Department of Trade and Intellectual Property
Department of Trade and Intellectual Property was established on 1.4.2010 at Directorate of CARDS, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.

Objectives
Imparting skills on identification of inventions with patentability for patent registration of plant varieties, registration of GI products and other forms of IPRs and international trade issues through educational, research and training programmes which are necessary for students, agricultural scientists and other stakeholders.

Education
In the era of open trade economy, trade in goods and services and trade related intellectual property assume paramount importance. Developing graduates with such skills is crucial for employability. At preset the courses such as international Economics and Trade Theories and their Applications to post and doctoral programmes of disciplines of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management and Intellectual Property and Its Management in agriculture for post and doctoral programmes of all disciplines of agriculture, IP in biotech, IP in bio-informatics and IP in agri – business for undergraduate are being taught.

Research Activities
Trade liberalization in agriculture has thrown many opportunities and challenges to agricultural sector as a whole warranting specific research outcome for policy decisions and trade negotiations. Under this context, it is critically essential to undertake research on specific areas whenever demanded to safeguard and bring in opportunities for benefiting agriculture through competitiveness. The department is undertaking the activities of identifying the patentable products/ processes and files the patentable products/processes of the TNAU scientists in the patent office and take up follow up action till the products/ processes receive patent. As on date, nine agricultural inventions of TNAU received patent, 62 inventions were filed patenting (TNAU Scientists 62, Private entrepreneurs -04, student -02, other institutions – 2,) characters for filing. In association with the Centre for plant Genetic Resources, 64 crop varieties were registered under PPV & FR as extant varieties and currently 9 crop varieties were identified as extant varieties for registration. Current research projects cover new technology and varietal impact, knowledge dissemination regard to new technologies and their IPR protection, production strategies for export and trade policies to crop up with vulnerability of climate change. The ongoing research projects were supported by external sources.

Linkage with Development Departments and outreach programmes
Today imparting skills to the farmers, export business firms and other stakeholders on protecting their own inventions and how their products become competitive in the freer trade economy is imperative. The inventors/farmers have to protect their inventions either through registration or other forms of IPR like obtaining GI for their product. Similarly, exporters need a thorough understanding of the global business including risks such as price, market, exchange rate and financial risks and hedging. In collaboration with Protection of plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Authority, New Delhi the department is imparting trainings and sensitizing all stakeholders on IPR related issues. In coordination with Federation of Export Organization (FIEO), Chennai and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) , New Delhi the department has organized export seminars and workshops and organizes skill oriented export business module with track mode trainings for all the stakeholders in the export chain. Department is also providing expertise services to GI registry for granting GI for agricultural commodities.

Patenting Services to Private, NGOs and farmers
This department is also providing services to Private/NGOs and farmers to file their inventions of agriculture related products / processes in the patent office by drafting, scrutinizing and further follow up by getting nominal fee. For farmers the fee is Rs.5,000/- and private / NGOs  Rs.10,0000/-

Future plan
The Department will act as an Advance Centre for providing patent services to inventors of agriculture by developing an agriculture Patent System”. Agricultural products originating from a definite geographical territory having a special quality or reputation or other characteristics for registration under GI will be identified and registered. In coordination with other departments steps will be undertaken to identify crop varieties as extant varieties, new varieties, EDV and farmers ‘varieties and TK for protection. Research on frontier areas such as labour productivity and labour migration in agriculture under liberalized trade regime, resources use efficiency and virtual resources transfer in the context of trade openness, mapping of TNAU inventions fro patenting and ex-ante and ex-post impact study of patentable products/processes and identification of Geographical Indication products and their impact on economic livelihood system will be undertaken. Skill development “Export Trainings with Business Module of Track Mode” in association with FIEO for all the stakeholders in the export chain will be undertaken. Capacity building and sensitization trainings on IPR related issues to all stakeholders will be taken up.

AWARD
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University received the Top Indian academic Institution Patent Award, 2013.

Updated on Oct, 2014