Patent Baristas

A genius transforms the world by expanding the frontiers of intellect. Intellectual property nurtures genius by protecting products of the mind and intellect for the benefit of society.  ~ Dr. Kalyan Kankanala

Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala, the founder of SiNApSE Blog and a leading IP expert in India, has published a short e-book entitled, FUN IP, the Fundamentals of Intellectual Property

After giving an overview of the basic concepts, it expounds various contemporary issues and debates around the concepts. Important IP principles have been explained in the book with simple examples and case studies. In summary, the book narrates the IP story of India by weaving together background information, concepts, cases, experiences and public perception.

The book gives a simple chapter by chapter review of the various types of intellectual property and their respective subject matter fro patents and copyrights to trade secrets and traditional knowledge-traditional knowledge.

Unlike many books that provide an overview of IP, Fun IP provides an excellent section on Traditional Knowledge.  That is, the knowledge, wisdom and information in possession of indigenous communities that has been passed to them from their ancestors:

The Biodiversity Law in India affords protection for knowledge related to biological resources with the objective of safeguarding biodiversity in the country. The law lays down a benefit sharing mechanism for utilization of traditional knowledge relating to biological resources. It provides that benefits acquired from intellectual property developed based on traditional knowledge relating to biological resources must be shared with the communities possessing the knowledge. In other words, if any person develops intellectual assets from biological resources, he will be able to acquire intellectual property protection over it only if he agrees to share benefits with communities, who provided him the knowledge with respect to the resources. For example, if a pharma company isolates active ingredients from a plant that is being used by an indigenous community in Kerala for treatment of diabetes, it can file and acquire patent protection only if it agrees to share benefits with the community that holds knowledge about the plant.

While comprehensive treatment of even a single subject covered by Fun IP would require many volumes, this e-book does provide a good overview of all the types of intellectual property protection.

I  recommended this book for those not well versed in intellectual property who are looking for a comprehensive overview.  The details of the e-book are available here.  The book  will also be made available shortly for download on i-books, Kindle and other readers.

About the Author

Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala is a founding Partner of Brain League, National Expert on IP, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), and Visiting Faculty, National Law School of India University, Bangalore.  Dr. Kalyan specializes in helping companies extract and maximize business  value from intellectual assets. During his illustrious career as an IP professional, he has worked closely with technology driven companies on IP Protection, Strategic IP Analysis, IP Audits, Management of IP, Strategic Alliances, Licensing and Risk Mitigation.  SiNApSE Blog is an initiative of Brain League, created with an idea of showcasing the diversity of approaches towards Intellectual Property.