Tuesday, July 12 2005 11:50 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: With a view to giving incentives to scientific community, Government is working on a new legislation, which will set aside a part of the intellectual property created out of research for scientists.

"Discussions involving the secretaries of various science departments have already begun," Science and Technology Minister, Kapil Sibal told reporters here yesterday (July 11, 2005) at a function to felicitate young scientists, who are back from Germany after meeting Nobel Laureates there.

"The broad framework of the new legislation will be ready by October or November and we hope that with government approval, it may be presented in Parliament during winter session," he said.

Though various institutes have policies to give incentives to scientists on intellectual property, there is no legislation or guidelines at the national level, he said.

Scenario had further changed with public institutions funding private research. It had necessitated clear-cut rules on sharing of IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) between the two parties, he said.

The new Act would have clear-cut stand on sharing of IPR between institutions, funding agency and scientists. In case of a private research, it would lay framework for sharing of IPR between public institution and private party, he said.

Earlier at a workshop, Director General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research R A Mashelkar said, "A similar legislation in the US, the Bayh-Dole Act, had paved the way for commercialisation of technologies from the universities."