Report on the Workshop by HNB Central University

It was my pleasure to attend the Workshop on Intellectual Property Rights on the occasion of World IP Day which was conducted by HNB Central University on 26th April 2021. The workshop had two sessions- this report will cover the second session of the workshop. The speaker of the first session was Mr. Bharat Sharma who covered the basics of Intellectual Property in his presentation. The second session covered the Procedures related to SMEs and IP.

The session began at 12:15 PM with a brief introduction of the speaker, Mr. Krishnam Goyal by the moderator Ms. Himani Bisht, Assistant Professor of the HNB Central University.

Mr. Krishnam Goyal initiated the session with the powerpoint presentation on SMEs and IP which consisted of the agenda to discuss the following:

•Introduction of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)

•Importance of MSME

•Introduction of Intellectual Property as a tool for the growth of MSME

•Benefits available for MSME in the intellectual property law of India

•Procedure related to registering MSMEs

•Procedure of obtaining IP benefits for the registered MSMEs in India

Here are the key takeaways from the workshop:

• Mr. Goyal started the workshop by bringing into focus the letter ‘M’ in MSMEs which we generally tend to ignore. ‘M’ means Micro and refers to such enterprises in which the investment does not exceed one crore and turnover does not exceed five crores. He showed the statistics that the “micro entities” comprise more than 90% of the active MSME sector in India.  

• Then the session moved on with statistics showing how MSMEs are growing in number in India. He also shared a statistic on how many active MSMEs we have in the country and the numbers were quite impressive.
• The session took off to an interesting side of MSMEs showcasing how an innovative business idea can be a solution to various problems like unemployment; the economic imbalance between the Geographical areas; burden of metropolitan cities in terms of migration from small cities and it can also help in skill development and enhancement of the local talent.
• The speaker quoted Henry Ford and stated ‘the only real security a man has in today’s world is the reservoir of knowledge and moved on to the most compelling question of the session: how IP is contributing to the growth of the MSME sector. The speaker focused on the idea that innovation has become the main asset with an example of the internet stating that in the current time we have 4G and 5G and we are able to conduct webinars, online classes, working from home and are able to deal with this pandemic but if the same thing would have happened in the years when only 2G network was available. Would we have been able to do all this? This is the extent of how an idea, an innovation-led business idea can contribute to society.
• He talked about the importance of IP protection for a business and how SMEs underestimate the value of IP and its potential for future opportunities and profits. The IP protection can enhance the business value by enhancing the worth of an MSME in the eyes of the investors and financial institutions; the IP assets can raise the business value in the event of sales, mergers and acquisitions.
• The Speaker moved on to how to register an MSME. The process of registration is known as ‘Udyam registration’. The procedure was explained step by step with the list of documents required. The documents required for the registration are:
  • Aadhar number of the applicant name, gender
  • PAN number
  • Email id and mobile number of the applicant
  • PAN, location, and address of the organization
  • The number of employees and the date on which you are planning to start your business.
  • Bank account number and IFSC code
  • The basic business activity of the enterprise NIC 2 digit code Investment in plant and machinery/equipment MoA and AoA Copies of Sales Bill and Purchase Bill
  • Registration without PAN was permitted up to 31.03.2021 as a transitional arrangement.
  • Similarly, Registration without GST number was also permitted up to 31.03.2021 as a transitional arrangement.
• Along with the process to register an MSME, the speaker explained the procedure to file IP for registered MSMEs and shared the screenshots of registration of trademarks, patents and the filing at IPO to give a real-time view of IPR filing.

The attendees posed a variety of questions like asking about the details of the documents required while registering an MSME and how much time it takes.

The speaker concluded the session by drawing the attention on how women led startups are growing in India and the statistics about the 100 successful women entrepreneurs in MSME. He also added that IP provides the enterprise a competitive advantage and adds value to the business,and therefore,is always an added advantage to your business plan.

The session ended with a vote of thanks to the speakers and the organizing committee.