Thinking beyond the ordinary

CIPAM team

In today’s knowledge age, the global standing of any nation depends on its potential for and utilization of two elements – innovation and creativity. In India, there is no dearth of innovative and creative energies that flow freely in all sectors. The vibrant film and music industry, the strong software industry full of competent professionals, the rich and diverse handicrafts and textile industry, the pharmaceutical sector continually enabling access to affordable medicines, the unceasing advances made in the Indian Space programme and the constant technological developments that the nation observes on a daily basis – these are but a few examples of the impact made by the innovative energies of Indian citizens.

Innovation and creativity are natural gifts to human resource and are integral to the process of invention. They are especially abundant in young students and thus efforts must be made to encourage lateral thinking. It is important that students truly start believing in the power of an idea, that they allow themselves the freedom to think beyond the ordinary, and that – when ideas are born – they are able to protect and nurture them. After all, it is with these ideas, that we will march forward in our journey of development.

Recognizing the need to build a culture of creativity and innovation amongst students, and more importantly, preparing them to be able to protect their creations, the Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), set up under the aegis of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, launched an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Awareness campaign in schools. CIPAM was set up to fulfil the objectives concerning the promotion, creation and commercialization of IP assets that were stated in the National IPR Policy that was launched on May 12, 2016. Focused on students in the age group of 14-17 years, the school awareness campaign aims to familiarize students with the concept of Intellectual Property (IP) and acquaint them with the rights granted by the law to every author, inventor and creator with regard to their invention/creation. Already, IP awareness sessions have been taken up with over 300 schools across the nation reaching more than 14,000 students.

In the pursuit of a ‘Creative India; Innovative India’, the student population of the country has a significant role to play in not just creating Intellectual Property, but also in propagating the right values on the subject. Piracy, counterfeiting, plagiarism and infringement are some of the greatest barriers to the growth of IPRs in India. To effectively curb these problems and form a conducive environment for the creation of IP, it becomes imperative to catch them young, encourage creativity, develop an appreciation for ideas and sensitize them about the barriers to the growth of IPRs. An intervention at this age will thus facilitate the growth of a student into a responsible citizen.

The resources prepared for the awareness programme include a simple yet interactive presentation, colourful posters on the four basic types of IPs and an overview leaflet. These have been developed in an easy to understand format and are available on CIPAM’s official website for teachers to use for free. For the aid of the teachers, a Teachers’ Training Module along with a supplementary Activity Pamphlet is also available on the website. The link to the resources is http://cipam.gov.in/publications/resource-material/.

Interactive Presentation
Decorated with vivid colours, lively graphics and peppered with fun comic strips and mini games, the presentation for IPR Awareness is the main resource used for the sessions and has been prepared by CIPAM in association with the International Trademark Association (INTA). The presentation gives a general overview about IP, and discusses its importance along with its protection. Broadly, the presentation is broken down into the following sections –

What is Intellectual Property? Why is it important?
Intellectual Property is a type of intangible property (something that cannot be touched or seen) and is the product of a person’s intelligence, hard work and skill. Intellectual Property is territorial, meaning that it is restricted to each country, it is a creation of the laws of the country, it’s an idea that takes actual form as a product or work and is of importance to the country’s economy. IP can be created by absolutely anyone. IP is important as it gives us new and exciting inventions, creates jobs, contributes to strengthening the economy and helps creators and inventors be rewarded for their work.

Types of IPs
The presentation discusses four basic types of IPs – Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights and Designs. All inventions begin with an ‘idea’.

Patent – Once the idea becomes an actual product, it can be protected by getting a patent for the invention.

Trademark – A trademark is any word, name, or symbol (or their combination) that lets us identify the goods made by a company. Trademarks let us differentiate the goods of one company from the goods of another company. Just through a trademark, we can know many things about a company’s reputation, products and its services.

Copyright – Copyright protects all “original” literary and artistic works which include books, music, paintings, sculpture, films, computer programs, databases, advertisements, maps and technical drawings.

Design – A ‘Design’ means the shape, pattern, arrangement of lines or colour combination that is applied to any article.

IP games
The presentation also comprises a couple of games specific to each IP. These are –

1) Invention versus discovery

A common query among students is what can and cannot be patented? The answer is simple – an invention, that is a new creation that has been made by someone for the first time can be patented, whereas a discovery, that is the phenomenon of uncovering, unearthing, finding something that was already in existence cannot be patented. For example, the telephone did not exist in nature. It is a mechanical object that was “invented” by Alexander Graham Bell, however America was a continent that already existed and was “discovered” by Christopher Columbus.

To clarify the difference between the two, the students are shown the above images and asked to identify which of these are inventions and which are discoveries.

2) Find the famous trademarks

This is a simple word-search that reinforces the concept of trademarks amongst the students. Teachers initially display the unsolved puzzle to the class and give the students a couple of moments to find the names of the brands hidden in the puzzle.

3) True or false

Reiterating the learning regarding copyrights, this game of True and False may seem simple but is tricky. The purpose is to ensure that the students have grasped the main concepts of copyright correctly.

4) Name an ice cream parlour
Another short game on trademarks; this activity gets the creative energies flowing amongst students as the teacher asks them to come up with a unique name for an ice cream parlour.

This activity is conducted in continuation of the discussion on “good” trademark and “bad” trademark that is covered in the presentation. For a trademark to be good, students must come up with a distinctive, unique name that is easy to register. A bad trademark is one that is descriptive or suggestive of the product. For example, Cold and Creamy is a bad trademark for an ice cream parlour as it is descriptive of the product, i.e., the ice cream. Based on this explanation, teachers can guide the students in understanding whether their suggestion would make a good trademark or not.

5) Design a new . . .
For this game, basic stationery such as paper and pencils are distributed to the students and they are simply asked to design a new shoe, chair, pen or rocket!

Teachers must keep in mind that a design has a solely aesthetic value and not functional value. Thus, if the students come up with a design that has a functional aspect, teachers must let them know that it can be patented but not registered as a design.

IP Nani

IP Nani is India’s Intellectual Property Mascot and is designed as a tech-savvy grandmother who helps the government as well as enforcement agencies in combating IP crimes. Her grandson “Chhotu” aka Aditya assists her in her adventures against IP infringement. Four videos have been developed around IP Nani to speak to children about Intellectual Property Rights in a fun and engaging manner. These videos can be found by following the given link – http://cipam.gov.in/indias-first-ip-mascot/.

CIPAM is actively engaged in creating IP awareness amongst the students of the country by reaching out to more and more schools. With every passing day, IPR Awareness is becoming a topic of great significance and is also finding its way in the school curriculum. Thus, it is essential to equip our students with the right knowledge, for they will be the ones who will be known as the inventors and creators of tomorrow. In the scenario a school is interested to organize an IPR awareness session for their students, they may write to cipam-dipp@gov.in.