Manage Your IPRs

With the rise of human capital as the greatest asset, it’s now imperative for the Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to understand the importance of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). It is a kind of property that emanates primarily from activities of the human intellect. IPRs protect intellectual property by preventing infringement through patents, designs, trademarks and copyrights. The legal rights accrued on the intellectual property created are termed as Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).

What are IPRs?
IPRs have vital role to play due to global competition, high innovation risks, short product cycle, need for rapid changes in technology, high investments in R&D, production and marketing. There are various types of IPRs. The Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (popularly known as TRIPS) in the agreement of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) recognises seven forms of IPR, namely patents, designs, trademarks, copyrights, geographical indications, integrated circuits and trade secrets.

IPRs are largely territorial rights except copyright, which is global in nature in the sense that it is immediately available to all members of the Berne Convention. These rights are awarded by the State and are monopoly rights implying that no one can use these rights without the consent of the right holder. It is important to know that these rights have to be renewed from time to time to keep them in force, except in the case of copyright and trade secrets.

IPRs tend to have a fixed term, except trademark and geographical indications that may have indefinite life provided these are renewed after a stipulated time specified in the law by paying an official fee. IPRs can be assigned, gifted, sold and licensed like any other property. Unlike other moveable and immoveable properties, these rights can be simultaneously held in many countries at the same time. They can be held only by legal entities i.e., who have the right to sell and purchase property. In other words an institution, which is not autonomous may not be in a position to own an intellectual property.
 
Benefits of IPRs
There are myriad advantages of IPRs. Firstly, they prevent copying and imitation of your work. Secondly and equally important, they also save you money because you do not have to waste time and money on unnecessary investments related to R&D or marketing. IPRs helps in creating a corporate identity and enhances any company’s market value. They also give an edge to the firm and allows access into new markets.

How to attain a copyright?
An SME has to keep a record of all new innovations that are brought about by employees or the R&D wing of the company. These ideas could be goldmines of the future. Converting these ideas into IPs is a necessary step to safeguard it from being duplicated. Companies need to utilize written contracts which would register the IP to the company and introduce non-disclosure obligations on the staff and related parties from divulging the information or reproducing it. These can also be extended upon former employees from producing competitive products. 

Why invest in IPR?
While IPR might seem like a distant thought to you right now but it won’t be long before you realize how important it was. Realizing it before it’s too late is key. Understanding that an IP could convert into profits for your company is imperative. You could either benefit from practising the IP or by excluding other companies from using certain IP by gaining patent and copyright over that particular intellectual asset. Alternatively, the SME can license the IP and make monetary benefits from it. For SMEs, it is important for them to understand how to use IP to protect their inventions and brand. This is a great way to protect your innovations from bigger competitors who might use it if not protected properly. They might derive commercial benefit from your property, leaving you without any benefits.

If you are able to protect your brand and innovations with the right IPRs, you will be able to turn them into valuable business assets.

So get the inimitable advantage and make the most of your innovations by investing smartly and rightly in IPRs.

How relevant is R&D to SMEs?

The Indian market is developing at an accelerating rate and with rapid globalization, the contribution of technological potential is critical for any firm’s survival or growth. R&D is required to develop distinctive technological competencies and is vital to imbibe external technologies. Relying only on the strategy of reverse engineering and innovative cost-effective processes would simply be insufficient to support under the new technology policy regime.

While initiating an R&D project, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have to consider thoroughly whether the particular research is necessary for their business and if it would deliver the expected results. They also need to examine what is their exact purpose from the research which can dictate its methodology and also clarify the kind of partners required for the project. 

In SMEs, research helps in a number of ways including bringing innovation to existing products or developing new ones. It helps the company in accessing new customers and entering new export markets besides offering an unparalleled edge over the competition by increment in sales, turnover and growth in business. R & D also facilitates global collaboration leading to an intensification of international contacts between SMEs and other companies involved in the field. 

 Indian manufacturing firms of various sizes (small, medium or large) are often found to have a low incidence of in-house R & D and have very less budget allocation for the same. Some of the industries, such as chemicals & chemical products, electrical & optical equipment, drugs & pharmaceuticals and machinery & equipment control about 80 per cent of the entire SME R & D of the country (as per a research by Jaya Prakash Pradhan, SPIESR). Incidentally, these industries are also in the top four across the various SMEs, in India and worldwide in their share in the R &D sector.

Initiatives such as EU-INCOOP-Inter-institutional Cooperation in EU are gaining prominence by bringing together experts from key areas of computing technology from India and EU. This association is expected to boost the IT industry and benefit SMEs in gaining valuable data for entering new markets and also help in understanding details about market dynamics in a developed economy.

Many countries also offer tax relief to SMEs conducting R & D supporting the fact that creation of innovative, high-value-added products and services boosts profitability and growth of such companies and economy of that nation.

Indian SMEs are supported by schemes such as SIDBI’s Technology Development and Modernization Fund, ISO-9000 Reimbursement Scheme and Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme for Technology Upgradation, among others. The government also supports SMEs through direct incentives for promoting in-house R & D activities. Any industrial unit which has received recognition from the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR) is given tax deduction equivalent to the revenue and capital expenditure spent on R & D. 

With a variety of tax initiatives by the government and the global market knocking at our doors, SMEs are safe in opting for a bigger budget allocation for R & D activities which could substantially improve their businesses.

Techno- Savvy Age

Internet marketing is also known as web marketing, online marketing or e-marketing. It is a broad term and cannot be confined to just marketing through the internet but also through other mediums such as the wireless or email. The world, as postulated by Marshal McLuhan, can be regarded as a global village. McLuhan envisaged the world as interconnected by an electronic nervous system; this is popularly regarded as the internet. We live in the world of cloud computing where everyone is connected. No one can escape technology seeing that, everyone from a rickshaw puller to a billionaire, carries a mobile.

Web Presence
Technology is the pulse of life of the present generation. When a company establishes itself, it is extremely important for it to have a web presence. This acquaints the customers not just with the product but also with the company. Nowadays, the consumers are intelligent and the internet is the best medium to lure them. The media has a strong impact on the mindset of the people, who live in the world of virtual reality. Due to its nature, the internet medium allows consumers to research and to purchase products and services conveniently. So the internet has become a must in order to make a positive utilization of internet marketing.

Age of Information
It is essential for SMEs to realize that we live in the age of information. The way information is conveyed plays a very important role in boosting the sales of the product. This is the world of mediacracy and there could be nothing better than the internet to attract customers. Marcus Sheridan, the owner of ‘The Sales Lion’, says that effective content leads to winning the trust of the customer which further helps to get a lead in the market and thereby increase sales. So embrace internet marketing if you want to remain ahead in the promotion of the sales of your company.
 

Fast and cost effective mode
The best part is that with a small amount of investment just about anyone can have a web page on the Internet. In this manner, almost any business can reach a large market, directly, fast and economically. It is irrespective of the size or location of the business. This medium is cost effective as any SME can save its funds through internet marketing. This is because, anyone who can read and write can have access to the World Wide Web. According to the Internet World Stats, India has a large number of internet users which has gone up to about 100,000,000 till December 31, 2010.

Interactive medium
The internet has consolidated itself as a very powerful platform with an impact on the working culture and the manner in which people communicate. It has changed the working environment and affected the way businesses operate. It is about interaction — interaction creates relationships and those relationships open up the opportunities for you to share information about your products and services. Good personal relations can actually boost your sales.

Thus it is important to ensure that your website is user friendly, concise and up to date. In this way you can inform the world about the latest developments in your firm. Make good use of the innovative method of marketing through the internet to generate a more positive responses towards your business.

The 5 Top Criteria to be Considered While Selecting the Right Vendor for SME's

For any business its crucial to select just the right vendor to get work done. For SMEs obviously the game becomes a little challenging as for them every step of it is critical, as they might not be able to afford choice mistakes. Their budgets might not allow experimentation and selecting multiple vendors at various growth stages of business. Should price be the only factor? Does requirement assessment plays a major role? Should service quality (SLA'a) be kept on high priority? Should SME's look at a overall long term ROI as a factor?

The top 5 criteria that should be considered by SMEs while selecting the right vendor are:

• Reference Checks

Carry out a reference check to understand the credentials keeping in mind the Quality of Service/products delivered/implemented and go one step ahead of either calling or meeting the existing customer/s of the vendor. Even though the existing customer/s may not given any guarantee on the services, but it gives a level of comfort 

• Evaluate level of engagement

 Evaluate the level of engagement of the vendor from the date of inquiry till negotiation and this is the key factor for any SMEs

• Requirement Mapping

Check if the vendor takes the pains and has the patience in terms of taking you through all the solutions addressed in the proposal, which ensures that the vendor has understood the business needs and requirements clearly.

• Pro-active nature and consultative capabilities

The SME has to really understand that their vendor has the right consulting capabilities and that they choose a vendor which can understand their business and the industry well, along with the overall business space. This will ensure that the vendor delivers the right suggestive offering/ product and evolve according to the dynamic business environment in which the SMEs play today.

• Just right pricing

SMEs can take some very focused decisions in terms of ensuring the right pricing being paid for the services of a vendor. Pricing is a crucial element for an SME and the vendor needs to take a understanding view of the same. Pricing has to be competitive in the market and also has to be designed in a manner which shows that the vendor is ready to work with the SME for the long haul and is not in only for the short game.

Team IndiaMART Knowledge Services is committed to enable SMEs with tools, tips and techniques to help them reach up the value chain and hence achieve the next level of growth. For more information on how you can create new opportunities for your business, drop in a comment to this post and we will get in touch with you!