Participants at the intellectual property rights seminar in Patna on Monday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Feb. 28: In an attempt to make entrepreneurs aware of their intellectual property rights, the Bihar Industries Association and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Institute, organised a two-day seminar-cum-workshop here today.

Participants, who have come from various districts, would be made aware of the intellectual property rights tools such as copyright, patent, trademark, logo, industrial design and layout among others.

Besides, knowledge on procedural aspects of getting these rights for special innovation or invention will also be imparted. In his inaugural address, industries department principal secretary C.K. Mishra emphasised on the need for more awareness about the impact and benefits of intellectual property rights since it works as a defensive mechanism for the industrial entrepreneurs.

“Our (Bihar) industries are in the nascent stage, even though they are growing. Since we are living in a world that has changed completely over the past couple of decades, we have to understand the impact and implications of international standards like intellectual property rights. We have to be aware of these rights that are supposed to be used as a defensive mechanism,” Mishra said.

“We (industries) have to start setting standards if we have to survive in a global competitive world as the days of physical protection of governance are gone,” he said.

Giving example of one Kunj Bihari, a resident of Munger, who got a patent for his coconut art, the principal secretary exhorted the people, particularly the industries, to come up with something new and innovative. He asked them to come forward to get their intellectual property rights registered in the larger interest of the state.

Anil Sinha, counsellor of small and medium Enterprises division of World Intellectual Property Organisation, suggested the state government to bring all the stakeholders like ministries, industrialists, science and technology, agriculture, art and craft together under one roof for an intellectual property audit to ascertain the state’s stock of intellectual property.

Sinha said the state government should take a lead role in framing a roadmap to increase the total stock of the intellectual property in Bihar.