Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY)
- SIP-EIT Support for International Patent Protection in E&IT (SIP-EIT) – II for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Technology Startup Units
In India, most of the SMEs find it difficult to protect their Intellectual Property due to high cost involved in IPR protection. This is especially true in case of international filing which is necessary for companies to be globally competitive. Although national filing of IPR has picked up enormously in India, but applications from Indian ICTE companies constitute only a fraction of total applications filed with Indian Patent Office. Similarly, international applications from Indian owned companies are far less than those filed by top filing countries, although the situation has considerably improved during last 2-3 years.
SIP-EIT is a scheme initiated by DeitY for providing financial support to startups and MSMEs to strengthen their competitiveness through innovation and its protection.
Some of the salient features of the scheme are the following:
- Providing financial support for international filing in Information Communication Technologies and Electronics sector. Reimbursement upto maximum of Rs 15 Lakhs per invention or 50 % of the expenses incurred in filing patent, whichever is less.
- The applicant can apply for the support at any stage of international patent filing. However, reimbursement will only be applicable to expenditures incurred from the date of acceptance of complete application by DeitY subject to approval of competent authority.
- In respect of ownership of the patent, the application filed in the name of owner may also be considered and the applicant may be asked to assign it to the company after DeitY’s approval to provide support under SIP-EIT-II scheme, however the individual at the time of applying under SIP-EIT-II scheme must be an existing employee or should be in the Board of Directors of the company.
- One application for foreign filing in all countries for a particular invention will only be considered under the scheme.
- This is a pure grant subject to approval by DeitY and no stake in the supported patent is envisaged under the scheme.
Multiplier Grant Scheme
Department of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is implementing Multiplier Grants Scheme (MGS). MGS aims to encourage collaborative R&D between industry and academics/ R&D institutions for development of products and packages. Under the scheme, if industry supports R&D for development of products that can be commercialized at institution level, then government will also provide financial support that is up to twice the amount provided by industry. The proposals for getting financial support under the scheme are to be submitted jointly by the industry and institutions.
Rs. 36 Crores and MeitY contribution of Rs. 24 Crore. The Technology Development Council (TDC) budget head will be used for implementation of this scheme. Based on this pilot implementation and feedback, the scheme would be reviewed by Working Group.
The major objectives of the scheme are:
- Establish, nurture and strengthen the linkages between the Industry and Institutes;
- To promote industry oriented R&D at institutes;
- Encourage and accelerate development of indigenous products and packages; and
- Bridge the gap between R&D / Proof-of-concept and commercialization /
.