1999), "How to File a Patent?", IIMA., mimeo and
Indian Patent act as amended trill 2001
Session 3: Traditional
Knowledge & Geographical Indications: Issues Arising out of
Neem, Haldi & Basmati Cases
The recent cases relating to Neem and Haldi will be discussed
in detail to sharpen the understanding of the key strategic
and policy issues. The issues relating to geographical indications
will also be covered here.
Reading:
- A.K. Gupta (1995), "Patents on Neem – Part I and Part
II
- Part - I (Honey Bee Volume No. 6, Issue No.3, July-September
1995, pp 6-8)
- Part – II (Honey Bee Volume No. 6, Issue No.4, October-December
1995, pp 6-8)
- Neem-mania, What else?, Down to Earth, November, 1995,
pp.52-53
-
Patents on Neem: Will They Deprive
Indian Farers of Their Right to Use It as a Pesticide?
BiotechnologyLaw Report, 1996, pp 6-14 A.K. Gupta (1998),
"Basmati and Haldi". IIMA mimeo
- The Geographical Indications of Goods, (Registration
and Protection) Act 1999
-
Rewarding Traditional Knowledge and
ensuring equitable sharing of benefits ( anil k gupta,
2002, mimeo, paper prepared for WIPO, Geneva)
Session 4 and 5: Plant
variety and Farmers’ Rights act : analysis of India law on
the subject ( two sessions)
Reading:
- Plant Var and FR act , 2001 , copy
- Review of Plant Variety acts of different Countries ,
Anil K Gupta, 2002
- Implications of WTO On Indian Agriculture: The Case Of
Intellectual Property Rights And Emerging Biosafety Protocol,
1999; IIMA WP No.99-10-06, October 1999, published as a
chapter in the book entitled, Implications of WTO Agreements
for India Agriculture. Samar K Datta ad Satish Y. Deodhar
(Eds.). Calcutta and New Delhi, Oxford & IBH Publishing
Co.Pvt.Ltd., (2001), Chapter 10; pp.245-307
MODULE II: IPRs AND THEIR STRATEGIC
RELEVANCE: SOME CASES
The main focus of this module will be to use real life cases
to appreciate the strategic relevance of some specific IPRs.
Sessions 6: Patents:
The Indian Pharmaceutical Industry
Patents related issues have been most
vigorously debated in India in the context of the pharmaceutical
industry. Strategies open to Indian pharma firms will be discussed
in the context of a few live cases.
Readings:
- Herbal drugs and neutraceuticals,
- A.K. Gupta (1998c), "Case of Zantac". IIMA
mimeo
-
A.K. Gupta (1998), "Strategic
Opportunities in Managing IPRs: Biodiversity, Drug Industry
and Emerging Options". IIMA Working Paper No.98-12-11
-
Framework for rewarding indigenous
knowledge in developing countries: Value chain for grassroots
innovations, Anil K Gupta, 2002
Sessions 7: Cases in IPR and benefit sharing
Many of the recent IPR related cases in India have been trademark
violations. Some of these cases, including the Samsonite versus
VIP case will be discussed to highlight the new challenges
facing the Indian firms as the boundaries between trade-mark,
trade-dress and industrial design are beginning to merge.
Readings:
The role of intellectual property rights in the sharing of
benefits arising from the use of biological resources and
associated traditional knowledge, Anil K Gupta, 2001
Case 1: Mali
Case 2: India
Case 3: Nigeria
Session 8 and 9 : Role of
IPR in Competitiveness ofIndian Agriculture
Recent study of competitiveness of six export
crops of Gujarat from Intellectual property rights perspective
as a part of a committee on WTO and Agriculture set up by
Gujarat Govt., has revealed interesting insights. The finding
so this study will be discussed along with practical insights
about how to analyze intellectual property rights data for
such commodities. Analytical framework will be developed in
the process.
Readings:
Competitive Strategy for Agricultural Exports Through Value
addition: The Intellectual Property Rights Perspective, AnilK
Gupta, 2002.
Session 10: Securing and Commercialising IPRs
of Public and Private Sector Firms: The Experience of NRDC
Presentation: how public sector firms deal with technology
brokering
MODULE III: IPRs, LICENSING AND STRATEGIC ALLIANCES
One of the main advantages of clear IPRs
is that it facilitates technology transfer through licensing,
strategic alliances and other types of contractual arrangements.
Issues relating to these types of inter-firm linkages will
be discussed here.
Sessions 11: IPRs and Licensing Strategies
The nature and scope of IPRs impinge on strategies of licensors
as well as licensees of technology. Some key issues involved
in the licensing process will be discussed here.
Readings:
-
R.C. Megantz (1996), “Licensing
Strategies" in R.C. Megantz (1996), How to License
Technology, John Wiley & Sons, 71- 90.
-
A.K. Gupta (1998f), "NRDC’s
Particle Board Case", IIMA.
-
P.H. Sullivan (1996), "Key Terms
and Strategic Positioning" in R.L. Parr & P.H.
Sullivan (1996), Technology Licensing, Corporate Strategies
for Maximizing Value, John Wiley & Sons, 15-26.
-
J.A. Nickerson (1996), "Strategic
Objectives Supported by Licensing" in R.L. Parr &
P.H. Sullivan (1996), Technology Licensing, Corporate
Strategies for Maximizing Value, John Wiley & Sons,
63-82.
MODULE IV: MANAGEMENT OF IPRs: INTER AND INTRA-ORGANISATIONAL
ISSUES
Generation of intellectual property and its appropriability
is often dependent on the way technology is commercialised.
Inter-firm networks may need to be built to develop and commercialise
technologies. Similarly, intra-organisational arrangements
which provide rewards and therefore incentives to be innovative.
Internal assessment processes of intellectual property generated
in an organisation has is implications for firm strategies
to protect it. These two dimensions will be covered here.
Session 12: Issues Relating to Commercialisation
of IPRs
Evaluating the commercial viability of IPRs is a difficult
task. Some methods used for this purpose will be discussed
here.
Readings:
-
S. Khoury (1998), "Valuing Intellectual
Properties", in P.H. Sullivan (1998), Profiting from
Intellectual Capital: Extracting value from Innovation,
John Wiley & Sons, 335-356.
-
S.P. Sullivan (1996), "The Importance
of Context in the Derivation of Royalty Rates" in
R.L. Parr & P.H. Sullivan (1996), Technology Licensing,
Corporate Strategies for Maximizing Value, John Wiley
& Sons, 177-186.
Session 13: Managing IPRs: Role of Networks
and Strategic Alliances
Often appropriability of intellectual property can be enhanced
through strategic alliances and networks. This is particularly
the case with new technologies with high rates of obsolescence.
Reading:
A.K. Gupta (2002), "Strategies of NIF, and GIAN in Technological
and Entrepreneurial Networking", IIMA. (Tobe circulated
later)
Session 14: Managing IPRs: Role of Organisational
Incentive Mechanisms
A recent case of NRDC mediated transfer of technologies developed
in a public sector lab highlighted the role of internal incentive
structures in strategically leveraging the technologies developed
in house. In the absence of such mechanisms, all conventional
methods of technology transfer (licensing etc.) may remain
inadequate in appropriating the full benefits of the technology
developed.
Readings:
S.P. Fox (1998), "Intellectual Property
Management", in P.H. Sullivan (1998), Profiting from
Intellectual Capital: Extracting value from Innovation, John
Wiley & Sons, 142-156.
Session 15: Managing IPRs: Internal Assessment
of Technology
Most companies have internal processes of evaluating technologies
before they are patented and or commercialised. The major
issues involved in this process will be discussed in the context
of one company's assessment procedures? Part of the assessment
mechanism (which often has to precede any R&D programme)
is to search for similar or related innovations/inventions.
The availability of databases has helped these search processes
tremendously. Some aspects of search strategies will also
be covered here.
Session 16: IPRs and Environment
Reading: Environmental Implications of Intellectual Property
Protection (IPP): Can individual and community conservation
ethic and creativity be rewarded through IPP, Anil K Gupta,
2001,UNEP, Geneva
Session 17: International Context for IPRs
and access to genetic resources
Reading:
Review of Debate in the inter-governmental Panel on Access
to Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge, Benefit sharing
and Folk lore protection, WIPO, Anil K Gupta, 2002
Session 18: Ethical Issues and INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY RIGHTS The right over life( biotechnology industry
and GM crops and animals) and other related issues will be
discussed in a two hour workshop Draft Report on the Follow-up
of the International Symposium on "Ethics, Intellectual
Property and enomics"
(Working Group of the IBC on the follow-up of the International
Symposium on “Ethics, Intellectual Property and Genomics”)
Rapporteur: Justice Michael Kirby Paris, 29 August 2001 http://www.unesco.org/ibc/index.html
Ethics & Intellectual Property Rights by Michael Gros
and Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir, published in Values for Management,2001,
http://www.besr.org/library/index2.html#ipr
Session 19: Prior Art search: workshop on
pursuing prior Art search and identifying novelty of an invention
Intellectual Property and Patent Strategy, 2002
Session 20: Disputes around INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
RIGHTS: discussion on the conflicts emerging globally as well
as with in India: selected cases will be taken up from trade
mark, copy rights and patent related cases fro discussion
in the class
Panel drafts principles on intellectual property
and conflicts 2001, MIT policy on intellectual property rights
conflicts
Session 21: Presentation of project work |
PGP-ABM
III Term/2002 - 2003
One Unit
MANAGEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
Anil K Gupta
Indian agriculture has made spectacular gains since mid sixties,
thanks to the green revolution. However, the growth achieved
earlier is becoming difficult to sustain. The declining productivity
of various inputs. has become a major constraint. One has
to use more water, fertilizer, pesticides, energy, and other
inputs to get the same amount of output. The crisis in agriculture
sector has become even more serious in the post GATT phase
of increased global competitiveness and reduced ability of
state to subsidize various inputs. The nature is also finding
difficult to continue to bear with all the negative externalities.
And yet biotechnology and other newer technologies in the
field of precision agriculture are opening new avenues of
possible growth. In some cases, these technologies also raise
ethical dilemma, which we need to confront and deal with adequately.
It is often argued that since the average
level of consumption of chemical inputs in developing country
is much lower than in developed countries, there was no cause
of concern. It is also assumed that decline in productivity
was inevitable as a ’normal’ natural resource
function. These assumptions are questioned in this course.
Although the growth processes in agricultural
sector have been affected by several factors, including declining
public and private investment, and supply of credit, in this
course we have focused only on the technological and ecological
factors. What are the challenges before research planners
and corporate leaders engaged in technological change in making
a transition to sustainable agriculture? This course provides
to the participants, an understanding and appreciation of
not only difficulties lying ahead but also concrete alternatives
that are emerging from alternative agriculture movement with
in India and abroad ( particularly the Honey bee experience).
The course also tries to highlight the potential that exists
for organic and non-chemical agriculture in European as well
as domestic markets. Experience with regard to linkage between
consumers and producers of alternative agriculture in various
countries will also be shared.
Case studies based on innovations by farmers
as well as ecopreneurs will particularly be highlighted to
understand the emerging technological frontiers. The role
of the low external input technologies in making Indian agriculture
globally competitive will be discussed in the light of post
GATT and CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) agreements.
The role of Intellectual Property Rights, Farmers’ Rights
(under FAO Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources) and other
provisions of WTO dealing with non-actionable subsidies for
making transition to sustainable agriculture, will also be
discussed. The implications of discussions on trade and environment
in Committee on Trade and Environment under WTO will be reviewed
with specific reference to IPRs, Biotechnology and environmental
standards. The issues related to biosafety protocol, precautionary
principle, risk in transgenic crops for environment and human
safety will also be dealt with.
Pedagogy and evaluation:
The course participants will evolve initiatives
that corporate leaders and research managers can take in making
the transition through project work. In addition, students
will be encouraged to make class presentation on at least
one topic aided by the faculty. Each session will be of two
hours duration unless otherwise specified. Evaluation will
be based on following outputs:
OUTPUTS WEIGHTAGE
- Class presentation 25 per cent
- Quizzes 15
- Project Report 35
- Final Test 25
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