The Author, Rashmita Das is a content strategist at United & United Law Firm.

The theme of World Intellectual Property Day (April 26th) 2023 is Women in IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity, dedicating the ground-breaking contributions of women inventors, creators, and entrepreneurs globally.

On one side, some women are fiercely participating in the IP ecosystem, on the other side, the gender gap among the active participants in the intellectual property domain is a real issue. According to an article published by WIPO in March 2023, out of all applications filed through WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) only around 16% of the patent applicants are women.

At the current rate, WIPO estimates that gender parity will be difficult to achieve before 2064. This is alarming because as per WIPO’s report on International Women’s Day 2022, the percentage of women applicants was 16.5%, which estimated gender parity by 2053.

Therefore, some actions must be taken to support and encourage women innovators to strengthen the IP ecosystem.

One of the major reasons for reducing participation from women is the difficulties they face to get back to their mainstream workspace after taking a career break. To reduce gender parity, WIPO has recommended that member countries should implement such measures that reduce the chances of turning a temporary career break into a permanent one.

India ranks 42 out of 55 leading global economies on the International Intellectual Property (IP) Index 2023 released by the U.S. Chambers of Commerce. The government of India has taken such initiatives, enabling more women to participate in the IP ecosystem b offering fee reductions and free legal assistance for the preparation and submission of patent applications.

Initiatives India Has Taken To Encourage Women in IP

As a developing nation, the progress of India in the IP ecosystem is recognized and praised globally, also its initiatives to bridge the gender gap.

The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) offers an 80 percent fee reduction to start-ups and women entrepreneurs.

Also, the Department of Science and Technology of India has launched the Women Scientists Scheme.

Women Scientists Scheme (WOS)

This scheme addresses the challenges faced by women in the field of science and technology who have taken a career break by providing suitable opportunities to those who wish to return to mainstream science. Even though numerous women in India are highly qualified in science and technology are unable to pursue a career due to various familial and social responsibilities. The Department of Science and Technology attempts to prevent any kind of squandering of such women's abilities and talents.

Women Scientists Scheme was launched in the year 2002-03, with three components:

  • WOS-A: provides opportunities for pursuing research in frontier areas of basic and applied sciences
  • WOS-B: Focuses on challenges at grassroots levels and finding appropriate solutions for societal benefit
  • WOS- C: Technology Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council (TIFAC), an autonomous organization under DST, implements through its Patent Facilitating Centre (PFC).

The Women Scientist Scheme - A (2023-24)

The Women Scientist Scheme (WOS-A) is open to Indian Women Scientists. The scheme's main goal is to train women with qualifications in science/engineering/medicine or allied areas in the area of IPR and their management for a year. The training will allow them to work from home and thus maintain a good balance between professional and domestic demands.

 

Areas Of Expertise
  • Physical & Mathematical Sciences
  • Life Sciences
  • Chemical Sciences
  • Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
  • Engineering & Technology

Eligibility
  • The applicant should be a citizen of India
  • Women applying for this scheme should hold a Post Graduate degree, equivalent to an M.Sc. in Basic or Applied Sciences or B. Tech, MBBS or other equivalent professional qualifications
  • The applicant’s age should be between 27 years to 60 years and 5 years relaxation is provided to the maximum limit of age for SC/ST/OBC/physically challenged
  • Minimum 2 years of a break after Ph.D., and women in regular employment are not eligible for WOS-A.

Fellowship
  • Women scientists with Ph.D. degrees in basic/applied science - INR 55,000/- per month; subject to total project cost of INR 30 lakhs
  • Women scientists with M.Tech, or MD/MS, DM/MCH in Medical Sciences from recognized Universities - INR 40,000/- per month; subject to total project cost of INR 25 lakhs
  • Women scientists with PG in Basic Science (M.Sc) or equivalent - INR 31,000/- per month; subject to total project cost of INR 20 lakhs

The Women Scientist Scheme- B (2023-24)

WOS-B pays special attention towards those women scientists and technologists who are looking forward to re-entering the mainstream after taking a career break.

The main points of the Women Scientist Scheme- B (WOS-B) 2023-24 are as follows:

Areas of Expertise
  • Agriculture and Allied Sciences (AAS)
  • Health, Food, and Nutrition (HFN)
  • Engineering and Technology Development (ETD)

Eligibility

  • The applicant must be a citizen of India
  • It is for women scientists and technologists, who are returning after taking a career break.
  • Must be holding a PhD in Basic/Applied Sciences or M.Sc. in Basic/Applied Sciences or M.Phil/M.Tech/M.Pharm/M.VSC or equivalentdegree or B.Tech. or MBBS or other equivalent professional qualification
  • Must be between 27 and 57 years of age, and the SC/ST/OBC and physically challenged candidates will get a relaxation of 5 years in maximum age criteria.

Fellowship
  • INR 55,000/- per month shall be received by the candidates with Ph.D. in Basic or Applied Sciences, if the total project cost does not exceed INR 30 lakhs
  • INR 40,000/- per month shall be received by the candidates with M.Phil/M. Tech or equivalent degree holder, when the project cost does not exceed INR 25 lakhs.
  • INR 30,000/- per month shall be received by the candidates with M.Sc. or equivalent degrees when the project cost does not exceed INR 20 lakhs.

The Women Scientist Scheme- C (2023-24)

The main objective of WOS-C scholarship 2023 is to empower talented and skilled women who have studied science and engineering, and medicine in allied areas to contribute effectively to the advancement of science and technology in the country.

It is a year-long training programme provided to develop a pool of women with the skills to create, protect and manage IP in India.

Around 760 women are trained in these 11 years since the launch of the scheme, starting with 20 seats in the first batch to 120 seats at present.

The highlights of WOS-C are s follows:

Eligibility
  • The applicant must be a citizen of India.
  • Women between the age of 27 to 45 years as of 01-01-2018. A relaxation of 5 years to the maximum limit is granted for the SC/ST/OBC and physically challenged persons.
  • Women who have a master's degree in science or achelors in technology/engineering or equivalent; provided that the applicants have the basic computer knowledge to handle computerized databases.
  • This scheme is only for women who had taken a career break and want to return to their mainstream career related to the IP ecosystem. Women who are already employed, can not avail of this scheme.

Training offered

  • The trainees undergo one-month classroom training in IPR and related matters
  • For 11 months, they shall be joining a job and have hands-on training.
  • The women get the opportunity to work in the procedure of patent filing, prosecution work, and conducting a patent search using various databases, preparing technology scan reports.

Fellowship
  • INR 17,500/- rupees for Ph.D. and equivalent,
  • INR 12,500/- rupees for M.S.C and equivalent,
  • INR 10,000/- per month to selected candidates during the training period

Global Initiatives For Women in IP

Europe

We get to know from EPO's report, Women's participation in inventive activities, sheds light on the major challenge that European countries face in terms of increasing women's participation in science, citing such participation as a key factor in the bloc's future sustainability and competitiveness. The report looks at women's participation in the organization's 39 member countries and provides insights and evidence on gender and patenting in Europe to help ensure that diversity and inclusion are top of mind in Europe's innovation and IP sectors.

Latin America

Intending to close the gender gap by empowering women, the Latin American Network of Intellectual Property and Gender is paving the way for women to have equal access to the IP system and other resources, allowing them to translate their aspirations into marketable solutions with the full support of their community and institutions. The network includes IP offices from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay, and the initiative encourages participants to share best practices and experiences. Cuba, Panama, and Paraguay have recently joined the network to provide the skills and resources they need to succeed in innovation and entrepreneurship.

WIPO has identified one of the key issues - the lack of appropriate data collection on the representation of women in the fields of IP and innovation, and it is necessary to identify the scale and origins of the challenge and support efforts to narrow the gender gap.

In 2022, WIPO issued Guidelines for Producing Gender Analysis, summarizing the best practices to be adopted for developing innovations and IP gender indicators. They are intended to assist governments and researchers in achieving a more equitable gender balance in research and policy development involving intellectual property and innovation.

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Rashmita Das