IPRs a key element for success of startups

As the business is up and running without being IP protected, many founders do not feature it on their priority list. I came across an incident where a founder did not receive funding despite having a unique business as the investors found out that his idea wasn’t patented - Pratibha Pulijala, founder, Mee School

Generally, it costs couple of lakhs, but due to support of SIPP promoted by the Centre, startups can get the patent for free of cost. If the idea or product is a cutting-edge innovation, patenting the technology is helpful so that others don’t copy it, as innovation takes time, and it’s also expensive - Dr Vishal Gupta, founder, Descign AI

Hyderabad: During the pre-seed and seed stage of growth, a startup founder is busy with the business development. Only when an investor questions about how different the idea from the others in the market is, does the founder get down to establish its uniqueness. Moreover, many founders, who venture out on their own, lack the backing of incubation centres, network support, due to which they stand short of know-how related to Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) during the initial growth phase, say Hyderabad-based startup founders.

Speaking to Bizz Buzz, Pratibha Pulijala, Founder, Mee School, said: “As the business is up and running without being IP protected, many founders do not feature it on their priority list. I came across an incident where a founder did not receive funding despite having a unique business as the investors found out that his idea wasn’t patented.”

Pulijala, a first-time entrepreneur, recently received IP registration for Mee School’s brand name, tag line and logo. She is now running a cohort in collaboration with T-Hub, wherein one of the programme covers Copyright. Sharing her experience, she said: “Many organisations that are set up for entrepreneurs are not aligned with the central government’s schemes. I am part of many such groups, but I wasn’t made aware about the Startups Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP) programme. Initially I had paid one person to get the brand and logo registered. After he absconded, I found another reliable lawyer, who got the work done. But the process is lengthy and time consuming due to which many founders defer it for later.”

Pulijala faced a challenge, while registering the brand name. The name Mee School was already taken by another entrepreneur. She questions, “What if I had found about it later? My e-learning platform is known in the international circle too. Luckily the matter is resolved now otherwise, going ahead, I would end up changing the brand name after having established a brand. But I can’t comment the same about patenting as business ideas evolve and pivot too eventually.”

Swathi Rusheetha another startup founder has planned on filing for a patent. According to her, IP acts as a safety net for the startups’ future and success, after the founder has locked on the business idea. “IP is a shield that protects all the hard work founders put into creating something new, innovative, and efficient. However, first-time founders are not much aware about the process of getting an IP registered. The process is not always quick or easy. It involves filling out forms, dealing with legal matters, and sometimes waiting a while for approval. It takes around nine months for IP to be registered. Overall, while getting IP registered can be of a challenge, it makes the startup more attractive for investors and helps stand out from competitors,” she points out.

Another seasoned entrepreneur, and founder of Descign AI, Dr Vishal Gupta has so far three patents registered, two international and one national. Highlighting the advantage of patenting the idea, Dr Gupta says, “we have developed a software product for digitalizing life sciences, for which I have an Indian patent, facilitated by a lawyer empanelled under the SIPP (Startups Intellectual Property Protection) programme, an initiative promoted by the Government of India. Generally, it costs couple of lakhs, but due to their support, startups can get the patent for free of cost. If the idea or product is a cutting-edge innovation, patenting the technology is helpful so that others don’t copy it, as innovation takes time, and it’s also expensive.”

Awareness about the importance of IPR has seeped into the startup ecosystem as a primary criterion to attract investors. Bhupathiraju Raju, a mentor and facilitator recognised under SIPP, says that startups are billing on their business idea as they do not possess any asset at this stage. “An investor is taking risk. To minimise that risk, the investor sees what IP does the founder hold. The other aspect is to gauge the future success of the startup. They want to see the competition that the startup will have to face. IP will help them ward off the competition which also means the idea is unique.” However, due to lack of clarity on how the idea will evolve many startups fall behind. Raju informs, “startups approach me to file a patent. They discuss for few hours. I ask them to put it on paper, and I will draft it into patent application, but they fail to do so. Founders should be clear on what differentiates their invention from the existing ones. As most of the ideas are piggy backing on existing one’s only, not all ideas are first of the kind.”