Kamal Nath to lay foundation stone of NIIPM at Nagpur tomorrow

New Delhi, Aug 17 (UNI) Union Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath will lay foundation stone for the new National Institute of Intellectual Property Management (NIIPM) at Nagpur tomorrow.

To cost Rs 22 crore, the institute, when built in a year or so, will cater to the needs of an Intellectual Property (IP) regime in line with the global norms while at the same time safeguarding national interests, an official statement said this evening.

Last month, the Minister had launched electronic-filing facility for patent and trade mark applications.

Besides being a think tank of the government on important IP policy matters, the institute will conduct training programmes for examiners of patents, designs, trade marks and geographical indications. It will also conduct such programmes for IP professionals such as agents, attorneys and lawyers, and IP managers in business enterprises and research organisations.

Its education programmes will cover government officials, enforcement agencies such as police and customs and judicial officers, besides academics. Research will be carried out in a wide variety of subjects relating to Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) which have topical relevance. Inputs will be provided by the institute based on analytical and empirical research to facilitate government decision-making in the area of IP policy and legislation.

Recently, the government had refurbished four integrated intellectual property offices at four metros of Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai at a cost of Rs 153 crore, introducing computerisation at all levels of functioning.

Government is also planning to invest another Rs 300 crore in the next five years on further modernisation of the IP offices so as to make them world class, the statement added.

UNI