Patents Must Be Market Driven: Isro's Y S Rajan

Distinguished Isro scientist Y S Rajan said here today that there is a need to keep market demand in mind while developing new products and technologies, instead of filing patents purely for the sake of it.

He said that most patents filed in India are never converted into marketable products due to lack of research about market demand.

"Very less patents are filed in Indian Patent Offices as compared to even small nations like South Korea. Besides, majority of patents are filed by outsiders. It is also seen that very few of these patents end up as marketable products," said Rajan, who was here to take part in the Global Green Energy Conclave.

He said that patents should not be based on research papers, which has now become a common practice.

"Everyone who publishes some kind of research paper is calling himself a scientist. Patents can't be based on such papers. You have to find out what the market wants. You should not file patents merely for the sake of it. Unfortunately, many institutions are yet to realise this," Rajan told reporters.

R&D is not always necessary to develop a marketable product. You cannot simply keep on doing R&D for ten years. By the time your R&D is over, that product may be out of demand.

Thus, you have to keep in mind the maturity stage and act fast, he said.

He stressed the need to keep emotions away while discarding non-feasible ideas.

"I would suggest simply throwing away your research if you cannot achieve technology readiness level. You need to see if it is possible to reach the market within a particular time-frame," Rajan said.