On October 15, 2020, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal, Union Education Minister, introduced the KAPILA initiative. This was on the 89th anniversary of the late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, a renowned scientist and former president, the Union Education Ministry announced the beginning of the Kapila Kalam campaign. Kalam Program for Intellectual Property Literacy and Awareness is the acronym for the campaign. The programme offers financial support for patent filing to institutions that are a part of higher education institutions(“HEI”).

 

Kapila Kalam Program - IP Literacy and Awareness | UPSC IAS IPS IFS

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Kapila Kalam Program for IP Literacy and Awareness, which will raise suitable awareness among students and teachers of higher education institutions about the need for IP filing, the mechanisms, and the methods involved in filing IP in India and abroad.

 

Objective of the Kapila Kalam Program

The following are the objectives of the Kapila Kalam Program:-

• To recognize, support, and complement the most innovative uses of intellectual property and cutting-edge strategies in higher education.
• To design a credit course on the IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) features of the plan.
• It aims to raise appropriate awareness of the need for an IP filling process.
• In India, students in higher education typically comply with their instructors' directives but are not aware of the procedure for obtaining patents, which would enable them to make money from their ideas.
• Young researchers need to learn more about intellectual property rights and legislation, according to the dearth of awareness among them.

 

Initiatives Under the Programme

• Clinic for Intellectual Property (IP),
• Case Studies on Innovation and Intellectual Property
• Online campaigns for awareness
• KAPILA Campaign for National Intellectual Property Literacy Week (NIPLW).

 

Application Processing Methodology

• Online submission of shortlisted application information by the institute through the KAPILA site, including the title of the patent, the date the patent was filed, the applicant and co-applicant information, and a copy of the receipt for the patent application fee.
• Screening/examination of the submitted applications to ensure that the data are accurate at the institute level
• The MoE's Innovation Cell (MIC) will make the ultimate choice, taking into account the expert committee's suggestions and the amount of funding for the scheme.
• The entire sanctioned grant would be transferred to the institute in a reimbursement manner following MIC approval.

 

Instructions for Committee Creation and Submission of Unique Innovation

Every institute interested in obtaining funding for patent applications must set up a committee in accordance with the following rules:-

• Faculty and professionals who have demonstrated excellence in technology translation will make up the entirety of the institute's decision-making body with regard to incubation, IPR, and technology licensing. There will be no input from other departments/institute heads, deans, or registrars, as well as from other faculty members.
• All patent applications must be submitted to a minimum five-person committee that includes two faculty members with sufficient IPRs that have been translated into commercialization, two institute alumni or industry experts with experience in technology commercialization, and one lawyer with IPR experience. This committee will review all patent applications. If an institute cannot find alumni or faculty with the necessary experience from the inside, it may use people from other institutes.
• The IPR cell or incubation centre for the institute will solely serve as a coordinator and facilitator for services offered to faculty, staff, and students. They won't be able to influence how the invention is used or how it will be patented.
• Students and teachers will be given funding for patent applications in which the institute is either the applicant or co-applicant. (If the Institute is not listed as an applicant or co-applicant on the patent application, the application will not be financed. The money won't be sent to an individual's account but only to the institute's bank account.)

 

Guidelines for Committee

A committee with a minimum of 5 members should review all applications for patent filing.

• Faculty members who have created enough intellectual property and made it commercially viable
• Institute graduates and business professionals with expertise in technology commercialization
• Legal counsel: IPR experience is required

 

Funding Assistance from MIC/AICTE on Reimbursement Mode

Sr. No.	Budget Head	Amount in ₹
1	Funding support for patent application filing fee	₹ 1,600/-
2	Request for Examination fee	₹ 4,000/-
3	Amount per Application	₹ 5,600
4	Total Amount (Maximum Application 10 per Institute)	₹ 56,000/-

• A maximum funding amount of ₹ 5,600/- per application
• Maximum Application 10 per Institute
• Maximum funding per Institute is amount of ₹56,000/- (₹ 5,600/- per application)

 

Distribution of the Funds

• After submitting proof of payment for the patent application filing fee and examination fee, a maximum of 50% of the shortlisted application will be supported via reimbursement. (For instance, if an institute submits 20 patent applications to KAPILA, funding will only be available for a maximum of 10 applications.)
• The sanctioned sum will be released in full as a grant in help to the institute's director.
• The grantee institution must adhere to all financial standards and regulations set forth from time to time by the AICTE and the Indian government.

 

Expert Committee

• In order to evaluate the patent application, a knowledgeable and qualified experts committee should be included.
• Faculty, students, and staff at HEIs must ensure internal participation in the submission of patent applications.
• Depending on the number of applications received and at their discretion, the Institute may invite any number of experts for each examination.
• The institute must pay the honoraria for experts out of their own funds. However, the level of the activities should not be diminished.
• Minutes from Expert Committee meetings and evaluation reports should be kept on file at the institution and sent as needed to the MoE's Innovation Cell. The meeting minutes format is available at the https://kapila.mic.gov.in/. Information has to be given about each patent that has been requested for approval (whether selected or rejected for KAPILA by the committee).

 

Report and Related Materials Submission

• Within the allotted time after submitting a patent application, the institute must provide the report and the ensuing supporting documents.
• An original statement of actual expenditure (in the reimbursement method) on the required form, officially signed by the institution's head and witnessed by the registrar, the finance officer, and the government auditor.

 

Monitoring

• An Officer/Observer may be appointed by AICTE/MIC to monitor the procedure.

 

Anticipated Outcome of the Programme

• Promotion of awareness among students and faculty in higher education institutions about the necessity of filing intellectual property (IP), as well as the procedures and techniques involved in filing IP in India and throughout the world.
• Fostering a culture of methodically safeguarding novel concepts, discoveries, and innovations of both national and international value, and establishing the critically important IP filing environment in a significant number of educational institutions.
• The programme will lay the groundwork for the institute's participation in MoE initiatives promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, including YUKTI 2.0, NISP, ARIIA, Hackathons, and IIC.
• Strengthening the ties between institutions in the Himalayan, North Eastern, and aspirational districts and national facilitators of the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosphere.
• Student, faculty, and staff involvement and active participation Sensitization and a thriving ecosystem for IP filing in HEIs
• Submission of no less than 10,000 patent applications annually

 

Conclusion

The Kapila Kalam Program will assist the Indian government in promoting awareness of the importance of patented inventions through educational activities in an effort to advance the country toward self-reliance. It aims to maximize the potential of intellectual property in order to advance its discoveries and combine them with patents.