Title: Patent protection by publicly funded R&D institutions with their research collaborators - a case study from India

Authors: Venkataraman Parthasarathy; Shruti Hapse; E. Muthukumar

Addresses: Nehru College of Management, Nehru Gardens, Thirumalayampalayam Post, Coimbatore – 641 105, Tamil Nadu, India; CSIR-URDIP (Unit for Research and Development of Information Products), Tapovan, S. No. 113 & 114, NCL Estate, Pashan Road, Pune, Maharashtra-411008, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad-201002, India ' CSIR-URDIP (Unit for Research and Development of Information Products), Tapovan, S. No. 113 & 114, NCL Estate, Pashan Road, Pune, Maharashtra-411008, India ' Nehru College of Management, Nehru Gardens, Thirumalayampalayam Post, Coimbatore – 641 105, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract: Collaborating for research is common R&D practices for development of new process and product. Several R&D institutions collaborated and showed their output in terms of research publication and patents. The information related to research collaborations can be retrieved from the assignee data available in patent databases. R&D institutions in India are allocated with budget from government. There are reports available on R&D institutions regarding their R&D output and outcomes, however, there is no specific study related to how government R&D institutions have explored opportunities in collaborations with other institutions. Hence, there is need to study collaborations by publicly funded R&D institutions in India by using patent information. This article includes collaborations between government and private organisations. It highlights perceptive from technology focused in collaborated patents. This study found that collaborative research has output in terms of the patents; however, the outcomes in terms of commercialisation were found to be low.

Keywords: research collaboration; patents; assignee; technology area; international patent classification; IPC; public institution; private organisation; research and development; R&D; commercialisation; India.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIPM.2026.152452

International Journal of Intellectual Property Management, 2026 Vol.16 No.2, pp.162 - 196

Received: 19 Jul 2024
Accepted: 29 Mar 2025
Published online: 20 Mar 2026 *

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