PHDCCI organizes 1st Steering Committee Meeting of Intellectual Property Rights Facilitation Cell  to educate MSMEs on how to encash IPR for competitive advantage

04-08-2023 : PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) in collaboration with the Ministry of MSME organized the First Steering Committee Meeting in Jammu  to  discuss the  calendar of events to be organized for promotion of Intellectual Property  Rights in J&K and also to educate MSMEs about the importance and benefits of IP. It was underlined that IP has acquired unprecedented importance, and issues relating to the generation, evaluation, protection, and exploitation of IP systems have become crucial for the success of MSMEs. IPRs essentially protect brands, inventions, designs, creative, and literary works from being copied and commercially exploited by third parties.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri G Velladurai, Joint Director, HoO, MSME-DFO, Jammu appreciated the initiative taken by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry to assist Industry members in protecting their Intellectual Property. He mentioned IPR is a very important topic for industry as Innovation is a significant criteria for Industrialists now from Economic and commercial point of view. In order to protect Innovations, knowledge about intellectual property is must. He added this is the need of the hour to create awareness about IPR among Industry members and general public at large so that they may safeguard their ideas and leverage the benefits of their Intellectual Property. He requested  all members present  to play an active role in dissemination of information about IPFC Jammu  among Industry associations in their respective regions and get their IP registered through IPFC  Jammu

In his welcome remarks,  Mr Rahul Sahai  highlighted the services of PHDCCI IPFC Jammu & Kashmir in order to popularize the IP services among MSMEs and Start-ups in Jammu & Kashmir and encourage them for filing of IP rights. He further apprised about the importance of IP for MSMEs and Start-ups to be ahead in the competition. He also highlighted how IPRs help MSMEs to sustain themselves in business and compete with big players. Further, he mentioned that the J & K region has a lot of potential for Geographical Indications like R S Pura  Basmati Rice , Basoli & Kashmir Pashmina Shawls, Basoli paintings , Hand-Knotted Carpets , Saffron  etc.  Some have been given GI but many more are yet to be identified for GI certification in the region and PHDCCI IPFC Centre will certainly play an important role in this regard. PHDCCI J & K IPFC will work with all stakeholders concerned in this area as well as State Govt .

Welcoming the speakers and participants Shri Mohit Jain, Chair, MSME Committee, PHDCCI informed that to help MSMEs and Startups in the region, PHDCCI has set up an IP Facilitation Centre at  Jammu  under the aegis of Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (M/o MSME), Government of India and is providing all IP related services like Trademarks, Patents, Copyrights, Designs and Geographical Indication, etc.  He added that PHDCCI is organizing a series of events to publicize and apprise stakeholders of the services of IPFC for Industry members and Startups.

Addressing the Session, Mr Saheel Yaqoob Allaqband, Asst. Director, MSME-DFO, Srinagar apprised about the various Government Schemes for IPR promotion. He informed that the Ministry of MSMEs provides reimbursements for granted patents, GIs, Designs and Trademarks. For foreign patents, maximum financial assistance of Rs. 5.00 lacs is provided for each granted foreign patent and for domestic patent, maximum financial assistance is Rs. 1.00 lac. Similarly, for GI, Design and Trademark, the maximum financial assistance provided are Rs. 2.00 lacs, Rs. 15,000/- and Rs. 10,000/- respectively. He further mentioned that a financial support of Rs. 70,000/- is provided for conducting offline IPR promotion programs and Rs. 5.00 lacs for organizing Regional/ State/ National level Workshops.

Addressing the session, Mr A P Vicky Shaw, Chairman, Kashmir Chapter, PHDCCI briefed about the major activities done by the region to promote IPR services among the MSMEs and Start-ups in the region of J&K. He advised that awareness programmes should be conducted in various parts of J&K in order to cover major MSME clusters and Start-ups to encourage IP filing from the J & K region.

Addressing the session, Mr Samar Dev Singh, Co-Chairman, Jammu Chapter, PHDCCI suggested for having more awareness and knowledge-based sessions regularly among industry members and educational institutes so that the culture of IP is developed in the region and also advised to share success stories from different parts of the country in order to encourage and motivate the industries.

Addressing the session, Mr Vasant Chandra, Head – Trademark Prosecution, United & United highlighted on encashing IPR for competitive advantage. He  briefly explained types of Intellectual rights-Patents, Copyrights, Industrial Design, Trademarks. He  mentioned Invention can be protected through Patents and filing of Patent application gives edge over competitors. After a patent is granted, the inventor can commercialize his/her invention for monetary benefits. He  further informed the participants that even one product or brand can create different types of IP.

Thanking the Eminent speakers and participants,  Ms Kanchan Zutshi, Sr. Secretary, PHDCCI mentioned that very useful information was shared during the meeting which will greatly benefit Industry and encourage them to use IPR tools for their benefit. She advised that  industry, startups and entrepreneurs can approach PHDCCI’s IPFC Centre in  Jammu for IPR related information and services.

The meeting was attended by Mr G Velladurai, Joint Director, HoO, MSME-DFO, Jammu; Mr Saheel Yaqoob Allaqband, Assistant Director, MSME-DFO, Srinagar; Mr Mohit Jain, Chair, MSME Committee PHDCCI; Mr Rahul Sahai, Chairman, Jammu Chapter, PHDCCI; Mr A P Vicky Shaw, Chairman, Kashmir Chapter, PHDCCI; Mr Samar Dev Singh, Co-Chair, Jammu Chapter, PHDCCI; Mr Vasant Chandra, Head – Trademark Prosecution, United & United; Mr Sidharth Dogra, Editor, Jammu Links News; Mr Arush Mahajan, Director, Branding Elves; Mr Lalit Mahajan, President, Bari Brahmana Industries Association; Mr B K Bajaj, Professor, University of Jammu; Mr Laksh Puri, Advocate, Puri Law Associates; Ms Harry Walia, Journalist & Media Professional; Mr Sudhakar Modem, Assistant Professor, IIT Jammu; Mr Muhammad AroojManaging Partner, Generis Global; Ms Kanchan Zutshi, Sr. Secretary, PHDCCI; Mr Iqbal Jan, Deputy Resident Director, PHDCCI; Mr Premashis Mittra, Deputy Secretary, PHDCCI and Mr Amarpreet Singh, Resident Officer, PHDCCI.