Intellectual Property Training Helps Start-ups

Training Intellectual Property Helps Start-ups ByLEIGH HARTMAN

I m a g e s a r t i s t e e r / i S t o c k / G e t t y

TheUnitedStates is helping entrepreneurs in India build businesses and protect their innovative ideas. Go Online Nexus www.startupnexus.in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office https://bit.ly/uspto-I India

At Nexus, a start-up incubator at American Center New Delhi, cutting-edge businesses are learning how to develop and protect innovative ideas.

Start-up founder Suchin Jain, whose company Inoviea patented a solar panel cleaning system that doesn’t require water or moving parts, says that working with the Nexus incubator helped him develop and focus his business. The 2019 Nexus start-up class “was a great learning experience that fine-tuned my understanding of the start-up process,” says Jain. He says the Nexus team guided and supported his start-up efforts. Nexus is a collaboration between U.S. Embassy New Delhi and the Alliance for Commercialization and Innovation Research (ACIR), a global nonprofit that supports economic development and growth through innovation. The Nexus start-up program brings “American best practices in entrepreneurship and incubation to India and links promising Indian start-ups with U.S. businesses,” says Erik Azulay, president of ACIR and manager of the Nexus program. ACIR is proud to be a part of “the U.S. Embassy’s commitment to supporting the Indian innovation ecosystem and joint U.S.-Indian prosperity.” At the incubator, start-up founders undergo a nine-week intensive course that covers everything from developing ideas and securing financing to pitching their product to customers. Intellectual property is a key focus of the Nexus program. By giving people ownership of their ideas, intellectual property allows entrepreneurs to protect their inventions, artists to sell their work and businesses to establish unique brands. Intellectual property is a foundation of modern business. For World Intellectual Property Day on April 26, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation highlighting the critical role “small businesses play in our society and the ways intellectual property can help support their continued growth and resilience.” In addition to the Nexus program, the U.S. Embassy is committed to supporting innovation in India through its U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in New Delhi, which educates students, entrepreneurs and startups across India on intellectual property protection and how to use it to mitigate business risks.

Intellectual property training is crucial for start-ups, says Rahul Bagga, the managing director of Aumirah, an intellectual property analytics firm. Bagga mentors and trains start-up founders as part of the Nexus program. He says when starting a business, founders have to make sure they understand their own rights and the rights of others.

During his trainings, Bagga addresses the rules of intellectual property systems in India, the United States and Europe, and how founders should protect their ideas under each system. He focuses on helping start-ups fit intellectual property into their broader business strategy and avoid getting overwhelmed by intellectual property issues.

Nexus isn’t trying to turn start-up founders into “IPlawyers or professionals,” Bagga says. Rather, it’s trying to help start-ups make decisions and evaluate intellectual property as part of an overall plan.

Inoviea has already patented its solar panel cleaning technology in India and has applied for a U.S. patent.

Jain says Inoviea is growing at 100 percent year over year and has a positive cash flow. He says the Nexus program was “inspiring and gave me renewed focus to continue building on my passion for innovation.”

J a i n S u c h i n C o u r t e s y

Suchin Jain’s company Inoviea patented a solar panel cleaning system that doesn’t require water or moving parts. He says the Nexus team guided and supported his start-up efforts.