IIPRD is glad to have support from Khurana & Khurana, Advocates and IP Attorneys (K & K), and Sughrue Mion from US for conducting the National Patent Drafting Competition (NPDC) wherein evaluation of the patent applications submitted by the participants of the NPDC would jointly be done with the stakeholders from K & K and Sughrue Mion.

What is NPDC, its Purpose and Mandate:

NPDC is a new Initiative by IIPRD and its prestigious Indian and Foreign Associates to bring about greater awareness and respect for Intellectual Property (IP) Issues, particularly Patents, which have, over time, become more relevant to the Indian Ecosystem than ever.

With rising Patent Litigation in India, quality of patents and the scope provided thereby is a crucial aspect that is evaluated / scrutinized by the Courts / Appellate Boards. Furthermore, gone are the times when Indian Companies, Universities, and Individuals were only looking forward to create Defensive Patent Portfolios in India, whereas they are now looking towards the aggressive portfolio with sustainable commercial value.

More and more PCT and Convention Applications are being filed each month / year by Indian Applicants with around 30 Indian Priority taking PCT Applications being published each week. Most of these patents are filed with an objective of either Licensing, or Enforcement, or In-House Commercialization, and hence quality of patent drafting including claim drafting, scope of protection accorded, variety of embodiments presented, support in the specification, limitations provided, among other aspects are crucial to Patent Applications.

This initiative of NPDC comes with an earnest effort by IIPRD and its associates and leading sister Law Firm Khurana & Khurana, IP Attorneys (K & K) to promote development of Patent Drafting as a Skill Set and encourage more and more technical people to take up Patent Drafting as a Professional Competency, along with identifying and encouraging Top Patent Drafters in Country.

Eligibility Criteria:
Any Practitioner having a Technical / Science Background is eligible to Participate in the Competition. For instance, the Participant could be a student, a practicing Attorney, an in-house counsel, a scientist, a faculty, or any other stakeholder having a technical qualification.

Modus-Operandi of Conducting NPDC:

• Step 1: On 1st September, 2015, IIPRD and K & K, on their websites (www.iiprd.com and www.khuranaandkhurana.com), would put forth Three Invention Disclosures (describing three Inventions), one each in the domain of Electronics / Hi-Tech, Mechanical, and Chemistry / Pharmaceuticals. The Patent Drafting Competition would be active till 20th September 2015, within which timeframe, Eligible Participants would need to write Complete Patent Applications / Specifications (along with Drawings, if applicable) complying with Indian Patent Act for a technical domain of their choice (1 Patent Application per Participant).

• Step 2: Drafted Patent Application can be sent to competition@iiprd.com or can be sent in Hard Copy to Physical Office of IIPRD, which is at “E-13, UPSIDC Site IV, Behind Grand Venice, Greater Noida”. In either of the ways, the patent application draft has to be received by IIPRD on or before 20th September, 2015.

• Step 3: In order to enable only serious participants to submit their Applications / Specifications, a Participation Fees of Rs. 1000/- is to be submitted by each Participant, which can either be paid by means of Bank Transfer (Bank Name: IIPRD, Account No. 19620210002476, UCO Bank, Greater Noida Branch, IFSC Code:UCBA0001962) or through Cheque / Demand Draft in favor of “IIPRD”. The Draft should reach IIPRD’s Office (E-13, UPSIDC Site IV, Behind Grand Venice, Greater Noida, 201310) by 20th September, 2015. Each fee submission should be accompanied with the Name, Address, and Contact Details of the Participant so that Participation Certificate can be sent at the given Address to Each Participant.

Winner Declaration and Prize Amounts:
On 25th September 2015, two winners for each technology domain (total of 6 winners) would be announced on the website of IIPRD, K & K, and its affiliates / associates, wherein the winners would be decided based on a combination of numerous factors such as flow of the specification, scope covered through embodiments, claim drafting strategy, and accuracy of technical coverage. The evaluation would be done collectively by representatives from each International Law Firm and Khurana & Khurana, IP Attorneys, coordinated by IIPRD. Their collective decision on selection of the winners would be final and shall not be open to change in any manner.

On 8th October, 2015 prize distribution at Hotel Hilton Mumbai at 1700hrs onwards shall take place during the annual International Pharmaceutical / Biotech Symposium being organised by IIPRD, wherein the first winner for each technology domain would be given a Prize of Rs. One Lakh Only and the second winner for each technology domain would be given a Prize of Rs. Fifty Thousand Only). All winners would also be invited to the symposium on 8th October, 2015 as honoured guests, and shall also be given suitable Certificates, however the travel cost and stay, if required by the winners to join the prize distribution, shall be borne by them personally. In case coming over to the Conference is not possible for the Winners, the amount can be alternatively be credited directly to their accounts. All Participants would also be given Participation Certificates for the Competition.

Important Dates:

Contact:
Ms. Meenakshi Khurana
Phone: 0120-4296878, 0120-2342010
Email: iiprd@iiprd.com
Website: www.iiprd.com/National_Drafting_Competition.php