Chandigarh University Becomes the Top Institution for Filling the Highest Number of Patents in a Year

Chandigarh University, Gharuan (Mohali), emerged as the leading Stand-Alone University in India for filling the highest number of 336 patents in a year. The annual rankings for the year 2018-19 have been recently released by the Office of Controller General of Patents, Design, and Trademarks, Government of India. The rankings are comprised of several educational institutions and multinational companies. 

Patents are vital to protect a person’s innovative idea, invention, design, or product. They contribute a lot to technological advancements, research, and the development of various computerized instruments. Modern approaches in science and technology and innovation are very important for a country’s growth in the era of automation. The filing of patents assists a country in promoting and boosting research and development in various fields. The patents also improve the overall reservoir of knowledge, thereby influencing learning and teaching quality in classrooms. 

Chandigarh University has continuously been working to make India self-reliant. According to the annual report by the Intellectual Property India, 557 patents were filed by 27 Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) collectively. They are leading the table, but with 336 patents filed in a year, Chandigarh University is the leading Stand-Alone University on the list, followed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) with 239 patent applications, Council of Scientific and industrial research (CSIR) with 202 applications, and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. with 173 applications. Chandigarh University also got the third position in the Top 5 Indian Applicants for patents in Information Technology. With 148 patents, CU was just behind top Indian IT companies TCS and Wipro. As Chandigarh University emerges as the leading institution in Research and Innovation, Punjab is now ranking among the Top 10 Indian States in Research & Innovation for the first time in history. The University is spending a large part of INR 6.5 crores' annual budget for the promotion of Research and Innovation among the students. The University has established more than 30 industry-sponsored R & D labs and 14 Centres of Excellence to encourage industry interactions and real-time projects.

Furthermore, Chandigarh University has established 50 Core Research Groups consisting of about 1500 students and faculty who have filed 336 patents. These Research Groups are playing a pivotal role in increasing the pace and achieving an excellent performance in the field of Research and Innovation. A total of 443 patents have been filed to date in the year 2019-20. This raises the total number of patent applications by the University to 779.

Among the different categories, Chandigarh University has filed the highest number of patents in the field of Production Manufacturing (203) followed by Information Technology (148), Domestic category comprising of Health & Hygiene, Human Safety, Appliances (113), and Automation (85). According to the Intellectual Property Annual Report, the number of patent applications in India increased by 5.86% in 2018-2019. The total number of patent applications received by the Office of Controller General of Patents, Design, and Trademarks was 47,854 in 2017-18, which jumped to 50,659 in 2018-19. As per the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), India has a global rank of 7 in the Global Patent Filing Index. Countries like China (1.5 million applications), the USA (597,141 applications), and Japan (313,567 applications) are leading the list.