Strengthening innovation-driven inclusive and sustainable development Asia-Pacific Tech Monitor Vol. 37 No. 2 Apr - Jun 2020

Intellectual Property Management

Plus • Technology News and Events • Tech Ventures & Opportunities • Business Coach The shaded areas of the map indicate ESCAP members and associate members.*

The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) serves as the United Nations’ regional hub promoting cooperation among countries to achieve inclusive and sustainable development. The largest regional intergovernmental platform with 53 Member States and 9 associate members, ESCAP has emerged as a strong regional think-tank offering countries sound analytical products that shed insight into the evolving economic, social and environmental dynamics of the region. The Commission’s strategic focus is to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is reinforced and deepened by promoting regional cooperation and integration to advance responses to shared vulnerabilities, connectivity, financial cooperation and market integration. ESCAP’s research and analysis coupled with its policy advisory services, capacity building and technical assistance to governments aims to support countries’ sustainable and inclusive development ambitions.

*The designations employed and the presentation of material on this map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries Asia-Pacific Tech Monitor CONTENTS Vol. 37 No. 2 v Apr-Jun 2020

The Asia-Pacific Tech Monitor is a quarterly periodical of the Asian and Pacific Centre for Introductory Note 2 Transfer of Technology (APCTT) that brings you up-to-date information on trends in Technology Market Scan 3 technology transfer and development, technology policies, and new products and Technology Scan: Technology innovations to processes. The Yellow Pages feature the control COVID-19 9 Business Coach for innovative firms, as well as technology offers and requests. Special Theme: Intellectual Property Management Web: www.techmonitor.net

Editorial Board • Accelerating innovation in a successful Ms. Michiko Enomoto technology transfer ecosystem 17 Dr. Satyabrata Sahu Biruntha Mooruthi ASIAN AND PACIFIC CENTRE FOR TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY • A practical guide for MSME intellectual property C-2, Qutab Institutional Area management on E-commerce platforms 25 Post Box No. 4575 Hong Xue New Delhi 110 016, India Tel: +91-11-3097 3700 • Intellectual property management 31 Fax: +91-11-2685 6274 A case study of a license of ultra-low-ammonia latex for E-mail: [email protected] asphalt cement in Thailand Website: http://www.apctt.org Chaveewan Kongkaew, Piyada Suwandittakul, Opinions expressed by the authors Suriyakamon Montha, and Orakanoke Phanraksa are not necessarily those of APCTT. The designation employed and • Intellectual property rights and intellectual property the presentation of material in the management 37 publication do not imply the endorsement of any product, process Pankaj Prabhakar Borkar, Ashutosh Paturkar or manufacturer by APCTT. Tech Events 42 The contents of the Tech Monitor may be reproduced in part or whole without change, Tech Ventures & Opportunities 43 provided that the Tech Monitor and the authors concerned are credited as the Business Coach source and a voucher copy of the publication that contains the quoted • Start-up Venture Creation 44 material is sent to APCTT. • Technology Transfer 46 This publication has been issued • Venture Financing 50 without formal editing. • Managing Innovation 53 ISSN: 0256-9957 • Green Productivity 55

Tech Opportunities

• Technology Offers 57 Introductory note n a national innovation system, Intellectual Property (IP) plays a vital role Iin stimulating industrial development. Enabling IP policies drive growth of innovative enterprises faster through facilitating innovation, technology transfer and commercialization. Therefore, effective exploitation of IP is cru- cial to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 9 (build resilient infrastruc- ture, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation). The Global Innovation Index 2019 highlights impressive progress of some Asia-Pacific countries in the area of intellectual property. For example, China achieves top ranks in patents, industrial designs and trademarks by origin, and the Republic of Korea keeps first spot in national patent applications and industrial designs. The Islamic Republic of Iran shows strong performance in patent applications, scientific and technical publications, trademarks and indus- trial designs. However, there are still countries in this region that are ranked at the bottom quartile of this index with low levels of innovation and generation of intellectual property. Intellectual property such as patents are vital resources of research institutions and technology-based enterprises for their sustained growth and competitive advantage. They can leverage their intellectual property portfolio for commercial success and revenue generation. Therefore, the patents need to be market-ready and commercially viable to attract the investors. The organizations would also require adopt- ing innovative business models and strategies to commercialize their IP such as patents and others. A case study from Thailand shows successful licensing of more than one form of IP for latex used in asphalt cement for road construction. The business model involves multiple partners in the licensing process. It is imperative for universities to have a strong component of commercialization in their IP policies to bring out more market-driven innovations. Online IP marketplace platform has been successfully adopted as a tool in Singapore to help commercialize market-ready innovations by universities. An example is the Intellectual Property Intermediary (IPI) Singapore, an initiative of Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry. In the recent years, e-commerce poses risks for enterprises such as illegal access and theft of confidential information or trade secrets by hackers and cyber criminals. Alibaba Group and Sina Weibo e-commerce platforms in China have put in place mechanisms to help enterprises manage and safeguard their intellectual property. This issue of Asia-Pacific Tech Monitor discusses the challenges, opportunities, strategies and good prac- tices to manage and exploit the intellectual property for technology transfer and commercialization in the Asia-Pacific countries. Case studies from China, Malaysia and Thailand are presented in this Tech Monitor issue. Michiko Enomoto Head, APCTT-ESCAP Technology Market Scan

ASIA-PACIFIC Business Environment at a press confer- Di Lianzhu, an official at GAC, said at the ence on the 20th World Intellectual Prop- press conference. BANGLADESH erty Day on Sunday. “So far, 31 IPR pro- With 58,990 applications filed in 2019 via tection centers, together with 20 express Planning toolkit for SMEs the World Intellectual Property Organiza- centers, have been set up to provide con- tion’s (WIPO) Patent Cooperation Treaty The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk venient, low-cost services for the market,” (PCT) System, China has overtaken the U.S. Reduction (UNDRR), with the support of the Zhang Zhicheng, head of the Protection to become the top source of international Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), Department of the National Intellectual patent applications filed with WIPO. The developed a planning toolkit for Small and Property Administration (NIPA), said at total number of actual registered trade- Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to revive their the conference. The country revised trade- marks exceeded 25 million, with every business operation to the new environ- mark law, anti-unfair competition law and 4.9 market entities owning one registered ment. Bangladesh is currently witnessing drug administration law on November 1, trademark on average. significant economic shocks due to novel 2019 to further punish IPR infringement Coupling with the patent filing progress is coronavirus (COVID-19). Small and Medium to up to five times the amount of actual a favorable business environment created Enterprises (SMEs) are the most vulnerable losses, higher than global standards, for high-quality IP innovation and devel- group in this critical situation because of Zhang said. their low shock-absorbing capacity. To re- opment, which has also seen an improved According to the NIPA, 39,000 administra- vive their businesses, SMEs have to redesign global ranking, ascending to 31 from 46 tive adjudication cases of patent infringe- their business operations to adopt to the compared with one year ago, according ment disputes were handled last year. new environment, said a press release. to a World Bank report. A 2019 China busi- The average time to process trademark ness environment survey done by the U.S.- With the assistance of the Business Initiative registration cases was shortened to 4.5 China Business Council shows that about Leading Development (BUILD), this toolkit months, and the time to evaluate high- 58 percent of U.S. companies think that has now been adapted for Bangladesh. The value patents was reduced to 17.3 months. China has beefed up IPR protection in the toolkit includes: A planning tool organized The NIPA also reported and rejected over past year, marking the highest level since around ‘10 tips’ to make businesses resili- 38,000 cases of unqualified patent appli- the survey was launched in 2011. ent, a brief guide for impacted businesses cation and trademark application last year. https://news.cgtn.com with an ‘additional 5 tips,’ and an awareness- China’s Ministry of Public Security, the raising brochure summarizing the ’10 tips’ Supreme People’s Court and NIPA have Listed firms spend more on and the ‘5 additional tips’. This toolkit will joined hands to tighten regulations on R&D support SMEs to protect their employees e-commerce, rural markets, customs and China’s listed firms have ramped up spend- and their work environment. other areas and industries that are suscep- ing on research and development (R&D) Moreover, this toolkit demonstrates the tible to trademark and patent infringe- last year as both emerging and traditional process of how an SME can continue ment. Given the outbreak of COVID-19, industries invest heavily for long-term its operations during this crisis using millions of counterfeit drugs, medical growth, China Securities Journal report- their existing resources and to help pro- devices and masks have flooded into the ed. As of 7:00 p.m. Monday, 1,193 listed tect SMEs from further disruptions. In markets. In early March, law enforcement companies on the A-share market have addition, the toolkit includes guidance for officials in 90 countries including China disclosed their R&D spending in financial businesses which are already affected by carried out operations confiscating al- reports for 2019, which amounted to 420.1 COVID-19. The toolkit is available at the fol- most 34,000 surgical masks and disman- billion yuan (about 59 billion U.S. dollars), lowing link: http://www.undrr.org/bcp-ap tling 37 organized crime groups. About the report cited data from financial infor- The BUILD network is actively supporting 121 suspects were arrested. According mation service provider Wind. the SMEs in Bangladesh. It is also collabo- to AFP, the operation also resulted in the The figure marked a year-on-year increase rating with the UNDRR the ARISE Network closure of 2,500 links to products related of 21.88 percent. In particular, 189 compa- – the Private Sector Alliance for Disaster to COVID-19 on websites, social networks, nies saw R&D spending rise over 50 per- Resilient Societies with the intention to online markets and advertisements. cent, while 75 reported growth of more launch a national network in Bangladesh. To have a sweeping crackdown, the Gen- than 100 percent. Computer equipment https://unb.com.bd eral Administration of Customs (GAC) and application, biological products, tele- launched an online campaign to monitor com equipment as well as medical devices CHINA the export of medical supplies. “We have are among the sectors that reported ro- worked closely with China’s e-commerce bust growth in R&D spending, the data Progress in IPR protection platforms and the foreign trade systems showed. Besides the emerging industries China released its 2019 Report on Intellec- that can pinpoint illegal activities and that rely heavily on high R&D input to tual Property Rights (IPR) Protection and trace the source of production and sales,” sharpen their competitiveness, traditional

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 3 Technology Market Scan industries have also increased expend- The human monoclonal neutralizing form of Tables and graphs. These pertain iture in the area, the report noted. While antibody drug for COVID-19 developed to Investments in national R&D, R&D in- high R&D spending may affect profits in by researchers from the Chinese Acad- vestments by Government and Private the short-term, they will be conducive to emy of Sciences was approved for clinical sector; R&D relationship with economy growth in the long term, said Fu Lichun, an trials on Saturday, marking the entry of (GDP), Enrolment of S&T personnel, Man- analyst with Northeast Securities. China’s domestically produced COVID-19 power engaged in R&D, Outrun of S&T http://www.xinhuanet.com antibody medicine into a clinical evalu- personnel, papers published, patents and ation phase. Besides vaccine and antibody their international S&T comparisons. The COVID-19 vaccine R&D and drugs, Wang also stressed the importance survey included more than 6800 S&T In- antibody drugs development of making a breakthrough in the R&D of stitutions spread across varied sectors like China will make COVID-19 vaccine re- nucleic acid testing technology, aiming central government, state governments, search and development (R&D) a top pri- for products that allow a shorter detection higher education, public sector industry, ority and accelerate the development of time, higher sensitivity and looser detec- and private sector industry in the coun- antibody drugs, a senior official said. Wang tion conditions and environment. try, and a response rate of more than 90% Zhigang, minister of science and technol- https://www.globaltimes.cn was achieved. ogy, outlined the next stage in the coun- https://dst.gov.in try’s major focus of scientific researches for INDIA novel coronavirus at a press conference in COVID-technology transfer for R&D expenditure and scientific Beijing. The R&D of COVID-19 vaccines will MSME manufacturing publications be given top priority and will mainly come Recently Defence Research and Devel- from five main technical routes: inacti- India’s gross expenditure in R&D has tri- opment Organisation (DRDO) has listed vated vaccine, adenovirus vector vaccine, pled between 2008 & 2018 driven mainly 35 (approximately 13 major items) tech- recombinant protein vaccine, attenuated by Govt sector and scientific publications nologies related to COVID-19 pandemic influenza virus vector vaccine and nucleic have risen placing the country internation- for manufacturing, marketing and sale acid vaccine, Wang said. ally among the top few, as per the R&D as per the specifications mentioned on Statistics and Indicators 2019-20 based Chinese scientists have made great pro- its website. The concept detailed there is on the national S&T survey 2018 brought gress in their research into novel corona- to ensure that DRDO developed ‘Counter out by the National Science and Technol- virus vaccines. A research team led by Covid-19 Technologies’ are available in ogy Management Information (NSTMIS), epidemiologist Chen Wei developed an every part of the country to fight COV- adenovirus vector COVID-19 vaccine on Department of Science and Technology ID-19. DRDO plans to transfer these tech- March 16, the first domestically devel- (DST). nologies to industries through Licensing oped a candidate vaccine to enter clin- “The report on R&D indicators for the Agreement for Transfer of Technology (LA- ical trials. On May 22, the vaccine became nation is an extraordinarily important TOT) to be signed between industries and the first in the world to disclose complete document for the evidence-based policy- the concerned laboratory of DRDO with no phase one clinical trial results and declare making and planning in higher education, charges for ToT or for the royalty when sold dual immune response in the recipient. R&D activities and support, intellectual in India. However, such items shall attract Researchers from the National Vaccine & property, and industrial competitiveness. a royalty of two per cent of invoice value Serum Institutes, Chinese Center for Dis- While it is heartening to see substantial when exported. ease Control and Prevention, have devel- progress in the basic indicators of R&D It is expected that the signing of LATOT oped an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine strengths such as the global leadership shall provide the Indian industries ben- candidate, BBIBP-CorV, according to the in the number of scientific publications, efits like becoming a bonafide ToT holder life science academic journal “Cell” on there are also areas of concern that of DRDO and use of DRDO logo on the final Saturday. need strengthening,” said Prof Ashutosh product. However, DRDO has restricted it- “China will make its COVID-19 vaccine a Sharma, Secretary, DST self to transfer of technology Papers only global public good when it is ready for The report shows that with the rise in (viz. Bill of Material, complete know-how, application after successful research and publication, the country is globally at processes, Quality processes etc.). clinical trials,” said Wang at a meeting. In the 3rd position on this score as per the https://www.defenceaviationpost.com the next stage, China will also promote NSF database, 3rd in the number of Ph.D. the development of a COVID-19 human in science & engineering. The number of IoT patent filing monoclonal neutralizing antibody drug researchers per million population has The National Association of Software and with a high success rate of entering into doubled since 2000. The report captures Service Companies (NASSCOM) said about clinical trials and mass production, accord- the R&D landscape of the country through 6,000 Internet of Things (IoT) patents were ing to Wang. various Input-Output S&T Indicators in the filed in India from 2009-19, of which over

4 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Technology Market Scan

5,000 were filed in the last five years. But INDONESIA announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri over 70% of the patents filed in India were Muhyiddin Yassin. Technology transfer rules from R&D centers of global companies, In- In a statement today, Mosti said the five The Coordinating Minister for Maritime dian companies and start-ups accounted initiatives included the use of autonomous Affairs and Investments Luhut Pandjaitan for just about 7%. Over 40% of the total robots for health services, for delivery as assured that future foreign investors will IoT patents filed in the country have been well as disinfection to curb the spread of be required to transfer technology. He said granted, with global companies account- Covid-19, in government hospitals and this is the partnership scheme for capital ing for 90% of them. university teaching hospitals, as well as for investments. “I would often converse with The report, titled IoT: Driving the Patent the agriculture sector by optimising usage my acquaintances who are domestic and Growth Story in India, found that over 80% of fertilisers and spraying of pesticides. international investors and tell them that of these patents filed were related to ap- Another initiative is artificial intelligence Indonesia is a nation that opens to any plications pertaining to Industry 4.0 with (AI) and Internet of things (IoT) through form of partnership and with whoever. the healthcare and automobile industry technologies developed by MIMOS Bhd leading the way. Around 95% of IoT patents The reasoning behind his statement for video analytics. comes from the integrated industrial area were related to hardware components with On the third initiative, Mosti said linear with added value in Morowali, Konawe, connectivity network and sensors being pick-and-place robots with competency and Weda Bay, which focuses on raw ma- the leading sub-technologies. Manufactur- and high accuracy would be used to re- terials essential to the lithium industry, ers of electronics and electrical Equipment, duce the dependence on foreign labour nickel. Luhut Pandjaitan projects that the semiconductor devices, and computer and and to undertake dangerous jobs in the three locations will be able to absorb more telecom equipment together accounted manufacturing sector with the pilot pro- than 100 percent by 2024 which harbors for over 60% of the IoT patents filed in India jects to be implemented in the Muar Furni- Indonesia’s hope to become the second- by business entities over 2009-19, while the ture Park and Rawang Integrated Industry largest lithium battery exporter in the share for IT/ITeS companies stood at 13%. Park. world. Debjani Ghosh, president, NASSCOM, said, The final two initiatives are advanced man- The challenges facing that hope come “Innovation has always been at the fore- ufacturing such as 3D printing to produce to how to sustainably develop the in- front of fighting any crisis...I am confident affordable Malaysian ventilators in view of dustry, “Which is the lack of workforces that the IoT innovation specially with focus the shortage of the equipment, and muta- with a bachelor or diploma degrees in in healthcare and manufacturing will gain tion breeding application by Mosti agency engineering,” said the coordinating min- more impetus in the tech enabled new Nuklear Malaysia, which has success- ister. Citing the data from the Central Sta- normal.” In terms of applications, patents fully created new paddy varieties NMR151 tistics Agency (BPS), Luhut said that 2019 pertaining to smart electrical appliances and NMR152 with high value-add that will saw 52.4 million of Indonesia’s workforces and smart wearables lead in the home contribute to food security, such as high mostly consist of people with lower edu- automation category. yield value, resistance to fungi infection as cation backgrounds; 12.61 million college well as ability to grow in salt water and Disaster prevention is one of the key areas graduates; and 3.6 million with diploma minimal water. which can use IoT in assisting epidemiolo- degrees. gists to trace patient zero and the affected Mosti said the sandbox method https://en.tempo.co contacts by overlaying geographic infor- would lower entry barriers for products, mation system on IoT mobile data. Smart MALAYSIA services, innovation as well as new discov- cellular wrist bands can also help in ef- eries into the market with the easing of fective quarantine compliance. Tracking Initiatives under national conditions in the testing process and im- people’s health conditions through sen- technology and innovation plementation in a safe and controlled en- sor enabled screening systems, and use of sandbox vironment. “With this, the process of pilot sensors to increase contactless common Five initiatives have been identified under testing new technologies such as drone touchpoints, will be crucial from a pub- the National Technology and Innovation delivery drones and self-driving vehicles lic safety perspective, noted the report. Sandbox (NTIS) for a start, said the Min- can be conducted more efficiently and Monitoring health of workers through istry of Science, Technology and Innov- faster,” it said. protective gears as well as monitoring ation (MOSTI). With the establishment of Meanwhile, Mosti pointed out that four fi- automated machines remotely, tracking NTIS, several regulations for pilot testing nancing schemes were proposed encom- locations of goods will witness increased new technologies, such as online sales passing the scope of Industry 4.0 as well as use of IoT from supply chain and manu- delivery via drones and self-driving vehi- automation and robotics. These include a facturing stand. cles, have been relaxed in line with the Na- maximum grant of RM250,000 for funding https://www.livemint.com tional Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana) the Single Site Sandbox and a partial (70%)

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 5 Technology Market Scan grant of up to RM500,000 for the Multiple furnishing; packages and containers for Digital processing system for Site Sandbox. For the commercialisation the transport or handling of goods; fluid patent applications process, it proposed a maximum financing distribution equipment, sanitary, heating, Innovators and designers can now further of RM4 million in the forms of hybrid fund, ventilation and air-conditioning equip- their patent and design applications at the grant and convertible promissory notes. ment, solid fuel; and graphic symbols Intellectual Property Office of the Philip- and logos, surface patterns, ornamenta- Finally, there are matching grants with pines (IPOPHL) through digital means, a tion. Meanwhile, utility model (UM) filings investors and corporations with a max- significant accomplishment that has been stood at 2,228, climbing 4 percent from imum allocation of RM15 million. The fi- a major target under IPOPHL’s digital trans- 2,144 in 2018. Of the 2019 total, about 96 nancial instruments are subject to the formation goal. This is made possible with percent were residents. The top five big- agreements between Malaysian Technol- the successful launch of IPOPHL’s Infor- gest filings were in food chemistry; basic ogy Development Corporation (MTDC) and mation Technology Management Service materials chemistry; handling; furniture, the companies involved. Mosti, through (ITMS) of the infrastructures and systems games; and pharmaceuticals. Patents Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity that can extend the facilitation of online posted a 2-percent annual hike, totaling Centre (MaGIC), Technology Park Malaysia patent processes beyond the “eFile” ser- to 4,024 from 3,962. Filings made under (TPM) and MTDC, along with Futurise Sdn vice, which allows applicants to submit the Patent Cooperation Treaty accounted Bhd (which is under the Ministry of Finance electronically the required documents for the lion’s share or 80 percent at 3,223. [MoF]), will cooperate with regulatory bod- and forms to initiate the application. ies and other private sectors to coordinate Based on the country of origin, the United The new service, called “eDocFile for Pat- the implementation of NTIS. States, Japan, and China were the top fil- ents,” can take forward the application for https://www.theedgemarkets.com ers. Top industries for patent claims were in invention, utility model (UM), and indus- pharmaceuticals; organic fine chemistry; trial design (ID) by receiving all post-filing PHILIPPINES biotechnology; digital communication; documents, requests, and basic annuity and food chemistry. Intellectual property filings payments electronically. “The eDocFile The Intellectual Property Office of the Phil- Filings at IPOHL’s satellite offices within and for Patents is a remarkable feat for IPOPHL, ippines (IPOPHL) received a record-high in outside Metro Manila grew 17 percent to thanks mostly to the ITMS which worked annual filings for intellectual property pro- 4,616 from 3,950. In 2019, two satellites were on this for years, in line with its commit- tection totaling 47,282 last year, a nearly opened, namely in Butuan City in the Caraga ment to make our services efficient, ac- 10-percent rise from the 43,300 applica- Region and Vigan City in Ilocos, bringing the cessible, and user-friendly. With this new tions in 2018. In a statement, IPOPHL said total IPOPHL offices in operations nation- online service, IPOPHL eliminates the need filings for trademarks (TM) posted the big- wide to 16. At Innovation and Technology for innovators and designers to be physic- gest annual growth at 10 percent to 39,399 Support Offices (ITSOs), which are housed ally present at the office to apply for pro- from 35,672. in universities and colleges to deliver basic tection of their innovations, helping keep IPOPHL services, filings grew 13.96 percent them and patent examiners, as well, safe Bulk of the filings were in agricultural to 1,624. This was driven by the 235 patents in their homes,” IPOPHL Director General products and services, followed by phar- and 1,075 UMs which saw an annual increase Rowel S. Barba said. maceuticals, health, cosmetics; scientific of 22 percent and 16 percent, respectively. research, information and communication “More importantly, with a system that can ITSOs, currently at 100, are significant ena- technology; management, communica- make the patent granting process simpler blers to inventors and innovators as they tions, real estate, and financial services; and more cost-efficient, IPOPHL can -en provide patent search and drafting services. and textiles -- clothing and accessories. sure uninterrupted service—crucially im- Residents were the biggest TM filers, ac- Another effort that supported growth portant amid the expected demand for IP counting for 60 percent or 23,447. This was is IPOPHL’s completion in 2019 of eight protection as the world scrambles to find followed by Madrid System non-resident Patent Landscape Reports (PLRs) and a cure to COVID and digital solutions that applicants with a share of 8,017 and presentation of 34 other PLRs to industry can help us live better lives through the non-resident direct filings applicants at stakeholders. PLRs outlines the techno- new normal,” he added. 7,935. Industrial design (ID) applications logical trends and competition in a par- The 24/7 eDocFile for Patents has been avail- were the second biggest driver, up 7 per- ticular field of technology to help assist able since May 15, 2020.It accepts submis- cent to 1,631 from 1,522. Residents were local industries and research and devel- sions of documents including responses, the most active filers with a 62-percent or opment institutions in their commercial in general, voluntary amendments, and 1,019 contribution to the total, while the decisions. As for Copyright deposits, this follow-up letters. Meanwhile, requests rest were non-residents. totaled 1,862, slightly edging down by processed by the new service includes re- The top five fields for ID filings in 2019 7.55 percent year-on-year. quests for extension, recordals, corrections, were in means of transport or hoisting; https://www.pna.gov.ph certified true copy, registrability, UM and ID

6 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Technology Market Scan revivals, renewals for ID submissions like This year`s new individual projects were a conventional real-time RT-PCR test, real- power of attorney/appointment of resident planned based on the preliminary feasibil- time isothermal amplification method, agent. For patent filers who intend to fur- ity study data, and they will be revised and biomarker test, and recently being com- ther their application process, the eDocFile supplemented through review by clinical, mercialized CRISPR diagnostics. An im- for Patents is available here where a video technology, and investment experts around munoassay test detects the virus by iden- guide is provided for easier navigation and the task force. New request for proposals for tifying the antigen or an antibody within operation of the platform. Notwithstanding, such projects are placed on the websites the body. It can produce the testing result IPOPHL welcomes requests for assistance of Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial within 30 minutes. Still, its accuracy may and may be reached through email (ask@ Technology (KEIT), National Research Foun- be lower than that of a molecular diagnos- ipophil.gov.ph) or its social media accounts. dation of Korea, and Korea Health Industry tic method. Development Institute for expert feedback https://pia.gov.ph Out of the 40 patents, 17 were filed by until May 17. New projects will be selected companies, 12 by universities, six by gov- in July or August for full-scale support. REPUBLIC OF KOREA ernment agencies, and five by individu- In order to strengthen the competitive- als. About 10 of them were supported by R&D project to foster medical ness of the medical device industry, it national research and development pro- device industry is necessary to support R&D, accelerate grams. The first patent registered by the The Republic of Korean ministries will market entry through regulatory support, Armed Forces Medical Command was li- join forces to boost the competitiveness create an initial market, support overseas censed out to many companies. Two other of the medical device industry, which has business expansion in connection with patents, registered later by a national uni- drawn attention from around the world for global companies, and provide financial versity, were also transferred to a private a speedy and reliable response to the COV- support using funds, said Choi Nam-ho, company. the MOTIE’s manufacturing industry dir- ID-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Trade, In- Won Jong-hyuk, director of the Bio- ector general, asking the task force to play dustry and Energy (MOTIE), the Ministry of Healthcare Review Division at KIPO, said a central role to accelerate the entry of pri- Science and ICT, the Ministry of Health and that a patent on testing technologies to vate companies into the market. Welfare, and the Ministry of Food and Drug detect multiple respiratory infection vi- Safety announced on Wednesday the ini- https://pulsenews.co.kr ruses was expected to win registration. tiation of a joint medical device R&D pro- Patents for Covid-19 testing “Aside from prompt and accurate reviews ject with a target budget of 1.2 trillion won technologies registered of patent applications, we will provide in- ($0.98 billion) between 2020 and 2025. dustrial/patent trends in diagnostic tech- The Republic of Korea has registered 40 nologies for major infectious diseases to patents of Covid-19 diagnostic technolo- The project aims to support the strength- actively support technology development gies since the Armed Forces Medical Com- ening of the medical device industry by for Korea’s disease control and prevention,” mand filed the first one in February, the taking the opportunity of increased trust he said. in Korean-made medical devices and Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) http://www.koreabiomed.com health services in the fight against COV- said. The number recorded a rapid in- ID-19. The project includes the designa- crease, compared to 19 patents registered THAILAND tion of strategic items to increase market during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syn- share, development of core components drome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 or 32 pat- Grants to boost R&D ents during the Middle East Respiratory and element technologies to strengthen The government will provide grants and Syndrome (MERS) outbreak in 2015. the value chain, development of innova- tax exemptions to private companies in a tive technologies to preempt future mar- KIPO attributed the rapid rise of patent ap- bid to promote research and development kets, and regulatory support. plications to a set of factors, such as the (R&D), especially for projects that serve the Under the project, the government will spiking global demand for Covid-19 test- public interest. The Office of National Higher support scientists and engineers in the ing, greater trust in Korea’s disease control, Education Science Research and Innov- development of key technologies related the regulator’s swift approval for testing ation Policy Council (NXPO) unveiled the to ventilators, extracorporeal membrane kits, and aggressive government support government’s plan to boost R&D to cush- oxygenation (ECMO), and in vitro diag- for international standardization of testing ion the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. nostic devices for respiratory diseases methods. Covid-19 diagnostic technolo- Kitipong Promwong, the office director, said necessary for the treatment of infectious gies registered with the KIPO are divided an agency survey showed R&D investments diseases such as COVID-19. A task force for into two categories – molecular diagnosis amounted to 182 billion baht or 1.1% of the the project will be headed by Kim Beop- method (22) and immunoassay test (18). country’s GDP last year, up by 17.5% from min, a Korea University’s biomedical en- Molecular diagnosis amplifies and detects the previous year. “However, the outbreak gineering professor. the gene of the Covid-19 virus. It includes is forecast to reduce R&D investments to

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 7 Technology Market Scan

1.09% of our GDP [166 billion baht] this Medical patent requests moted intellectual property activities and year and undermine our competitive edge technology transfer in universities and re- Fifty-one requests have been filed with in the long run. Therefore, the government search institutes. the Commerce Ministry seeking to pa- will offer matching grants to companies tent medical innovations created as a re- Nearly 60 research institutes and univer- working on projects serving public interest sult of the Covid-19 outbreak, according sities nationwide have registered to par- such as the manufacturing of drugs,” he told to the ministry. Private individuals and ticipate in the network. Innovations and a briefing at the head office. organisations in Thailand have lodged inventions have appeared in many indus- According to the NXPO, R&D expenditure the requests in four categories of crea- tries, fields and localities. However, there by the private sector is projected to fall from tions, said Deputy Commerce Minister are still some units, businesses and people 78% last year to 71% this year due to the Weerasak Wangsuphakijkosol. who are not fully aware of sustainable de- pandemic. Mr Kitipong said the govern- velopment, so innovations mostly focus on They are 26 requests for equipment to ment will also offer corporate income tax economic growth without considering en- stop transmission of the virus, such as exemptions to over 80 private companies in vironmental factors. face masks and face shields, 18 requests exchange for their donation of around one for disinfectant machines or apparatus The office said that start-up groups only billion baht to the innovation fund for SMEs including sterilisers and walk-in disin- focused on forming businesses and seek- and for creating an investment ecosystem. fectant chambers; four requests for sani- ing investment but have not thought about This will help maintain the country’s current tiser substances; and three for service registering intellectual property rights. ease of doing business­ standard as well as robots which help minimise human-to- Data from the office showed that 80 per help ensure the continuity of the govern- human contact between medical work- cent of start-ups do not understand the ment’s current policies. ers and patients. importance of intellectual property. Vũ Thị Despite the impact of the coronavirus crisis, Thuận, chairman of the board of directors of Mr Weerasak said the requests are being Mr Kitipong said R&D expenditure will climb Traphaco Joint Stock Company, said in the handled by the Department of Intellec- to 2% of GDP and likely exceed the United pharmaceutical field, there were many cre- tual Property which is examining them Kingdom [at 1.26%] by 2027 because R&D ative values that needed to be protected. to see if they can be accepted for registra- investments in developed countries have However, the current understanding of tion. The deputy minister said the ministry already plateaued. “To achieve this goal, fu- intellectual property protection in Việt was standing ready to support people and ture research should fall well within our plan Nam was incomplete, leading to lots of organisations in coming up with new in- for higher education, science, research, and intellectually property theft, she said. To novations. Patent requests can be made innovation. Our revised draft policy aims to develop sustainably and integrate, busi- via e-filing with the ministry for speed and promote human security, local communi- nesses themselves must first respect in- convenience, he added. ties, the bio, circular and green (BCG) econ- tellectual property rights, she added. Đỗ omy, and innovation-based industries,” he https://www.bangkokpost.com Thiên Hoàng, a representative from the In- said, before adding that the revised draft tellectual Property office, said to solve this is expected to be finished by next month. VIET NAM problem, it was necessary to complete the He said the BCG economy model will be a law on intellectual property for emerging Intellectual property for firms key national strategy for ensuring the sus- objects and strengthening international tainable future growth of the country in line The Intellectual Property Office of Việt Nam co-operation. with the sufficiency economy philosophy. has implemented measures to encourage re- For intellectual property rights manage- “As an example of this, we are upgrading search, innovation and application of creative ment and enforcement agencies, it is ne- to smart farming and diversifying food achievements in science and technology into cessary to improve the capacity of apply- products such as the use of functional in- life and production in response to World Intel- ing new technologies for management and gredients. We are also innovating in health- lectual Property Day 2020 (April 26). The office processing, focusing on human resources care tools and services so we can become has supported several effective programmes training. For businesses, there should be a genomics hub. Besides tourism, we are and projects, such as the programme on in- guidance on implementing intellectual also pushing for a circular economy by re- tellectual property development, which has property rights, raising awareness about in- ducing food waste throughout the entire protected 118 key agricultural products of tellectual property. Many experts said that supply chain,” he said. However, R&D will localities and supported 600 businesses in in the age of technology, inventors need not be limited to these sectors. Mr Kitipong terms of intellectual property. to register intellectual propertyfor their said the agency is also promoting frontier The programme has also supported the products as quickly as possible. The office research in quantum and space technology protection and application of invention and the authorities have been focusing on projects by allocating a seed fund of 200 practices for 51 technical solutions. In add- perfecting systems of intellectual property million baht to visionary researchers. ition, the network project for innovation regulations. https://www.bangkokpost.com and technology support centres has pro- https://vietnamnews.vn

8 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Technology Scan Focus: Technology innovations to control COVID-19

ASIA-PACIFIC attacking the lung of human beings. Thus thorized and one is going through material ECMO is regarded as a “life-saving device” review. CHINA enabling medical workers to race against https://www.globenewswire.com Proto device to fight COVID-19 time in patients’ cure and rehabilitation. After the COVID-19 outbreak, the name According to Professor Liu Shuqin, the INDIA ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxy- Maglev Engineering Research Center of Anti-microbial nanocoating genation) has caught the eyes of the Shandong University is one of the earli- system for facemasks public. Regarded as the last resort to save est research institutes in China to con- A team of researchers at Indian Institute severe COVID-19 patients, ECMO is used duct research on maglev technology and of Technology (IIT)-Roorkee has devel- to sustain breathing for patients with se- has already accumulated rich experience in its theoretical research and technol- oped a nano-coating system to be used vere cardio-pulmonary failure by provid- ogy development. After more than ten for facemasks and PPEs for reducing the ing continuous extracorporeal respiratory years of strenuous efforts, the team of 16 transmission risk of COVID-19. “Facemask and circulatory assistance. As a top-level members, with professional backgrounds is a core component of the personal pro- life-supporting equipment, ECMO is seen covering electric engineering, computer tective equipment (PPE), along with gown, as rather expensive and rare worldwide. technology, mechanics, fluid engineer- gloves, and eye protection for frontline There are only around 400 ECMOs in China, ing, materials, chemistry, emergency healthcare personnel. This nano-coating which are all imported from abroad. medicine, cardiac surgery, intensive care provides an additional layer of protection Professor Liu Shuqin and her Team in Shan- medicine, etc., has independently devel- against pathogens in existing masks and dong University announced recently their oped an ECMO prototype. Adopting the can curb the transmission risk of the dis- success in developing a proto-type ECMO maglev magnetic suspension technology, ease,” said lead researcher Prof. Naveen K equipment. Professor Liu is Director of this equipment is characterized by low Navani of Department of Biotechnology Maglev Engineering Research Center of hemolysis, a sufficient pressure buffer, and Centre of Nanotechnology. The mask the School of Electrical Engineering, Shan- easy flow regulation, high safety reliabil- has been developed by a four-member dong University. Since 2008, the team has ity, small size, etc. Up till now, the team has team including Pardeep Kumar, Dr. Arun been studying the maglev artificial heart already carried out blood tests on animals. Beniwal, and Ajmal Hussain. pump–the core component of ECMO. After Parameters and indexes of the equipment This coating has been tested to effect- more than ten years of conscientious re- have reached advanced world level. ively kill pathogens within 10-15 minutes. search, her team has made breakthroughs This equipment is expected to cut the pric- The formulation is highly effective against in this direction with technologies of inde- es of ECMO by one third. At present, each clinical pathogens such as Staphylococ- pendent intellectual property rights, and ECMO equipment costs 1.5 to 2 million yuan, cus aureus and Escherichia coli O157. This now they are seeking cooperation to in- in addition to working consumables from formulation will be beneficial to frontline cubate the technology into real products. 40,000 to 60,000 yuan. Accoding to Professor medical personnel for coating their exist- It is expected to save more lives of severe Liu Shuqin, if this China-made ECMO equip- ing facemasks and can be scaled up further patients with the assistance of ECMO. ment is produced on large scale, then the for coating on their gowns. The formulation Also known as “mobile artificial heart-lung cost of each set of ECMO equipment and its also contains silver nanoparticles and plant- apparatus”, ECMO is a kind of Extracor- consumables may drop to about 1 million based antimicrobials which show synergis- poreal Membrane Oxygenation technol- yuan and 30,000 yuan respectively. Cost re- tic killing effect against the pathogens. ogy for sustaining lives of patients with duction would promote wider availability of The combined effect of more than three acute or severe cardio-pulmonary failure. ECMO and benefits more patients. antimicrobial compounds was used for ECMO basically works by pumping out In the reliability test, four centrifugal pumps the development of formulation which the patient’s venous blood with a power of the ECMO prototype have been running can be coated on any surface. Since the pump (artificial heart), oxygenating the smoothly for 15 consecutive days without phytochemicals used in the formulation venous blood while discharging carbon failure. In the blood substitute (diluted gly- are known to destroy viruses, it has the dioxide through its membrane lung (arti- cerin) and blood tests, their performances potential to inhibit the coronavirus too. ficial lung) and then again pumping the have reached the international advanced https://www.newindianexpress.com blood back into the patient’s body. Al- level. Besides, the pump connector could Covid-19 vaccine for human though ECMO has no curing effects on the be joined to imported equipment and infection caused by COVID-19, it provides even completely replace the imported trials effective gaseous exchange and functions ones given its excellent performance. At India’s drug controller has given approval as a substitute heart-and-lung system for present, three patents for new inventions for human clinical trials of the country’s critically ill patients by relieving their dys- have been submitted for the maglev cen- first coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vac- pnea – a sequela caused by the COVID-19’s trifugal pump two of them have been au- cine candidate, which has been developed

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 9 Technology Scan

by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with ties for manufacturing and testing in India, for quick analysis using x-rays. Developing the Indian Council of Medical Research Bharat Biotech is committed to advancing a reliable tool requires the combination of (ICMR) and National Institute of Virology vaccine development as a matter of na- right algorithms and data. This is where (NIV), the vaccine maker said. The trials tional importance to demonstrate India’s our tool would prove useful, that can be for the vaccine, named Covaxin, are likely strength in handling future pandemics,” trained for diagnostic purposes and made to begin next month, the firm said. The said Suchitra Ella, joint managing director, available for wider use.” strains of Sars-CoV-2 that causes Covid-19 Bharat Biotech. AI tools are widely used for medical image was isolated by ICMR-NIV and transferred ICMR-NIV managed to isolate the virus diagnosis. The researchers pooled the data to Bharat Biotech in May. Scientists have from swab samples in early February from of X-ray images of COVID-19 infected pa- managed to isolate and culture 11 strains initial Covid-19 patients in Kerala. “It nor- tients as well as healthy persons from dif- that can be used to develop vaccines and mally takes about two-three months for ferent sources available on the internet. aid research. the vaccine candidate to be ready, and They trained a machine learning architec- The indigenous and inactivated vaccine then different studies are undertaken ture using deep learning algorithms with candidate was developed and manufac- to test the vaccine candidate. The next these images. The deep learning model tured at Bharat Biotech’s BSL-3 (Bio-Safety phase of trials will be equally crucial,” said that IITGN researchers used has 12 layers Level 3) High Containment facility located an ICMR official, asking not to be named. of neural network, which is similar to the in Genome Valley, Hyderabad. “The Drug https://www.hindustantimes.com neurons in the human brain. The deep Controller General of India… granted learning method has the advantage that permission to initiate Phase I & II Human AI-based tool to detect it learns the disease diagnosing features clinical trials after the company submitted COVID-19 from chest X-ray from the x-ray images in an automatic way. results generated from preclinical stud- Researchers at the Indian Institute of The tool developed by the IITGN team ies, demonstrating safety and immune Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) have also uses images from other lung infec- response. Human clinical trials are sched- developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI)- tions such as tuberculosis, pneumonia uled to start across India in July 2020,” the based deep learning tool for detection of to ensure the specificity of detection of company said. COVID-19 from Chest X-ray images. This COVID from other lung diseases. This tool Krishna Ella, chairman and managing dir- online tool indicates the probability if a out-performs other such high-tech tools ector, Bharat Biotech, said: “We are proud person is infected with COVID-19, which available globally. Moreover, it uses sim- to announce COVAXIN, India’s first indi- can be used for quick preliminary diag- ple machine learning architecture, which genous vaccine against Covid-19.The nosis before the medical test. The tool is makes it stand out over others. ­collaboration with ICMR and NIV was developed by Kushpal Singh Yadav (PI), an https://indiaeducationdiary.in instrumental in the development of this M.Tech student of Computer Science & En- vaccine. The proactive support and guid- gineering at IITGN, under the guidance of RT-PCR method to test ance from Central Drugs Standard Con- Prof Krishna Prasad Miyapuram, Associate COVID-19 trol ­Organisation (CDSCO) has enabled Professor of Cognitive Science and Com- Increased tracing, testing and isolation of approvals to this project. Our R&D and puter Science at IITGN. people with novel coronavirus infection manufacturing teams worked tirelessly The system is now live as a web-interface is an effective way to contain the virus to deploy our proprietary technologies on http://covidxray.iitgn.ac.in/. Any user spread. Currently, the preferred protocol towards this platform.” can upload a digital copy of the chest x-ray for testing uses the RT-PCR (Reverse Tran- In the two phases, experts test if a vaccine or CT-scan in standard image formats such scription-Polymerase Chain Reaction) test. is safe to be administered in humans and as jpeg, png etc. and check whether that This protocol does, however, take time and to establish trends of its efficacy. The com- person is COVID-19 positive or not. The is expensive. pany completed comprehensive pre-clin- format of any test image of a new person With the steeply rising number of infected ical studies in two months after receiving will be automatically transformed and persons, there is a need for a reliable test regulatory approvals. Results from these diagnosed using the AI tool. It will also that would give results quickly and also studies have been promising and show validate the input images before giving a be less expensive. Researchers from the extensive safety and effective immune result. The result is available within a few Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology responses, the company said. seconds. (CCMB), Hyderabad, have studied such a “Our ongoing research and expertise in Sharing the motivation and idea behind method, also using RT-PCR but with dry forecasting epidemics has enabled us to developing the tool Prof Krishna Prasad swabs, bypassing the RNA isolation stage, successfully manufacture a vaccine for the Miyapuram and Kushpal Singh Yadav which they find consumes less time and H1N1 pandemic. Continuing our focus on said, “Given the limited testing facilities for is less expensive. They also suggest a vari- creating the only BSL-3 containment facili- COVID19, there is a rush to develop AI tools ant method which apparently shows a

10 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Technology Scan higher efficiency that the conventional variant method. oped a robot-assisted technology to take one. The results have been posted in bi- https://www.thehindu.com samples needed for diagnostic testing oRxiv and medRxiv preprint servers. Pre- without contact between a doctor and a prints are yet to be peer-reviewed and JAPAN patient. The research team of Dr. Seo Joon- published in scientific journals. ho at the Medical Device Lab of The Daegu ‘Smart’ mask to protect against Convergence Technology Research Center In the usual method of testing, nasal COVID-19 swabs collected from a person are placed under the KIMM created the technology in a viral transport medium (VTM). From Donut Robotics has developed a new jointly with the team of Professor Kim this, a part of the liquid is taken, the viral smart mask to protect against COVID-19 Nam-hee of Dongguk University College RNA is extracted and RT-PCR test is car- transmission, which also contains a built-in of Medicine. ried out. The remainder is stored. It is the speaker to amplify a person’s voice and The robot-assisted remote sampling con- step of isolating the RNA that takes time connects to a smartphone app that can sists of “a master device” for the doctor and and is expensive. So, the authors have pro- translate speech into eight languages. Ac- “a slave robot” for the patient. The slave posed an alternative method. Instead of cording to Donut, around 5,000 masks are robot has a disposable swab that takes placing the nasal swabs in the VTM, they currently planned to be produced and dis- the patient’s sample through the nose and are put in a Tris-EDTA (TE) buffer solution, tributed in Japan this September, where mouth. The doctor uses the master device protected by ice. “Virus in dry swabs can they’ll retail for 3,980 yen, or around $37. to control the slave robot and take the spe- stay for several days at 4 degree [ice tem- The mask was designed as a shell that’s cimen. The swab for sampling, mounted perature]. For longer storage, it can be meant to slide over any standard com- on to the slave robot, can move up and kept in minus 80 degree,... it [dry swab] is mercial mask used to protect against down and left and right, or rotate. The much more suitable than VTM, and testing COVID-19 transmission, with the straps researchers applied remote control tech- can be delayed, if necessary,” says Rakesh running through two small slits on either nology of the parallel robot to collecting Mishra from CCMB, and one of the authors side. The mask was based, in part, on one samples remotely. of the preprint. He adds that handling and of the company’s earlier projects, a desk- The doctor can move the robot while transporting dry swabs is safer and more top helper robot called ‘Cinnamon’ that’s checking the position of the nostril, the convenient. used at reception desks and customer ser- mouth, and the swab with camera imag- A small part of the dry swab-TE extract vice stands to help answer basic questions. es. The user can also remotely adjust the was taken in a new vial and heated to 98 Called ‘c-mask,’ the device is a shell that can power when inserting the swab and talk degree C. This destroyed the protective be slid into any traditional face mask. 5,000 to the patient via video. Using the system wall of the virus particles, releasing its masks will be sent to Japanese buyers in to collect a specimen without contact with RNA and this was sent for the RT-PCR test. September and will retail for around $37, a patient can significantly reduce medical In all, 40 patients were put through both or 3,980 yen. The mask will convert the professionals’ risk of infection of a highly testing protocols (heated TE without RNA wearer’s speech into text and then trans- contagious virus, such as Covid-19, the re- extraction and current standard method). late it into French, Chinese, Spanish, Thai, searchers said. They can make the robot, While 22 tested positive and 18 negative Indonesian, Korean, English, or Japanese as small as the size of a face, with a low in the new method, the standard method through a smartphone app. The c-mask cost, and it will be highly useful in clinical yielded 23 positives and 17 negatives. The could evolve to support other functions settings. researchers found that the new protocol of as well, including some augmented reality http://www.koreabiomed.com using dry swab-TE extract for RT-PCR was features, which Donut says will be possible at par with the standard method. to implement using a built-in Wifi receiver. SINGAPORE However, the standard method is known https://www.dailymail.co.uk Portable COVID-19 micro-PCR to have a problem of false negatives. To diagnostic system address this, the researchers took the dry REPUBLIC OF KOREA swabs-TE extract, extracted RNA from it COVID-19 screening can soon be conduct- Robot-aided remote sampling and studied the samples. In this variant ed directly at various testing stations, and method, they found that a few samples of Covid-19 patients can get their test results in about that were consistently negative in both Local researchers said they have devel- an hour from the time they get a nasal methods now showed a positive result. oped a robot that can remotely collect a swab. A team of researchers from the Na- So out of 40 samples they now had 28 specimen from a patient with an infectious tional University of Singapore (NUS) has positives and 12 negatives. This result disease, such as Covid-19. The Korea Insti- developed a portable COVID-19 micro- was reproduced on testing multiple times. tute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM), PCR diagnostic system - called Epidax - They surmise that this is because of low under the Ministry of Science and ICT, said that enables rapid and accurate on-site viral load, which was picked up in the new on Tuesday its research team has devel- screening of infectious diseases and sig-

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 11 Technology Scan

nificantly reduces the time required to copies of RNA per microlitre of sample. The bonate panels, 3D printed nylon joints analyze patient samples. team is currently improving the limit of de- and Delrin inserts. These durable materials Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test that tection, aiming to reach 1 copy of RNA per were chosen by the NUS team to enable is currently being used for COVID-19 diag- microlitre of sample. the device to be sterilised by all standard nosis has to be carried out in specialized https://www.news-medical.net forms of decontamination used in hospi- tals, such as elevated temperature auto- testing facilities, and takes a few hours or Sterilisable ‘shield’ to protect a few days for results to be made known. claving, and using alcohol of 70 per cent healthcare workers A 10-member team from the NUS Insti- concentration. This facilitates the reusabil- tute for Health Innovation & Technology A team of researchers from the National ity of the device, and eliminates the risk of (iHealthtech), led by the institute’s Director University of Singapore (NUS) has invented cross-contamination. Professor Lim Chwee Teck, has developed a foldable tent-like device that serves as a Arm access ports are situated on the back a novel diagnostic system from scratch in physical shield to reduce the risk of expos- and side panels of the device. The snap-on a record time of two months. A project of ure to pathogens for healthcare workers flanges allow the attachment of dispos- this scale would typically take at least one performing droplet and aerosol generating able sleeves or diaphragms. This addresses to two years to complete. procedures on COVID-19 patients. Known the concern of the arm ports being high as the Droplet and Aerosol Reducing Tent Epidax, which is a microfluidics-based risk areas of contamination, and gives the (DART), the device was designed in collab- PCR diagnostic system, is about the size healthcare workers the option to use either oration with doctors from the National Uni- of a toaster and very portable. It can be sleeved or diaphragm seals – materials eas- versity Hospital (NUH). The DART can lessen deployed quickly and easily on-site for ily available in hospitals – according to their the risks of infection associated with pro- virus infection screening. Currently, nasal preference. The elliptical shape of the access cedures such as suctioning, intubation and swab samples are first collected at a clinic ports gives the user more leeway for arm extubation by providing an extra layer of or testing site and sent to a laboratory for movements and to manoeuvre, which are protection between the healthcare workers processing to extract the RNA, before the important in handling the patient. and the patient. It also helps to limit envir- PCR test is conducted. A key feature of the DART is its ability to onmental contamination, which can be a direct air within itself through a High Effi- The Epidax system uses a specially de- source of transmission. signed microfluidic chip that comprises ciency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter. It has The NUS team was led by Professor Freddy micro-channels where samples are pro- a set of connectors that enables suction Boey, NUS Deputy President (Innovation cessed. By employing microfluidic tech- from a central vacuum system, or by a & Enterprise), and Associate Professor Yen nology, the system is able to process a battery-operated fan attached to a HEPA Ching-Chiuan, Co-Director of the Keio-NUS smaller amount of sample for quicker filter. The negative pressure generated CUTE Center. The team comprises Dr Alfred detection of COVID-19 infection. Using a reduces leakage of exhaled aerosols or Chia from NUS Department of Biomedical reagent which enables both RNA extrac- droplets from the patient out of the con- Engineering, Mr Eason Chow from Keio-NUS tion and amplification on the chip, the PCR fines of the DART. Preliminary findings by CUTE Center, doctoral student Mr Raymond test can be performed right after a nasal the research team showed that the DART Hon from the NUS Division of Industrial De- swab sample is collected, thus bypassing performs its barrier function as designed, sign as well as researchers from the NUS Fac- the intermediate step of RNA extraction. and the exhaust function via the HEPA fil- ulty of Engineering. The NUS team worked All these features significantly minimise ter gives additional assurance to the user. with Dr Deborah Khoo, Dr Wong Weng Hoa, sample handling and shorten the test https://www.techexplorist.com Associate Professor Ti Lian Kah and Associ- and waiting time, so patients can get their ate Professor Sophia Ang from the NUH test results in about an hour. “We have de- EUROPE Department of Anaesthesia. The multi-dis- signed the Epidax system to be very easy AUSTRIA to use. The lab technician operating the ciplinary team took less than two months to system only needs to pipette the sample develop DART and validate its performance. Covid-19 test for population and reagent into the microfluidic chip and The DART is a portable, tent-like struc- screening load it into the Epidax system for process- ture that that can be placed around the Scientists from the Vienna BioCenter and col- ing. These simple steps can be easily ex- patient’s head when intubating or extu- laborators have now pushed an established ecuted within 5 minutes,” said Prof Lim. bating. It weighs three kilograms, and can nucleic acid detection assay to a new level. The NUS research team validated the Epi- be folded into a flat structure measuring The so-called “Loop-mediated isothermal dax system against existing PCR systems, around 51 centimetres by 55 centimetres, amplification (RT-LAMP)”, first developed and found that the Epidax system has the with a thickness of three centimetres, twenty years ago, is cheap, simple and quick same or even higher sensitivity than some making it easy to transport, store and – features that make it in principle an ideal al- of the current PCR systems. In fact, the sen- sterilise. It is also simple and fast to set up. ternative for routine SARS-CoV-2 detection. sitivity of detection can achieve at least 10 The device features transparent polycar- However, limited sensitivity and robustness

12 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Technology Scan have so far held back RT-LAMP-based assays stitute LMB in Cambridge who had prior “Originally, Sys2diag did not specialise in from entering the center stage for SARS- experience with isothermal amplification viral detection,” explains Franck Molina. “Our CoV-2 diagnostics. The improvements in- methods, got stranded in his hometown core activity is the development of innova- troduced by the Viennese team overcome Vienna during the lockdown. When we tive diagnostic tools, and until now we have these challenges and make RT-LAMP a po- found out, we teamed him up with Vienna mostly worked in the field of psychiatry – on tential game-changer for population-scale BioCenter PhD students Julian Ross and Ja- a test that can detect severe depression and screening approaches, especially in eco- kob Schnabl. And so, two groups, normally the risk of self-harm – as well as on cellular nomically disadvantaged countries. working on Drosophila oogenesis and ze- machines, which are artificial cells that be- Starting with a 5-minute lysis step that brafish embryology, came together and have like small computers and are, for ex- “breaks open” cells and virus particles, RT- set foot in a new field. An exceptional level ample, capable of detecting prediabetes LAMP employs a simple reaction in which of team spirit and enthusiasm allowed us in a patient’s urine specimen. But when the viral RNA is converted into DNA and to push this project much further than we the Covid epidemic started to accelerate in amplified billionfold within less than 30 had ever envisioned and made it a once in a France and problems regarding tests and re- minutes. The generation of such tremen- life-time experience for everyone involved.” agents were becoming evident, we decided dous amounts of DNA can be directly IMP and IMBA are members of the Vienna that we ought to try something, based on observed with the naked eye by a visual BioCenter, and the breakthrough is testi- the technologies and skills we had already colour change from purple to sky-blue in mony to the fruitful and collaborative spirit developed.” So just before lockdown, when the reaction tube. Combining this method this campus is known for. The lockdown everyone in the laboratory was preparing to with a simple RNA enrichment step is at period boosted these synergistic activi- work from home, the team decided to initi- the heart of the newly developed method ties in an unprecedented manner across ate research on a saliva test. as it boosts sensitivity by orders of magni- labs and institutes. While normal research “The idea was to produce a simple and easy- tude. Neither specialist laboratory equip- activities have returned to the labs by now, to-use method which could avoid the pur- ment nor expert skills are needed – the scientists across campus continue to con- chase of large machines that consume a great most challenging step is to keep the sam- tribute their time and expertise to combat deal of reagent,” recounts Franck Molina. “We ple at a stable temperature of approxi- the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. As also wanted to find another way of looking mately 63°C during the 30 minutes of the part of the VCDI (Vienna Covid-19 Diagnos- for the virus than at the back of the nose – a reaction, a task that can – if necessary – be tics Initiative) they work jointly on questions procedure that can be painful for the patient fulfilled by re-purposed kitchen devices. that open the door for applications which and unsafe for the healthcare worker because “Our method builds on existing proto- could benefit millions of people around the it is uncomfortable and may trigger a sneeze. cols developed for pathogen detection”, world. The study underlying this news item The question then was where to find the virus says Julius Brennecke of the Institute of is available as a preprint on bioRxiv: in large quantities, apart from in nasal secre- Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) of the https://www.newswise.com tions. The answer was: in the saliva. This was Austrian Academy of Sciences. “For SARS- a risky choice and we are the only ones in the CoV-2-detection, we managed to improve FRANCE world to have made it, because saliva, which is it to a level that matches qPCR-like sensi- full of enzymes, bacteria and cells, is known to tivity on crude patient samples. We are ex- Ultra-fast saliva test to detect be an important biological disruptor.” tremely excited and can barely wait to see Covid-19 Like the standard tests, EasyCov searches it applied. We expect that these improve- for the RNA of the virus – which does not A newly developed test has been able ments, including the ability to perform of course contain any DNA – and therefore to diagnose in the field and (almost) im- pooled screening, will make a real differ- requires a host to transcribe its RNA into mediately those patients who are suffer- ence not only in developing countries, but DNA and then reproduce. However, the ing from Covid-19. Called EasyCov, this in low-resource environments anywhere technological choice made by Sys2Diag portable system requires a few drops of in the World. Sensitive, affordable and to achieve this was radically different. “The saliva, a test tube and less than one hour rapid SARS-CoV-2 screening and diagnos- tests used by medical laboratories, called of heating at 65° to produce a result. An- tics approaches are much needed now.” RT-PCR, function in three stages and succes- other small reason for pride is that it has sive cycles at different temperatures,” details “The way this whole project unfolded is ra- been developed by Sys2diag,1 a labora- Franck Molina. “First of all, they extract the ther exceptional,” says Andrea Pauli of the tory that associates scientists from the RNA from the virus; they then transcribe it Research Institute of Molecular Pathology CNRS and from the companies Alcediag into DNA, which is amplified until there is (IMP). “It started off as a crazy idea, trig- and SkillCell (Alcen Group), all led by the a sufficient quantity to produce a reading. gered by our believe that as scientists we biologist Franck Molina. This test will accel- Our system relies on quite an old but little must act to help in the current pandemic. erate and enable much broader coverage known technology called “RT-LAMP” which Through a remarkable coincidence, Max for the testing strategy recommended by can do everything at once: the enzymes we Kellner, an Austrian PhD student at the in- the WHO since the start of the pandemic.

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 13 Technology Scan

use work simultaneously and all procedures in numerous previous applications that the nanoparticles. However, the challenge are completed at the same time, at a single attachment of the target antigen to its re- the whole world is currently facing is also operating temperature of 65°C.” spective antibody causes a change in the changing the goals and strategies in the https://sciencebusiness.net cell membrane structure, which is measur- research laboratories. The new focus: a able as a change in the cell membrane po- sensor that can quickly and reliably de- GREECE tential. Therefore, membrane-engineered tect SARS-CoV-2 -- the new coronavirus. cells can be used as biorecognition ele- Jing Wang and his team have developed an Rapid Biosensor to detect SARS-CoV-2 ments in appropriate bioelectric sensors. alternative test method in the form of an op- S1 Antigen For the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus tical biosensor. The sensor combines two dif- Researchers at the Agricultural University surface S1 protein, the biosensor set-up was ferent effects to detect the virus safely and of Athens, Greece, have developed an in- configured according to the principles of the reliably: an optical and a thermal one. The novative portable biosensor for the rapid, established Bioelectric Recognition Assay sensor is based on tiny structures of gold, so- ultra-sensitive and scaled-up detection of (BERA) as a portable read-out device oper- called gold nanoislands, on a glass substrate. the SARS-CoV-2 virus surface S1 protein. ated via smartphone/tablet. The response Artificially produced DNA receptors that This new test potentially allows the virus to of Vero/anti-S1 cells immediately after the match specific RNA sequences of the SARS- be detected immediately after an individ- addition of the sample was recorded as a CoV-2 are grafted onto the nanoislands. ual becomes infected, while even asymp- time-series of potentiometric signal at a The coronavirus is a so-called RNA virus: Its tomatic patients could be identified in the sampling rate of 2 Hz. The measurements genome does not consist of a DNA double early stages of the virus spread. were uploaded via a tablet/Bluetooth com- strand as in living organisms, but of a single munication to a cloud server. The system RNA strand. The receptors on the sensor are The ability to reliably predict the spread provided results in an ultra-rapid manner (3 therefore the complementary sequences to of the novel and highly contagious SARS- min), with a detection limit of 1 fg/mL and the virus’ unique RNA sequences, which can CoV-2 coronavirus created an urgent need a semi-linear range of response between 10 reliably identify the virus. for diagnostic tools able not only to reli- fg and 1 μg/mL. No cross-reactivity was ob- ably identify infected individuals but also The technology the researchers use for de- served against the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid determine the stage of viral replication and tection is called LSPR, short for localized sur- protein. Beyond speed, the high sensitivity of spread. A priority goal of the worldwide face plasmon resonance. This is an optical the novel biosensor could allow non-invasive management of the COVID-19 pandemic phenomenon that occurs in metallic nano- virus detection in saliva samples. is the reduction in the time required to con- structures: When excited, they modulate the firm positive cases between infection and The novel biosensor, having been tested at incident light in a specific wavelength range symptom appearance, in particular during the proof-of-concept, offers capabilities for and create a plasmonic near-field around the the very early infection period (1–3 days) high throughput and low-cost mass screen- nanostructure. When molecules bind to the and identifying asymptomatic patients. ing of the coronavirus antigens. The next surface, the local refractive index within the step is the clinical validation of the assay in Currently available serological assays for excited plasmonic near-field changes. An op- actual patient samples as well as broaden- SARS-CoV-2 screen host antibodies raised tical sensor located on the back of the sensor ing the scope of application to detect anti- against the virus, therefore they are not can be used to measure this change and thus genic S proteins of other coronaviruses. suitable for monitoring infection at an determine whether the sample ­contains the early stage (up to the first three days). An https://www.technologynetworks.com RNA strands in question. attractive alternative option is the screen- https://www.sciencedaily.com ing of the SARS-CoV-2 S1 spike protein SWITZERLAND UK antigen, which is implicated in the initial stages of viral entry, corresponding to the Biosensor for the COVID-19 virus Low-cost, rapid COVID-19 test presence of the whole virus. A team of researchers from Empa, ETH Zur- A new type of test developed by U.K. The novel biosensor is based on mem- ich and Zurich University Hospital has suc- researchers from the Brunel University brane-engineered Vero mammalian cells ceeded in developing a novel sensor for London, Lancaster University and the Uni- bearing the human chimeric spike S1 anti- detecting the new coronavirus. In future, versity of Surrey can provide COVID-19 body. This was achieved by using a generic it could be used to measure the concentra- detection in as little as 30 minutes using methodology known as Molecular Identi- tion of the virus in the environment -- for hand-held hardware that costs as little as fication through Membrane Engineering example, in places where there are many £100 (around $120 USD) with individual which comprises of electroinserting tens people or in hospital ventilation systems. swab sample kits that cost around $5 per of thousands of antibody molecules on the Jing Wang and his team at Empa and ETH person. The test is based on existing tech- cell surface, thus rendering the cell a select- Zurich usually work on measuring, ana- nology that has been used in the Philip- ive responder against antigens binding to lyzing and reducing airborne pollutants pines for testing viral spread in chickens, the inserted antibodies. It has been proven such as aerosols and artificially produced but it’s been adapted by researchers for

14 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Technology Scan use with COVID-19 in humans. The team is developed a low-cost, easy-to-use emer- type of system, said Dr. Casper Petersen, now working on ramping mass production. gency ventilator for COVID-19 patients co-author of the study and a project scien- This test would obviously need approval that is built around a ventilator bag usu- tist in the Department of Anesthesiology at the UC San Diego School of Medicine. by local health regulatory bodies like the ally found in ambulances. The team built As a result, the MADVent Mark V is safe to FDA before it goes into active use in any an automated system around the bag and use, easy to assemble and easy to repair. specific geography, but the researchers brought down the cost of an emergency behind the project are “confident it will re- ventilator to just $500 per unit -- by com- https://www.sciencedaily.com spond well,” and say they could even make parison, state of the art ventilators cur- rently cost at least $50,000. The device’s CRISPR gene editing to fight it available for use “within a few weeks.” The components can be rapidly fabricated COVID-19 hardware itself is battery-operated and and the ventilator can be assembled in connects to a smartphone application to Bioengineers at Stanford University were just 15 minutes. The device’s electronics display diagnostic results and works with working on a system to fight the flu with and sensors rely on a robust supply chain nasal or throat swabs, without requiring the gene-editing technology CRISPR when from fields not related to healthcare that that samples be round-tripped to a lab. the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in Jan- are unlikely to be affected by shortages. uary. So they quickly pivoted to address the There are other tests already approved for The UCSD MADVent Mark V is also the only new disease—and now they’re reporting use that use similar methods for on-site test- device offering pressure-controlled venti- they’ve developed a way to inhibit 90% ing, including kits and machines from Ce- lation equipped with alarms that can be of coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, pheid and Mesa Biotech. These require adjusted to signal that pressure is too low the cause of COVID-19. The Stanford team expensive dedicated table-top micro-labs, or too high. This is especially important be- worked with researchers at the Department however, which is installed in dedicated cause excessive pressure can cause lung of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National healthcare facilities. This test from U.K. scien- injury in COVID-19 patients that often ex- Laboratory to develop a technique called tists has the advantage of running on inex- prophylactic antiviral CRISPR in human perience rapid decreases in lung capacity pensive hardware, with testing capabilities cells, or PAC-MAN. The technology disables as the disease progresses. for up to six people at once, which can be viruses by scrambling their genetic code. deployed in doctor’s offices, hospitals and Most ventilators measure the volume of The researchers developed a new way even potentially workplaces and homes for air that is being pumped into the patient’s to deliver the technology into lung cells, truly widespread, accessible testing. lungs, which requires expensive airflow sen- they reported in the journal Cell. sors. By contrast, the UCSD MADVent Mark Some frontline, rapid results tests are al- PAC-MAN combines a guide RNA with V measures pressure and uses that data to ready in use in the EU and China, but these the virus-killing enzyme Cas13. The RNA deduct and control the airflow to the lungs. are generally serological tests that rely on directs Cas13 to destroy certain nucleotide This was key to lowering the device’s price. the presence of antibodies, whereas this sequences in the SARS-CoV-2 genome, ef- group’s diagnostics are molecular, so it can The team from tUC San Diego and indus- fectively neutralizing it. But the Stanford detect the presence of viral DNA even be- try partners will be seeking approval for team that developed PAC-MAN needed fore antibodies are present. This equipment the device from the Food and Drug Ad- an effective way to deliver it to the lung, could even potentially be used to detect ministration. They detail their work in an where COVID-19 often does the most the virus in asymptomatic individuals who upcoming issue of Medical Devices and damage. So they turned to the Berkeley are self-isolating at home, the group notes, Sensors. The MADVent can safely meet Lab’s Molecular Foundry, which has been which would go a long way to scoping out the diverse requirements of COVID-19 working on lipitoids, synthetic peptides the portion of the population that’s not cur- patients because it can adjust over the that can deliver DNA and RNA into cells. broad ranges of respiration parameters rently a priority for other testing methods, When the researchers packaged their COVID- needed to treat acute respiratory distress but that could provide valuable insight into targeting PAC-MAN with the lipitoids they syndrome,” said James Friend, a profes- the true extend of silent, community-based were able to reduce the amount of SARS- sor at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of transmission of the coronavirus. CoV-2 virus in solution by more than 90%. Engineering and one of the paper’s two https://techcrunch.com They are now planning animal trials with corresponding authors. “The combination collaborators at New York University and of off-the-shelf components and readily Karolinska Institute in Sweden. “An effective NORTH AMERICA machined parts with mechanically driven lipitoid delivery, coupled with CRISPR target- pressure control makes our design both USA ing, could enable a very powerful strategy for low cost and rapidly manufacturable.” fighting viral disease not only against COV- Emergency ventilator for Researchers also wanted to make sure ID-19 but possibly against newly viral strains COVID-19 patients that the device could be used by health- with pandemic potential,” said Michael Con- A team of engineers and physicians at care workers with limited experience with nolly, a principal scientific engineering asso- the University of California San Diego has ventilators and no experience with this ciate at Berkeley Lab, in a statement.

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 15 Technology Scan

The Stanford researchers working on COV- diagnostic tests currently on the market the state of São Paulo to combat COVID-19. ID-19 are confident their PAC-MAN system cannot detect the virus until several days “Within a few months, we plan to have com- will also prove useful for fighting influenza. after infection. For this reason, they have pleted the development of a standardized In the Cell article, they reported that their a significant rate of false negative results.” kit for the detection of IgG circulating anti- CRISPR-Cas13 technology was not only ef- bodies in blood serum produced in a later “This RNA-based test appears to be very fective against SARS-CoV-2, it also lowered phase of the disease. The method used is promising in terms of detecting the virus. the viral load in human lung epithelial cells ELISA [enzyme-linked immunosorbent The innovative approach provides results infected with the H1N1 strain of the flu. assay],” Mona das Neves Oliveira, principal without the need for a sophisticated la- investigator for the project and founder of https://www.fiercebiotech.com boratory facility,” said study co-author the firm, told FAPESP Innovative R&D. COVID-19 test using Matthew Frieman, PhD, Associate Pro- The project will use a cell-free protein syn- nanoparticle technique fessor of Microbiology and Immunology at UMSOM. Although more clinical stud- thesis technology developed by the firm Scientists from the University of Maryland ies are warranted, this test could be far over the last two years to accelerate and School of Medicine (UMSOM) developed an less expensive to produce and process optimize protein production processes experimental diagnostic test for COVID-19 than a standard COVID-19 lab test; it on the basis of an in vitro transcription that can visually detect the presence of the does not require laboratory equipment and translation system. Researchers have virus in 10 minutes. It uses a simple assay or trained personnel to run the test and used the system to develop a protein that containing plasmonic gold nanoparticles to analyze the results. If this new test meets is being tested. “The tests are going very detect a color change when the virus is pre- FDA expectations, it could potentially be well,” Oliveira said. “We’ve produced the sent. The test does not require the use of any used in daycare centers, nursing homes, protein and are now purifying it to avoid advanced laboratory techniques, such as college campuses, and work places as a false positives and false negatives.” those commonly used to amplify DNA, for surveillance technique to monitor any re- The detection of IgG in patient blood analysis. The authors published their work surgence of infections. In Dr. Pan’s labora- samples will be performed using antigens last week in the American Chemical Soci- tory, research scientist Parikshit Moitra, from the nucleocapsid protein, the anti- ety’s nanotechnology journal ACS Nano. PhD, and UMSOM research fellow Maha genic fraction of the spike protein used “Based on our preliminary results, we be- Alafeef conducted the studies along with by SARS-CoV-2 to invade human cells by lieve this promising new test may detect research fellow Ketan Dighe from UMBC. binding to the ACE-2 receptor in the cell RNA material from the virus as early as the membrane. Through a project supported https://www.newswise.com first day of infection. Additional studies by FAPESP, the researchers were able to are needed, however, to confirm whether SOUTH AMERICA develop and validate an aptamer – a pep- this is indeed the case,” said study leader tide that binds to a target molecule – with Dr. Dipanjan Pan, Professor of Diagnostic BRAZIL strong affinity and specificity for the -con Radiology and Nuclear Medicine and Pedi- stant fraction of IgG antibodies. atrics at the UMSOM. COVID-19 diagnostic test The test kit will be low-cost because the ap- Once a nasal swab or saliva sample is ob- Researchers at Biolinker, a biotech startup tamer and antigens are cheap to produce by tained from a patient, the RNA is extracted based in São Paulo, Brazil, are developing a the cell-free method. In addition, the firm al- from the sample via a simple process that low-cost high-performance COVID-19 diag- ready has its own plasmids (DNA molecules takes about 10 minutes. The test uses a highly nostic test using only locally sourced inputs. that can self-replicate) for protein expression specific molecule attached to the gold nano- Biolinker is incubated at the University of São and well-established production protocols. particles to detect a particular protein. This Paulo’s Center for Innovation, Entrepreneur- “It will be a very affordable, quick test that protein is part of the genetic sequence that ship and Technology (CIETEC), jointly run by can be used anywhere for epidemiological is unique to the novel coronavirus. When the the University of São Paulo (USP) and the Nu- screening purposes,” Oliveira said. “Negotia- biosensor binds to the virus’s gene sequence, clear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN). tions are in progress with companies inter- the gold nanoparticles respond by turning The project was one of the first to be se- ested in mass-producing the test kit once it’s the liquid reagent from purple to blue. lected in a call for applications issued by been calibrated and approved for general “The accuracy of any COVID-19 test is FAPESP’s Innovative Research in Small use.” Ester Sabino, a professor and researcher based on being able to reliably detect any Business Program (PIPE) in partnership at the University of São Paulo’s Institute of virus. This means it does not give a false with FINEP, the Brazilian government’s in- Tropical Medicine (IMT-USP), is partnering negative result if the virus actually is pre- novation agency, to fast-track funding for with the project. Sabino led the sequenc- sent, nor a false positive result if the virus products, services or processes developed ing of SARS-CoV-2 in Brazil. is not present,” said Dr. Pan. “Many of the by tech startups and small businesses in https://www.technologynetworks.com

16 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Special Theme Intellectual Property Management

Accelerating Innovation in a Successful Technology Transfer Ecosystem

 lack of market-driven policies to enable Biruntha Mooruthi innovation; Chief Commercialisation Officer  loose funding instruments for support- UNITEN R&D Sdn. Bhd ing innovation initiatives; Block BJ, Level 1, Universiti Tenaga Nasional  multiple public agencies and entities (UNITEN) | The Energy University working in silos on innovation initia- Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43000, Selangor, Malaysia tives; Tel: +603 8928 7347; Fax: +603 8921 2111; HP: +6019 675 7229  broken linkages across industry and E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] public research institutes; and  the lack of a vibrant entrepreneurial Abstract culture and skilled human capital There is little or no doubt that intellectual property rights (IPRs) has become and will become even more important in Asia in the foreseeable future with much of “A driving factor for much of the eco- the hype behind the rise of economy giants, China and India. However, countries nomic growth and rise in living stand- such as the United Stated of America, the United Kingdom, Sweden, France and ards in the post-World War II era is the Japan still dominate many areas of business through the ownership of copyrights, rapid advances in technology and in- brands and ground-breaking patents while growing economies in the ASEAN are novation”. The US Department of Com- still struggling to find the sweet spot in implementing the most appropriate in- merce estimates that technological novation ecosystem to drive their own knowledge economies. Despite the well- innovation has been responsible for established intellectual property (IP) regime in Malaysia and those of the ASEAN as much as 75% of the growth in the countries, the rate of commercialisation of IP is rather low (Chandran & Wong, 2011; American economy since World War Chandran et al., 2008, 2009a) and there is much catching up to do. This article looks II. In a seminal study of 98 developed at the prevailing models of technology transfer in the innovation ecosystem, par- and developing countries, Klenow and ticularly in Malaysia and other ASEAN countries while identifying some gaps to be Rodriguez-Clare found that up to 90% filled in to facilitate smoother operation of a comprehensive, well strategised and of per capita income growth stems an outcome-driven innovation ecosystem with scale and focus. from innovation. (Source: Global Innovation Policy Index, 2012) Importance of innovation in and-medium size enterprises (SMEs) or transitioning to a knowledge- even individuals. Innovation has led to Global Innovation Index (GII) 2019 ranks based economy the creation of new and more sustain- the innovation performance of 129 coun- able businesses, spurred by investments tries across the globe based on 80 indica- ntellectual property is the new economy in applied research­ and development.­ It tors. The recent GII 2019 report indicates in the global prosperity of the twenty-first I is pivotal for relevant stakeholders to edu- countries that prioritize innovation in gov- century. As we transition into the creation cate the business community on the ad- ernment policies have shown increase in of a knowledge-based economy with dra- vantages and importance of IP in today’s rankings. Some of these countries (Switz- matic shifts in global commerce that are knowledge-based economies. In order to erland, Sweden, United States of America, impacting virtually all businesses and con- boost the innovation ecosystem, Malaysia United Kingdom, France and Japan) have sumers, the protection of IPRs has become and other ASEAN countries should consist- a net positive balance from the payments crucial to the survival and ultimate success ently assess the various key propellers of made for accessing the IPRs from foreign of any company. Innovations have been IP and innovation. A few gaps within the economies and the income generated primarily the purview of universities, big innovation ecosystems in Malaysia and from monetising their own IPRs. Malay- corporations, or government-linked or- other ASEAN nations include: sia retains its 35th position in the GII 2019 ganisations with huge R&D departments and remains amongst the middle-income and budgets. However, in the recent years,  the absence of a cohesive, holistic and economies that are bridging the innov- we are seeing a gradual growth of inven- a collaborative national innovation ation divide, supported by its first rank in tions or new ideas generated by small- strategy;

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 17 Accelerating innovation in a successful technology transfer ecosystem

Table 1: Southeast Asian countries ranking in GII 2019  Understanding on intangible assets and what constitutes them; No. Country Ranking  Determining a value for the identified 1 Singapore 8 intangible assets via an IP valuation ex- 2 Malaysia 35 ercise; 3 Vietnam 42  Ensuring that the scope of IP protec- tion is robust; 4 Thailand 43  Mechanisms on how intangible assets 5 Philippines 54 could be improved, monetised and 6 Brunei 71 leveraged; and 7 Indonesia 85  Develop a sound IP commercial strategy. 8 Cambodia 98 According to the Association of University Source: Global Innovation Index 2019 Technology Managers (AUTM) in the Unit- ed States, technology transfer is defined as indicators such as high-tech net exports IP is a valuable asset to their business. “the process of transferring scientific find- and creative goods exports. Singapore Many businesses do not even know that ings from one organisation to another for was the only ASEAN member state to their businesses are generating IPRs that the purpose of further development and emerge in the top 20 list. ASEAN countries can be commercialised. commercialisation”. Commercialisation of are ranked in GII 2019 as in Table 1. The formulation of a successful business innovations or IPRs may involve more than Interestingly, the report also indicates that model often needs a thorough under- one right. For an example, the franchise middle-income economies, especially in standing of alternative ways to profit from business of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Asia, are progressively contributing to a creation. SMEs especially in least devel- involves trade secrets (recipes), copyrights global research and development (R&D) oped and middle-income countries do (manuals on how to do it or plans of outlets) and international patenting rates via the not see the importance of IP protection and trademarks of the brand. These various World Intellectual Property Organisation’s because of its high cost, lack of awareness forms of IPRs will be licensed as a package (WIPO) International Patent System. There of its significance as an intangible asset, not by the franchisor (owner) to the franchisee are eight forms of IPRs: patent, trademark, knowing how to defend it and not having (the recipient of the license) in exchange trade secret, copyright, industrial design, proper guidance or experience in IP mon- for an upfront fee and continuing royalties geographic indications, plant variety etisation. More commonly the need to file based on sales for an agreed period by both rights and integrated circuit designs. IP is a patent arises when there is a possibility of parties via a licensing or a franchise agree- ment, resulting in economic growth and not necessarily specific to products per se. infringement or copying. SMEs need to look job creation. A manufacturing software that expedites at the big picture as IP is an intangible asset a specific process and improves through- that investors will look at when they con- SMEs can also de-risk R&D costs and time put is an innovation that needs to be pro- sider investing funds into the business. The by licensing technology from a university tected. The software is a copyright and other misconception that SMEs often have in which case the industry partner greatly you transfer that IPRs through a software is that only physical and tangible products benefits from not having to develop the license. Another example is a production can be protected via IPRs. SMEs should be technology from scratch. process that is much cheaper to produce. given both technical as well as financial as- The patent for this process is not a prod- sistance to develop and fully exploit their The innovation ecosystem uct patent but a process patent and it can business innovations. There needs to be a There have been much ongoing debates be licensed. Under certain circumstances, change in the mindset of SMEs as well as and discussions among stakeholders in some entities might not choose to patent cash-rich corporations to make a sizeable the Triple Helix (TH) ecosystem about how but may maintain it as a trade secret when increase in the number of home-grown best to ensure that the protection of IPRs it is unlikely that the technology/process IPRs. SMEs should align their business strat- and innovation are optimally calibrated can be readily reverse-engineered. How- egy with IP strategy as it is crucial in order to provide the right incentives for today’s ever, IPRs can most often be costs unless to measure the impact and returns of their creators, innovators and businesses. While they are strategically exploited and/or intangible assets and revenue growth. In- it is important to have thoughtful discus- enforced to derive value, monetary or tangible assets such as brands, inventions sions about the particulars of IP law, it is otherwise. and know-how contribute by far the great- equally important not to lose sight of the A common problem in the ASEAN coun- est shareholder value in most sectors. Some big picture, in that IP has never been more tries is that most business entities do not key issues to consider in developing an IP important to economic growth and social know or fully appreciate the fact that their strategy are as follows: progress for a country.

18 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Accelerating innovation in a successful technology transfer ecosystem

Across the innovation ecosystem are four has been growing towards a collaborative ­avenue where they can seek answers to stakeholder groups - government agen- and transnational approach over the last their questions about their IPRs and how cies, businesses, individuals (entrepre- decade. It also shows that most of these to protect it from being copied or stolen. neurs) and (research/education) institu- activities are originating from the top in- These initiatives will also assist SMEs in tions. novative champions – Switzerland, Swe- understanding how they can monetize den, Finland, the Netherlands, the United their creations. Investors and govern-  Government agencies play an im- Kingdom and the USA. Malaysia is one ments in developing countries should portant role by supporting long-term of the middle income countries that are also look into supporting early stage IP to R&D effortsthrough efficient public in the process of refining its innovation nurture more market-driven innovation investments which otherwise would ecosystem and the strengths and weak- by providing environment for SMEs that not be taken up by the private sector nesses have been identified at the top are willing to licensing and scale up these due to market failure. level (Table 2): innovations. Innovation related tax incen-  Businesses build commercial impetus Commercialization of IPRs requires a size- tives are also another good way to en- and market channels for the outcomes able capital which many entities especially courage innovation growth and increase of innovation. They generate returns on SMEs may not have. Traditionally, financial home-grown IPs for a country. Pragmatic investment on innovation expenditure. assistance to SMEs comes in various forms financial initiatives should be developed  Individuals play an important role in like loans or grants and tax incentives from to stimulate and support early-stage, high innovation by providing leadership various government or private bodies. risk and disruptive innovation or business- and entrepreneurial thinking in turn- However, very few countries have success- university collaboration. ing ideas into commercial applications. fully recognised IP as collaterals for loans. A vibrant IP ecosystem requires a strong  Institutions are focused on educa- Generally, investments into early-stage and pragmatic Trible Holix (TH) collab- tion and research, facilitate the devel- innovations come from the government oration. It will be difficult to harness and opment of human capital, knowledge in the form of grants and most of these leverage on the potential of an IP power- and novel technologies which form the investments are channeled to universi- house due to fragmentation approach to ideas to power innovation. ties and research institutes. There is the resources. We will lose out opportunities perception that domestic IP is second- if we are not prominent and visible. Small Key enablers to support the national in- grade or “not of good quality” compared nation economies need a more concerted novation agenda in accelerating the coun- to foreign IP. This leads to the unfavorable approach to make up for a lack of domestic try’s innovation strategy include the estab- balance-of-trade in royalty fees which volume and other constraints. Stakehold- lishment of a national innovation strategy continues to worsen over time. In 2008, ers should respond to the changing global tailored to local context, pro-market this amounted to RM 3.6 billion in royalty IP landscape with more vigor and take the policies, effective funding of innovation, fees net outflow, most of which was paid next stride by studying successful mod- streamlined public organisational struc- to the United States of America (OECD, els implemented by various agencies and tures, world-class infrastructure and tal- 2000). Government support through vari- organizations in relation to technology ented human capital to power innovation. ous initiatives will enable SMEs to have an transfer and innovation. The TH concept Studies have shown that innovation cor- relates with the GDP growth of a country (Andergassen et al. 2009; Bae and Yoo 2015; Table 2: Strengths and weakness of Malaysia innovation Nadiri 1993; Romer 1986; Santacreu 2015; ecosystem Solow 1956). High-income and emerging Policy and Institutional economies with good financial infrastruc- Strengths: ture and system demonstrate high level • Many policies, plans and programmes on innovation have been created dynamics of innovation and business ca- • Leadership credentials pabilities with large R&D investments. On • Strong commitment to science, technology and innovation the other hand, developing Asian countries • Coherent vision for the country under the 12th Malaysia Plan and Economic with low investment in R&D may increase Transformation Plan (ETP) risks on impeding future growth. Weakness: • Lack of coherent innovation efforts between the relevant ministries, agencies and The current scenario and industry challenges in relation to • Inconsistency in policies, strategies and implementation planning • Poor monitoring and evaluation innovation in Malaysia • Unfocused initiatives • Lack of skilled personnel in technology transfer The WIPO World Intellectual Property Re- port 2019 shows that innovation activity Source: Author’s compilation

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 19 Accelerating innovation in a successful technology transfer ecosystem

Table 3: Countries with similar provisions to the Bayh-Dole Act this model does not constitute the charac- teristics of TH model but rather bridges the Brazil Mexico industry-academia collaboration to accel- China Norway erate technology development process Denmark Philippines through a pool of subject matter experts Finland Russia from academia. Germany Singapore Higher learning institutions in Italy South Africa Malaysia Japan South Korea Innovation has become the main driver Malaysia United Kingdom of national economic wellbeing and com- Source: AUTM petitiveness resulting in many countries rec- ognising the importance of a knowledge- (Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff 1995), looks to help their local innovators or businesses based economy and engaging in what at university-industry-government collab- to get to market and reduce the need for might be called “a race for global innovation oration in the context of the knowledge venture capital at the start of their ventures, advantage”. In the globalised economy, in- society. The TH model points out that giving innovators or business owners a bet- novation is known as the fundamental innovation and economic development ter chance of retaining control of their busi- driver of economic growth and the Ma- demonstrates the relationship of hybrid- nesses and pursuing a long-term growth laysian government needs to implement a ization of individuals from university, in- strategy, rather than having to make an broad range of innovation-enabling policies dustry and government to generate new early trade sale. A Triple Helix model for that create the conditions for private enter- institutional models for the generation, successful technology development and prises, government agencies or non-profit exchange and application of knowledge. technology transfer is illustrated in Figure 1. entities (universities and public research The Bayh-Dole Act which passed in the Germany has been at the forefront in dem- institutes) to successfully innovate through- United States in 1980 has made a significant onstrating how both technical and man- out to achieve sustainably high rates of in- impact to the technology transfer field. The agement expertise from academia (both novation. Regarding research institutions provision of this Act allows universities and private and public), industry, trade and and universities, tight public budgets have small companies to own inventions that science can work with SMEs to help them led the Malaysian government to intro- were developed with federal government fill their technical and management gaps. duce reforms to enhance socio-economic funding. In return, funding agencies can One exemplary German-led innovation returns from public investments in research use these discoveries royalty-free for their model that has been successful across the organisations. Large disparity in technology own purposes. Universities are encouraged globe is the Steinbeis model. The model is a transfer budgets between private universi- to partner with industries to translate re- system and organisation developed in Ger- ties and state-supplemented public univer- search results into products benefiting the many with a core focus to build a bridge sities, as well as the universities with high public. The table 3 shows some countries between the academia and industry to licensing portfolio is another common di- which have adopted acts similar to the promote effective and efficient cooper- lemma. According to SCOPUS, Malaysia has Bayh-Dole Act into their IP provision laws. ation, by making knowledge and technol- doubled its share of ISI publications where There are a few successful TH models ogy especially for industries. It was founded it moved up from its 43rd position in 2008 around the world and a good reference by Ferdinand von Steinbeis (1807-1893), an to the 23rd in 2018 (SCImago, 2018). Greater model to look into is the Small Business economist who promoted collaborations emphasis on engineering in recent years Research Initiative (SBRI) in the United between academia and business practice, has provided opportunities for commer- Kingdom which initially originated in the and introduced dual education system in cialisation of public research. According to US. SBRI is a two stage contract-based pro- medium-sized enterprises. Steinbeis Foun- OECD Reviews of Innovation Policy (2016), gramme run by the UK Government to en- dation in Germany has delivered projects the pressure on universities to commercial- able the public sector to tap into new ideas on behalf of private and public entities in ise research results will be even more im- and technologies and speed up their adop- eighty countries. The network spans fifteen portant in the following years - starting in tion. The contract-based programme funds international offices, 1,000 business units, 2015 all Malaysian public universities will the development of innovative solutions and 6,000 subject matter experts that are gain autonomy status in exchange for rais- to meet government needs. SBRI offers available to provide world-class analyses ing 30% of their operating budget. This will innovators the opportunity to win a gov- and craft customised solutions for specific represent a daunting challenge for institu- ernment contract of £1 million (or more) to project challenges. The model has been tions, which until recently, were allocated help demonstrate and develop their new adopted by other countries to encourage sufficient public funds and, consequently, technologies. The programme is designed industry-academia collaboration. However, have only had to adopt a more business-

20 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Accelerating innovation in a successful technology transfer ecosystem

Figure 1: TH model for successful technology development and technology transfer (Source: Author’s illustration) oriented means of operating in the recent discussion on providing a robust incen- for joint research and/or to commercialise years. Policies in support of universities’ and tive and financial infrastructure in place IPRs generated by universities and research public research institutions’ commercialisa- to downstream innovations to industry. institutes and producing a healthy pipeline tion activities need to be considered within However, financial support alone would of market-driven innovations. Most universi- the whole context of these fundamental not be sufficient to successfully creating ties and national innovation agencies do not changes. an effective innovation ecosystem. have an effective IP marketplace platform for For example, the Malaysian government Currently, universities should not only play industries to access the available commer- has invested billions of ringgits into R&D an important role in advancing research and cially ready innovations for licensing and funding but the fundamental question is disseminating knowledge, but should also commercialise opportunities. One notable if our universities are developing enough provide a platform that provides incentives example is Intellectual Property Intermedi- market-driven innovations for commer- for progressing IPRs with advanced indus- ary (IPI) Singapore, an initiative of Singa- cialisation and what are the technology trial applications and commercialisation. pore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI). transfer metrics put in place to measure University IP policies should amalgamate Established in April 2011 under the recom- the Malaysian innovation landscape. Al- with commercialisation policies towards mendation of Economic Strategies Commit- though the government has brought in crafting more market-driven innovations. tee (ESC) and the Research, Innovation and performance evaluation programmes Academics should look into engaging in ac- Enterprise (RIE) 2015 National Committee, with quantitative performance measures, tivities that result in producing linkages with IPI strategically partners and connects busi- have they really captured the success? The industries to bring in the needed expertise nesses to market-driven innovations from scenario is similar to rest of the ASEAN and manufacturing capabilities. Some rec- various institutions via an effective online countries. Despite the increasing number ommended activities could include setting IP marketplace platform, bringing together of IPRs and publications churned out every up a promotion or marketing platform for a collaborative open innovation ecosystem year, universities and public research insti- IPRs that are available for licensing, invest- promoting internalization of technology tutes are grappling with a more challeng- ing in strengthening capabilities of technol- transfer activities (Figure 2). ing issue on commercialising their innova- ogy transfer professionals in engaging with Universities should also work closely with tions. There has been a lot of emphasis and industries, attracting international partners regulators in allowing flexibility around

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 21 Accelerating innovation in a successful technology transfer ecosystem

Source: Recomposed from WIPO Regional Seminar on IP, Technology Transfer & Commercialization (2014) Figure 2: IPI Singapore open innovation model regulatory frameworks that allows re- The Malaysian and the ASEAN individuals who work in technology transfer searchers in public universities to engage scenario offices of universities and other organisa- in spin-offs and provide inventors a share of tions who look into new invention disclo- The technology transfer landscape in Ma- income from future innovations in order to sures and assess them for commercial via- laysia is in its developmental phase and support IP and innovation more effectively. bility. Technology transfer managers need the same is true for a majority of other Technology transfer is now part of the to be skilled and well versed in many areas ASEAN countries. Many ASEAN member such as invention disclosure assessment, Malaysian government’s mandate for states have identified the importance institutions receiving federal funding for IPRs, marketing technologies, negotiation of technology transfer and its relevance of deals, basics of license agreements and research. Most commonly, technology in the formation of a knowledge-based spinout company formation. It takes years transfer is accomplished through licensing economy. Many innovations that are for an individual to acquire the necessary IPRs to companies that have the resourc- being generated at research organisa- knowledge and skills to become a ‘polished’ es and desire to develop and produce tions, as well as industry, do not find their technology transfer manager. Currently, in- the technology for specific applications. way to the market for various reasons. dividuals with such skills are scarce in the In return, universities receive payments Some of the reasons are outlined below: Malaysian and the ASEAN landscape. (in the form of cash fees, equity and/or royalties on earned revenues) for the in- Not market-driven Measurement of success through novations that are licensed. The income Most solutions created at research organi- metrics that are not direct indicators to the university is distributed according sations do not address a real market need. of impact to each university’s policy but it includes As such, these projects are solutions cre- Many governments and organisations returns to inventors and a mechanism for ated in search of problems. Such solutions across the world have been utilising met- channelling income back into the research need to be ‘pushed’ into the marketplace rics that are not true indicators of success programmes of the university. by the universities via matchmaking ef- in measuring the impact of technology The function of technology transfer of- forts. Most often, these innovations do transfer. These include the number of fices is to manage the university’s IP port- not find big enough problems to ‘fit’ them- patents filed, number of spin-out compa- folio, identify IPR protection that is most selves into as they are not market-driven. nies created etc. Such gaps can be seen in appropriate, to transfer the inventions to many countries where the numbers have potential commercial partners through Lack of skilled personnel only led to the disappointment of impact licensing, to monitor the patent filings There is a significant lack of qualified and seekers. Much education needs to be de- and license agreements, and to ensure skilled personnel to facilitate technology ployed in measuring the true impact of compliance with Bayh-Dole reporting re- transfer. This group of personnel - known as technology transfer and to determine its quirements. Technology Transfer Managers (TTM) - are spill over effects to an economy.

22 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Accelerating innovation in a successful technology transfer ecosystem

Organisational policies and tions that are protected and the number by ­enhancing policies and while investing standards of innovations transferred to industry or in infrastructure and human capital. As a IP and commercialisation processes must another entity for further development result, these countries demonstrated an in- be governed and executed via clear poli- and commercialisation. crease in their innovative output per capita cies in organisations creating new know- There is no typical pathway to formally and by 1999 had overtaken countries such ledge. Such clear and aligned policies will develop oneself into a technology trans- as the United Kingdom, France and Italy. encourage and incentivise researchers fer role that needs soft skills, such as com- Countries have adopted various innovation and innovators to keep innovating con- munication and people skill. These are strategies depending on their national sistently. It will also encourage them to primary factors needed to succeed in the competitive advantage, industry structure develop some of the skills required for in- field. People need to be skilled in having and the respective role of government in novation commercialisation from concept consultations with scientists, turning over the country. Singapore, with its tradition to market entry. Most organisations in the rocks and introducing researchers from of strong government and limited local Malaysian and ASEAN landscape lack such industry to academic researchers. The resources adopted a government-led ap- policies that are clear and aligned with the development of skill set relating to tech- proach and imported innovations from organisational mission. Such poor policies nology transfer and commercialisation MNCs. Taiwan province of China, with its can discourage new invention disclosures has become a pressing need in Malaysia SME driven industry, focused on nurturing and therefore lower rates of R&D commer- and the ASEAN region. Many state govern- SMEs, while the Republic of Korea delivered cialisation with commercial viability. ments are currently pushing their national its innovation agenda through its large chaebols. Israel, on the other hand, with its The pressing need: Technology transfer agenda towards innovation and commer- large base of scientists and engineers, fo- managers focus on commercialising the cialisation which has spurred talent devel- outcomes of university research in many opment in the industry with recognition cused on incubating entrepreneurs. There is disciplines. Successful technology transfer from organisations such as the Alliance of no single right path to develop and sustain managers demonstrate proven Technology Transfer Professionals (ATTP). a successful national innovation strategy. competency in: The mission of ATTP is to provide public Other European countries such as Finland  Grasping technical concepts quickly, recognition and acknowledgment of tech- also have strong governments that take and translating these into commer- nology/knowledge transfer professionals, an active role to build up the physical in- cially viable proposals; with demonstrated competency, based frastructure, human capital and regulatory  Working effectively with key stake- on internationally recognised standards. environment to drive innovation. Having holders, assertively influencing them In Malaysia, the Innovation and Tech- embarked on a much longer innovation and where appropriate showing ten- nology Managers Association (ITMA), a journey, countries such as Finland have acity and persistence in business de- non-governmental organisation (NGO) established a highly-skilled workforce velopment situations; that serves as a platform for the technol- and have put in place the physical infra-  Deploying excellent interpersonal and ogy transfer offices within universities in structure and regulatory environment for communication skills, both verbally Malaysia. innovation to flourish. A narrow sector and in writing; focus, e.g. telecommunications and ICT  Successfully negotiating and licensing Learning from the top in the Finnish example, have enabled it commercial contracts with industry innovation leaders to accelerate its innovation drive against  Working successfully within a close-knit Amidst the uncertain global environment much larger economies, to become mar- team; and and growing competition, most ASEAN ket leaders for new products and services  Managing a large portfolio of complex countries require a ‘game changer’ to shift in these industries. projects to a successful commercial their economy to an innovative nation by At the other end of the spectrum, countries conclusion. 2025. Effective national innovation strate- have also succeeded with a more market- Most technology transfer offices/plat- gies are important to boost the country’s based approach. For example, although the forms of research organisations in the potential and create wealth from innov- local government in Hong Kong has typic- ASEAN region are lacking trained and ac- ation and countries with the best innov- ally taken a more laissez faire approach to credited individuals with the skills men- ation strategies are benchmarked on how government policies, competition within tioned above to deliver on knowledge and the most innovative countries build their the services sector – which contributed technology transfer requirements. The innovation capacity. According to OECD more than 90% of Hong Kong’s GDP – have lack of expertise is crippling the transfer of report on knowledge based industries spurred private companies to invest in in- knowledge and innovations from research in (2000), Chinese Taipei, Denmark, Ire- novation in order to increase productivity organisations to the industry. It has further land, Finland, Singapore and Republic and become best-in-market­ in terms of ser- resulted in reduced commercialisation of Korea, which were initially lagging in vice quality and performance.­ In contrast,­ rate in terms of the number of innova- 1978 subsequently developed innovation other countries such as the US (Silicon

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 23 Accelerating innovation in a successful technology transfer ecosystem

Valley), the UK and Japan succeeded in through local and global interaction. 9 Maradana, R.P., Pradhan, R.P., Dash, S. becoming leaders in new-to-market in- Journal of Economic Dynamics and Con- et al. Does innovation promote eco- novation while adopting a market-based trol, 33(10), 1779–1795. nomic growth? Evidence from European approach by leveraging their large manu- 9 ASEAN Plan of Action on Science, Tech- countries. J Innov Entrep 6, 1 (2017). facturing and technology base and devel- nology and Innovation (APASTI)- 2016- 9 Nadiri, I. (1993). Innovations and oped economy with skilled workers and 2025 – Implementation Plan technological spillovers. Working Paper, mature infrastructure. No. 423, National Bureau of Economic 9 Association of University Technology Man- Research, Cambridge, MA. Conclusion agers, “AUTM U.S. Licensing Survey 2006”. 9 OECD (2014), National Intellectual Prop- The formation of a knowledge-based econ- 9 Bae, S. H., & Yoo, K. (2015). Economic model- erty Systems, Innovation and Economic omy revolves around the strategic imple- ling of innovation in the creative industries Development: With Perspectives on Co- mentation and integration of various innov- and its implications.Technological Forecast- lombia and Indonesia, OECD Publish- ation mechanisms and IP building blocks ing and Social Change, 96, 101–110 ing, Paris, http:dx.doi.org of the triple helix, enabling a sustainable 9 Bayh-dole-act, AUTM, https://autm.net/ 9 OECD (2000), Knowledge Based Indus- and innovative economy. Countries with about-tech-transfer/advocacy/legisla- tries in Asia, OECD Publishing, Paris. the best innovation strategies coordinate tion/bayh-dole-ac their policies towards skills, scientific re- 9 OECD (2015), Boosting Malaysia’s Na- 9 Chandran V.G.R. and C. Y. Wong (2011), search, information and communications tional Intellectual Property System for “Patenting activities by developing technologies (ICTs), tax, trade, IP, govern- Innovation, OECD Publishing, Paris countries: The case of Malaysia”, World ment procurement, standards, and regula- patent information, Vol. 33, 51-57 9 “Open Innovation” and “Triple Helix” tions in an integrated approach designed Models of Innovation: Can Synergy 9 Chandran V.G.R. et al (2008), “The Com- to drive economic growth through innov- in Innovation Systems Be Measured. mercialization of Research Results ation. Member countries in the ASEAN Journal of Open Innovations: Tech- Among Researchers in Public Univer- should proactively play a vital role in mak- nology, Market and Complexity, 2(1) sities and Research Institutions”, Asian ing investments in strategic and emerging (2016) 1-12; doi:10.1186/s40852-016- Profile, Vol. 36/3, pp. 253-25 advanced technologies and help to facili- 0039-7 Loet Leydesdorff a * & Inga tate the transfer of technologies to private 9 Chandran, V.G.R. (2010), “R&D commer- Ivanova b. marketplace with the explicit intent and cialization challenges for developing 9 Romer, Paul, 1990. Human Capital and purpose of driving economic growth and countries. The case of Malaysia”, Asia-­ Growth: Theory and Evidence. NBER creation of new skills. Measures should be PacificTech Monitor, Nov-Dec, pp. 25-30. taken to continuously fine-tune the innov- Working Paper 3173. 9 Cornell University, INSEAD, and WIPO ation ecosystem into a more mature system 9 Santacreu, A. M. (2015). Innovation, diffu- (2019); 12th Edition-The Global Innov- as can be seen in countries such as Sweden, sion, and trade: theory and measurement. ation Index 2019: Creating Healthy Finland, USA, Republic of Korea and Singa- Journal of Monetary Economics, 75, 1–20. Lives-The Future of Medical Innovation, pore. SMEs should constantly think out of Ithaca, Fontainebleau, and Geneva. 9 SCImago (2008), (2018), “Institution the box and drive towards a sustainable Rankings”, http://www.scimagojr.com and competitive economy by collaborat- 9 Etzkowitz, H., & Leydesdorff, L. (1995). 9 Steinbeis Foundation, http://www.stein- ing with both government and academia The Triple Helix---University-Industry- beis-impact.com/ (accessed on 15 May) to translate innovations into commercial Government Relations: A Laboratory for products and services that creates wealth Knowledge-Based Economic Develop- 9 Solow, R. (1956). A contribution to the and increases job opportunities. ment. EASST Review 14(1), 14-19. theory of economic growth. Quarterly 9 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/ Journal of Economics, 70(1), 65–94. References government/uploads/system/uploads/ 9 United Nations Report of the Secretary- 9 Andergassen, R., Nardini, F., & Ricot- attachment_data/file/436237/CO-011_ General, “Progress towards the Sustain- tilli, M. (2009). Innovation and growth SBRI_JUN15_Brochure_WEB_FINAL.pdf able Development Goals”, E/2016/75

Search Facility for PATENTSCOPE Database to Support COVID-19 Innovation Efforts The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has launched a new search functionality for its global patent database, PATENTSCOPE, to facilitate the location and retrieval of information contained in published patent documents that may be useful for innovators developing new technologies to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The WIPO COVID-19 search facility of PATENTSCOPE will provide scientists, engineers, public health policymakers, industry actors and members of the general public with an easily accessible source of intelligence for improving the detection, prevention, and treatment of diseases such as the novel coronavirus. For more information, access: https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/covid19.jsfg

24 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 A Practical Guide for MSME Intellectual Property Management on E-Commerce Platforms

human endeavors, such as inventions, Hong Xue manuscripts, software, algorithms, busi- Professor and Director of Beijing Normal ness names, designs, pictures, videos, University Institute for Internet Policy & Law (IIPL), music, etc. These assets increasingly mak- Co-Director of UNCITRAL-BNU Joint Certificate Program ing up a large proportion of a MSME’s net on International E-Commerce Law, Law School, worth. Proper management to identify, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, analyze and respond to the risk factors Beijing 100875 China. related to IP rights will reduce not only Tel: +8613611376518; Fax: +861058802496 the likelihood of an adverse event occur- E-mail: [email protected] ring but also the magnitude of its impact Web: http://www.iipl.org.cn/ on the business. MSMEs operating on e-commerce platforms need to update Abstract their IP management to adapt to the new The MSMEs operating e-commerce platforms enjoy new development opportuni- ecosystem of platform economy. MSMEs’ ties and are confronted with new intellectual property (IP) risks. MSMEs need to new IP management needs to center with update their IP management to adapt to the new ecosystem of platform econ- the e-commerce platforms to identify, omy. Safeguarding IP assets and self-defending in IP disputes are two interrelated analyze and resolve the IP risks. aspects for risk management. The MSMEs should take all the innovative, proactive A MSME’s IP management contains two and comprehensive measures to acquire and protect their IP assets and defend equally important and corelated compo- their legitimate business interests by cooperating with the platform operators, nents, i.e. safeguarding its own IP assets taking counteractions against the IP claims and resolving the IP disputes effectively. and defending its interests in IP disputes. Preparing for the worst but striving for the best. Those MSMEs that are capable of E-commerce platforms present both new successfully managing the IP risks will be the final winners of platform economy. opportunities and new challenges for MS- MEs to manage their IP risks. he United Nations declared June 27 vides two or more parties to an e-commerce Tas International Micro-, Small-, and transaction with the services of online Safeguarding IP assets Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME) Day to business premises, deal-making and infor- Adequate protection for IP is extremely recognize the valuable contribution made mation releasing etc. to enable the parties important for a company’s success. Before by small businesses towards the 2030 to engage in transactional activities inde- a MSME can take advantage of IP assets it Agenda for Sustainable Development. pendently. The large-scale e-commerce has to acquire the exclusive rights through Although MSMEs encounter the consid- platforms, such as Alibaba, Amazon or eBay legal means. erable difficulties in the 2020 COVID-19 or Lyft, accommodate tens of millions of op- pandemic, they have the new opportunity erators doing business all around the world. Acquisition of IP Rights to capture in the world platform economy. MSMEs can especially benefit from the plat- Unlike resourceful multinational compa- form economy because the platforms can nies that can purchase the IP rights from Digital platforms, particularly online match- provide the ICT infrastructure support, wide the other parties through licensing or as- makers or technology frameworks, brings market access and value-added financial signment, most MSMEs can only acquire together people in an unprecedented way and logistic services. the IP rights in the first hand. and enable economic and social activities carried out in a far wider reach unthinkable When vibrantly developing their value A number of IP rights need to be granted a decade ago. E-commerce that involves the chain on e-commerce platforms, MSMEs or registered in relevant jurisdiction. Most sale or purchase of goods and services over are confronted with critical intellectual countries entrust the IP authorities with computer networks by businesses, individ- property (IP) risks that could endanger the power of granting or registering IP uals or other organizations is substantively their sustainable business operation. IP rights. The procedure for their acquisition amplified and reinforced by the platform refers to the intangible assets deriving and maintenance may differ from­country economy. An e-commerce ­platform pro- from the valuable and original results of to country, but the basic principles and

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 25 A Practical guide for MSME intellectual property management on E-Commerce platforms general procedures are common to most for IP acquisition (for example, initial searches number of accounts using automation countries.1 and other pre-filing preparations) and can software, abnormally creates user ac- hardly bare the high costs involved, particu- counts, falsifies authentication identity (a) IP rights acquired through approval larly, in the patenting process which includes information and transactions, illegally or registration with the competent the expenses for the translation of documents sells the hacking tool. Cybercrimes like authorities and fees for IP agents or attorneys. hacking, Trojan horse or spreading com- IP rights may be roughly divided into two puter virus pose major IP risks to MSMEs. E-commerce platforms, especially large groups based on the procedures or condi- Hackers gain illegal access and commit ones, may help the MSMEs to file or regis- tions of acquisition. One group of rights, the crimes such as theft of confidential ter the IP rights. For example, Taobao4, one including patents, utility models, industrial information or trade secrets. MSMEs that of leading platforms from Alibaba Group, designs, trade/service marks, geographical become the victims of online espionage launched the so-called “Tao Brands” pro- indications, etc. are acquired in most juris- are often not aware of any loss until it is far ject, which helps the MSMEs that have dictions through approval or registration too late. Cyber experts estimate that every accumulated the brand reputation on the with the competent authorities. company utilizing a computer network is platform to register trademarks, designs actually being attacked by hackers, who For example, a trade or service mark is a or other IP rights with the authorities. The are continuously probing for weaknesses. distinctive sign which identifies certain brand incubation project has created for products or services as those produced or the MSMEs thousands of “Tao Brands” Fortunately, e-commerce platform opera- provided by a specific person, enterprise or well-known on the platform. E-commerce tors can take technological and other ne- a group of persons/enterprises allowing the platforms may become the important in- cessary measures to keep their networks consumer to distinguish them from goods cubator and cultivator for MSMEs’ IP rights. safe, prevent the intrusion of offences and or services of others. In many countries, a criminals, effectively respond to cyberse- MSME has to necessarily register the trade- (b) IP rights acquired without special curity incidents, and guarantee the security marks to get the legally exclusive rights over procedural requirements of e-commerce transactions. E-commerce them.2 The MSME must file an application in Another group of IP rights, typically copy- platform operators normally prepare con- a national or, where such possibility exists, right, trade secret, etc., can be acquired tingency plans for cybersecurity incidents. a regional trademark office. The Office will without special procedural requirements When cybersecurity incidents occur, they then, once the required fees have been paid, but their subsistence depends on the shall initiate the contingency plans im- examine the application. If the application is proofs.5 E-commerce platforms may help mediately, take corresponding remedial not rejected, the Office will make a decision the MSMEs to record and prove their rights. measures, and may report to the compe- tent authorities of the incident. to register the trademark and grant the legal E-commerce platforms play very import- right to the applicant. ant role for MSMEs’ information retention In the unlikely cases that the platform loses, In another example, industrial designs and cybersecurity. E-commerce platform fabricates, tampers, destroys, conceals, or re- are compositions of lines or colors or any operators are able to record and store the fuses to provide the MSMEs’ IP information three-dimensional forms which give a spe- information on the goods and services in the dispute settlement proceedings, the cial appearance to a product or handicraft. and the transaction information on the MSMEs are entitled to request the platform In most countries, protection of industrial platforms and keep such information assume the corresponding legal liability. designs can only be acquired through complete, confidential and available. In Protection of IP Rights registration.3 As a general rule, to qualify the course of settling an e-commerce dis- Although IP theft poses a risk to all industry for protection through registration, the pute, MSMEs may rely on the platform to sectors, the MSMEs in the manufacturing, design must be new or original. provide the authentic records or informa- consumer goods and cultural industry are tion on IP rights. E-commerce platforms’ MSMEs face many challenges in acquiring IP especially vulnerable. Counterfeit bags, information capacity substantively im- rights through authorities’ approval or regis- watches, accessories and perfumes, fake tration. MSMEs have inadequate in-house prove the MSMEs’ IP management efficacy. designer clothes, pirate DVDs, CDs, smart- knowledge of IP rights and procedures for Technology developments come along phones and computer games can quickly their protection and limited manpower to with new forms of cybercrimes. The destroy a MSME’s market ­reputation and undertake the necessary groundwork needed so-called black industry registers a large competitive edge.

1 IP rights could also, where certain conditions are met, be acquired at a regional or international level, through, e.g., the patent cooperation system and international trademark registration system maintained by the World Intellectual Property Organization. 2 IP rights are very complicated. In some countries, trademark right can be acquired through registration and/or use. 3 In very few countries, protection may also be available for unregistered industrial designs. 4 Taobao is a Chinese online shopping website, headquartered in Hangzhou, and owned by Alibaba Group. It is the biggest e-commerce platform in China. 5 Acquisition of copyright protection is usually automatic once the work is fixed in some material form. However, in some cases there may be a possibility or, exceptionally, a need to register copyright.

26 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 A Practical guide for MSME intellectual property management on E-Commerce platforms

E-commerce MSMEs can, of course, resort against the infringements committed on minating transactions and services to the to the courts or competent authorities the platforms. alleged infringer. The notification normally should include the MSME’s identity, proof of for IP protection. The MSMEs operating Apart from the circumstance in which the on e-commerce platforms, however, may the IP right and prima facie evidence that the platform obtains the actual knowledge enjoy extra protection for their IP rights. infringement has been committed on the of the infringement, the platform should Most platforms have implemented the IP platform. The platform operator shall timely become aware of facts or circumstances protection measures for the purpose of act upon the notification and forward the from which the infringement is apparent, complying with the legal requirements notification to the on-platform operator particularly through receiving a notice of and maintaining the transactional order that’s been alleged for infringement. alleged infringement from the right holder of the online marketplaces. Under the or a person authorized to act on its be- Although platform’s notice-and-takedown laws of many countries, an e-commerce half. A platform operator that chooses to measures are cost-effective for IP protection, platform shall take necessary measures they are only the interim and internal meas- be blind to apparent infringements is sub- such as deleting, blocking, disconnecting ures and cannot replace law enforcement. ject to legal punishment. links or terminating transactions and ser- After the information or traders that are vices against on-platform IP infringements In the belief that its IP right has been in- taken down, MSMEs should seek the formal upon its actual or constructive knowledge; fringed upon, a MSME has the right to re- legal remedies in a timely manner through otherwise, the platform will have to be quest, by a notification, the e-commerce suing to the court, filing the complaint to jointly liable with the infringer.6 The legal platform to take necessary measures, such the authorities or other means; otherwise, liability doctrine incentivizes e-commerce as deleting, blocking or disconnecting links the takedown measures could be undone platforms to take actions proactively to the alleged infringing information or ter- under certain conditions.7

Case study Alibaba Group’s ecosystem includes seven major e-commerce platforms: Taobao, Tmall (China), Tmall Global, 1688.com, AliExpress, Alibaba.com and Lazada. Each platform varies in terms of its business model and the types of customers it serves. AliExpress and Alibaba.com serve consumers and businesses from around the world. Lazada is a popular online shopping and selling destination in Southeast Asia. Tmall Global has become the preferred channel for overseas brands and MSMEs to enter the Chinese market. As of April 2018, 17 countries and regions have established the “national regional pavilions” on the Tmall Global platform. More than 100,000 brands have entered the various e-commerce platforms under Alibaba Group, which covers 75% of the world’s consumer brands with most commercial value. The product information on the Alibaba.com is presented in 16 languages for global consumers. Alibaba commits to protect IP rights and requires that its merchants do the same.8 In 2015, Alibaba group established the Platform Governance Department to promote the comprehensive e-commerce IP protection. After years of practices, Alibaba group has formed a governance model synchronizing technology, commerce and law, which is called “Ali Model”. Alibaba group has the Platform Governance Department, platform rules and active prevention & control technologies to protect IP rights. Alibaba Group uses the new technologies such as commodity brains, fake product identification models, image recognition algorithms, semantic recognition algorithms, commodity knowledge bases, real-time interception systems, biometrics authenti- cation, big data sampling models, and data collaboration platforms to protect IP on the platforms. Through a variety of technical algorithms, up to about 600 million product images can be identified every day, and the recogni- tion accuracy rate is as high as 97.6%.; 97% of suspected infringing goods can be cracked down as soon as they launch online. In 2017, the product information taken down by the identification data technology was 27 times more than that taken down upon the notifications by IP right owners. In 2016, Alibaba deployed a unified and upgraded IP protection system called Intellectual Property Protection Platform (i.e. IPP). IP Rights owners can register a single IPP account and submit takedown requests across all seven e-commerce platforms of Alibaba Group. IP rights owners can also track and manage their takedown requests across all seven platforms through IPP. When the IP rights owners request that the infringing listings be removed by submitting takedown notifications, they should pro- vide the Proof of identity (e.g., identity cards or business license), Proof of IP rights (e.g. trademark certificates, patent certificates,

6 The Chinese E-Commerce Law (2018) is one of the outstanding examples. Besides, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which is a new free trade agreement concluded by Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Canada in 2018, contains the similar liability regime. 7 For example, under both Chinese E-Commerce Law and US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, if the on-platform operator that’s subject to the takedown measure may submit a non-infringement statement to the platform, and IP right owner does not file a complaint or lawsuit within the designated period, the platform should promptly terminate the measures it has taken. 8 See “Alibaba Group Intellectual Property Rights Protection Handbook”.

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 27 A Practical guide for MSME intellectual property management on E-Commerce platforms

copyright registration certificates and/or copyright ownership statements) and Proof of Authorization in cases of agency. Under the Alibaba rules, if an on-platform trader is found selling fakes and pirated goods, particularly in severe and/or repetitive cases, its business accounts shall be suspended or closed down. In August 2017, Alibaba launched Express IPP, which accelerates the rights owners’ takedown requests handled through the data- driven technology. In 2018, 96% of all legitimate IP takedown requests submitted through the IPP during business days were pro- cessed within 24 hours. Those right owners that have submitted at least 100 takedown requests over the previous three months, enjoyed the successful takedown rate of at least 90% and have no history of deliberately providing false information are eligible to join the Good Faith Program under which their reported listings can be taken down more expeditiously.

Self-defending in IP disputes these platform rules are inevitably ap- MSME finds that any platform rule, includ- plied to their businesses of the MSMEs ing IP rule, is not publicized, it may resist MSMEs should pay sufficient attention to operating on a platform, they should pro- the rule from being imposed on it. the IP related risks posed by the disputes actively engage with the platform opera- with competitors. If a competitor claims Platform operators’ governance power tors when the rules are being developed. the IP assets in designing, developing, should be reined in the legal limit. If a plat- Some countries’ newly enacted laws have manufacturing, distributing and/or sell- form operator is found to utilize the plat- already required the platform operators ing similar products or services, the MSME form rules or service agreements to un- solicit public comments (at prominent needs to know how to defend its interests reasonably restrict or place unreasonable places on the platforms’ homepages or pri- in the IP disputes. In order to manage the conditions on the on-platform MSMEs or mary webpages) when the rules are being charge them with unreasonable fees, the potential risks of legal liabilities, the MS- formulated or modified and ensure that MSMEs are entitled to sue the platform op- MEs operating on e-commerce platforms the relevant parties can fully express their erator to invalidate the unreasonable rules should proactively engage with the plat- opinions in a timely manner.9 With respect or agreements. form operators, take necessary counter- to the IP rules, if the MSMEs actively take actions to resist the wrong IP claims and part in the platform rule-making process Resisting the wrong IP claims settle the disputes effectively. and express their requests or concerns, the The MSMEs on the platforms should keep rules made through the multi-stakeholder Engaging with E-Commerce Platforms an alert eye on the IP notifications for- participation are less likely to unreason- An e-commerce platform operator gov- warded by the platform operators. Upon ably expand the IP protection beyond the erns its platform through making and receipt of an IP right owner’s notification legal boundary and override the IP rights’ of infringement, the MSME should take im- implementing the platform rules that are legitimate limitations or exceptions. After contracted into the service agreements mediate counteractions to prevent or miti- the IP rules have been developed, they gate the negative effects on its business. with the on-platform operators and con- are incorporated into the platform ser- sumers. The rules specify the issues of vice agreements binding to the MSMEs. (a) Non-Infringement Statement relevant parties’ rights and obligations in Therefore, it’s essential that the MSMEs In the belief that the IP notification is wrong, respect of joining and quitting the plat- proactively engaged with the platform groundless or malicious, the MSME should form, assurance of the quality of goods operators in the IP rule-making process timely submit to the platform operator­ a and services, protection of consumer to keep proper balance between the IP non-infringement statement, along with rights and interests, protection of per- interests and MSMEs’ business interests the prima facie non-infringement evidence sonal information and IP rights. Since the and prevent those rules from overlook- (e.g. MSME’s trademark or patent certifi- platform rules have the direct impact on ing the on-platform businesses’ legitim- cates or copyright registration) to rebut the MSMEs operating on the platforms, ate interests. the IP infringement claim. Submission of engaging with the platform operators in All the platform rules must be sufficiently the non-infringement statement is a very the rule-making process is very important publicized. For the purpose of transpar- important tactic for the MSMEs in face of to safeguard their business interests. ency, the platform operators shall continu- the IP notification. Without it, the platform Under many countries’ laws, e-commerce ously display their platform rules (or the operator would act upon the request of the platform operators are required to protect links to the rules) at prominent places on IP right owners and delist the MSME’s rele- IP rights through formulating the IP rules their platforms’ homepages and primary vant goods or services from the platform in cooperation with all the stakeholders webpages to ensure the convenient ac- or even suspend or terminate the MSME’s and in compliance with the principles of cess to and download of such information business account on the platform, which openness, fairness and impartiality. Since in full by the on-platform MSMEs. If any would be very damaging to the MSME’s

9 2018 Chinese E-Commerce Law implements such legal requirements on the platform operators.

28 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 A Practical guide for MSME intellectual property management on E-Commerce platforms business and reputation. By submitting the order to seek legal remedies, the MSME right owners. Once the MSMEs’ counterac- non-infringement statement, the MSME, needs to bring the lawsuit against the tions are successful, not only the IP right however, may resist the negative effects IP right owner that sent out the noti- owners in bad faith will be “shamed” pub- of the IP notification in many jurisdictions. fication soon after the issuance of the licly but the MSMEs’ credit on the platform Upon the receipt of the non-infringement court order. can be boosted. statement, the platform operator will for- ward it to the IP right owner who gave (c) Damages Settling the disputes the notification, and advise that the right If the IP right owner is proved to send out Once a MSME discovers that it has indeed owner to file a complaint with the compe- the erroneous notification, it shall bear the infringed the other’s IP rights, the most tent authority or a court. If not hearing from civil liability of compensating the MSME cost-effective solution is to settle the dis- the IP right owner in a reasonable period of for the damages caused by suspension or pute quickly and cheaply, rather than to be time about acceptance of the case by court termination of the business. If the MSME involved in the prolonged and expensive or authority, the platform operator will ter- can prove that the IP right owner sent out legal proceeding. minate the measures it has taken against the notification in bad faith, the IP right (a) Online complaining mechanism the MSME.10 For example, under the Chin- owner could be subject to the punitive 11 Many MSMEs have voluntarily established ese E-Commerce Law, upon receipt of the damages. The evidence is critical to en- the mechanisms to enable the IP right non-infringement statement forwarded by able the MSME to win the lawsuit against owners or others to file the complaints. In the platform operator, the IP right owner the IP right owner. For example, the proofs some countries, all e-commerce operators may file a complaint or lawsuit within 15 that the IP right owner provides the falsified are required to set up online complaining days and notify the same to the platform trademark certificate in the notification or mechanisms.12 The MSMEs that directly re- operator to continue the actions taken knowingly sends out the groundless notifi- ceive the complaints from the IP right own- against the on-platform operator; should cation to disrupt the competitor’s business ers may assess the risks in the IP disputes. In the platform operator receive no further during the special timing (like Black Friday many circumstances, settling the disputes notice from the right owner within the 15 or Cyber Monday) could be the persuasive amicably with the IP complainants through days, the measures it has taken against the evidence of IP right owner’s bad faith. In communications, negotiations and settle- on-platform operator shall be terminated. these cases, the MSME is entitled to the ment agreements could be less costly punitive damages as well as the compen- than deteriorating the disputes and to be (b) Court order sation of the actual loss. Upon the receipt of the IP notification, dragged into the complicated legal pro- the MSME may, in addition to submis- (d) Platform credit system ceedings. The online complaining mech- sion of the non-infringement statement, Most platform operators have established anism could help the MSMEs to manage ­immediately apply for a court order to the credit rating systems for on-platform the IP risks in the early stage through timely prevent or stop the platform operator operators. An operator’s credit shows its acquiring the information of the IP disputes from taking the action according to the market reputation and trustworthiness. and taking effective measures to settle the disputes. It would be completely coun- IP request, provided that the MSME is Apart from the consumers’ comments, terproductive if the MSMEs set up the so- able to prove that their legitimate inter- the MSMEs’ credit is most affected by the called “sham” complaining mechanism or ests would suffer imminent and irrep- IP claims. Therefore, it’s very important for ignore or even revenge the complainants. arable damage from the IP notification. the MSMEs to fight against the wrong or Normally, the court will decide whether malicious IP claims. In some countries, the Since the online complaining mechan- to approve the application in a short platform operators are required to publish ism is a valuable vehicle for the MSMEs to period of time (e.g. 48 hours). Once the the notifications from IP right owners, manage the IP risks, it should be designed court order is issued, the platform oper- non-infringement statements from on- properly to enable the IP right owners to ator shall comply and not take any action platform operators and final outcomes. file the complaints conveniently and effect- against the MSME. However, the effect of Under such publicity requirement, the ively and enable the MSMEs to accept and the ex parte (without the presence of the MSMEs must act even more forcefully to handle the complaints swiftly. The MSMEs Respondent) order cannot last long. In defend their name against the malicious IP can use the automatic information systems

10 In some countries, a non-infringement statement, per se, is capable to enable the platform to terminate the actions taken in accordance with the IP notification. But in other countries, the IP right owners are given a grace period (e.g. 10 days under the US law) to take legal action and the non- infringement statement would not terminate the platform’s action until the expiry of the grace period. 11 Punitive damages are considered punishment and are typically awarded at the court’s discretion when the defendant’s behavior is found to be especially harmful. Punitive damages are awarded in addition to actual damages. 12 For example, under the Chinese E-Commerce Law, e-commerce operators shall develop convenient and effective complaining and reporting mechanisms, publish the means of complaining and reporting and the relevant information, and accept and handle the complaints and reports in a timely manner.

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 29 A Practical guide for MSME intellectual property management on E-Commerce platforms provided by the platform for online com- by a MSME on the platform, the dispute may vary from platform to platform. Many big plaining mechanisms. The automatic infor- be solved through the platform ODR accord- platforms are experimenting different mation system may be embedded in the ing to the platform’s dispute resolution rules. forms of ODR systems. The United Na- user interface or in email system. The platform ODR is especially useful in the tions Technical Notes on Online Dispute After receiving the complaints, the MSMEs cross-border disputes in which the parties Resolution set out the principles that should promptly contact the complainants locate in the different countries and need underpin any ODR process, including and assess the risks and the possible costs a nimble and alternative means of dispute fairness, transparency, due process and of settlement. The MSMEs should always resolution to avoid the complicated legal is- accountability. The European Union Dir- prepare for the worst but strive for the best. sues of choice of jurisdiction and laws. The ective on Consumer Alternative Dispute Through negotiation, the MSMEs may get an platform ODR has the potential to become Resolution (ADR) requires independent, even clearer picture about the IP claims and the common practice for platform govern- impartial and having expertise. The Chin- the costs. The settlement agreements can be ance. But the platform operators are not ese E-Commerce Law provides that the reached with the complainants if the costs required to set up the ODR systems. Some disputes should be fairly and equitably will be lower than litigation or other dis- small platform operators that have not the settled according to the dispute settle- pute resolution. If eventually the settlement sufficient expertise and capability may ment rules developed and published by agreements cannot be reached, the MSMEs choose not to develop the ODR mechanisms. the platform operators. could be better prepared for the next stage The platform ODR is applied either based on The MSMEs should protect their own inter- of strategy, such as hiring legal profession- the parties’ explicit and informed consent ests based on these basic principles. Under als, drafting legal defense and/or collecting or based on the platform rules and service the principles of transparency, impartiality, evidence to rebut the IP right owners’ claims. agreements that incorporate the ODR rules. fairness and equitability, the MSMEs may Even if the IP right owners sued the MSMEs in The MSMEs that subscribe to the platform request the ODR platform disclose any ac- the courts, the parties can still negotiate and rules and service agreements are actually tual or potential conflicts of interest (such reach the settlement agreements during the bound by the platform ODR. Therefore, be- as any financial relationship between the proceedings. Sometime, rivalry is merely a fore deciding to adopt the platform rules complainant and the platform operator). tactic to facilitate the other party to move or to conclude the platform service agree- on in the settlement process. Under the principles of independence and ment, a MSME should be mindful whether accountability, ODR platform should adopt it is prepared to accept the governance of (b) Platform online dispute resolution a code of ethics for its neutrals (i.e. the per- the platform ODR. Once the platform sub- The online dispute resolution (ODR) mecha- sons in charge of resolving the disputes) scription is complete, normally the MSMEs nisms provided by the platforms may be against any irregularities. Under the prin- used to resolve the MSMEs’ IP related dis- cannot opt out from the ODR proceedings. ciple of due process, the MSMEs should be putes. For example, if a consumer complains The platform ODR is in quick development given the sufficient opportunity to present about the suspected counterfeit goods sold but far from mature. Its process designs and defend their cases in the proceedings.

Case study Sina Corporation that is running Weibo, one of the biggest social media platforms in China, established the “Sina People’s Medi- ation Committee (SPMC)” in March 2014. The SPMC is the first Internet mediation organization approved by the authorities. It is an autonomous organization to mediate the disputes on Sina Weibo platform. During mediation, the Committee helps the parties to voluntarily reach settlement agreements through persuasion, facilitation and other reasonable methods. Since its establish- ment, the Committee has accepted for average 20,000 cases per week. The disputes involve defamation, copyrights or trademark infringements and other legal issues. The mediation process is entirely online and the results are published. Alibaba Group develops the Public Review Mechanism (PRM), which adopts the so-called jury model to resolve the disputes emerging from the platform transactions. The PRM was established on Taobao platform on December 18, 2012. Under the PRM, the members of Taobao platform (i.e. the persons with the Taobao accounts) may determine whether the platform rules are rea- sonable by majority votes and adjudicate the transactional disputes between the parties. Nearly 5 million people have actively joined the PRM and over 100 million disputes on the platforms have been adjudicated.

Conclusion measures to protect them. Although con- and resolving the IP disputes effectively. fronted with the complex IP challenges, Only the business models that respect IP The MSMEs, in order to succeed in the the MSMEs would be able to safeguard rights are sustainable and only those MS- highly competitive platform economy, their legitimate business interests by co- MEs that are capable of successfully man- should value their IP assets and take all the operating with the platform operators, aging the IP risks will be the final winners innovative, proactive and comprehensive taking defensive actions against IP claims of market competition.

30 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Intellectual Property Management A Case Study of a License of Ultra-Low-Ammonia Latex for Asphalt Cement in Thailand ­Research Group (IRM) at the National Chaveewan Kongkaewa, Piyada Suwandittakula, Metal and Materials Technology Center Suriyakamon Monthaa, and Orakanoke Phanraksab (MTEC), the National Science and Technol- aNational Metal and Materials Technology Center, Innovative Rubber Manufacturing ogy Development Agency (NSTDA). Part III Research Group, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand describes different forms of IP under this bTechnology Management Center, National Science and Technology Development license, and business model development. Agency, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand Part IV highlights the success, lessons ([email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; and orakanoke@ learned, impacts, and challenges. This part nstda.or.th) will also touch on the development of the Corresponding author. Tel: +66 2 564 7000 (www.nstda.or.th) para asphalt cement industry, supports E-mail: [email protected] (O. Phanraksa) the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and challenges encountered throughout Abstract a supply chain of the para-asphalt road This paper presents a successful case of a license of ultra-low-ammonia latex for construction business. Finally, this paper asphalt cement in Thailand. It demonstrates a license with more than one form provides recommendations for those with of intellectual property and a business model that involves multi-parties. A turn- limited licensing experiences in particular key technology could be a preferred model and easy to implement in a business in developing countries. that does not require any custom-designed solution. However, when a specifically designed technology like this ultra-low-ammonia latex is desired and can be done Background of para asphalt via a license agreement, there are several key factors to take into consideration. cement research project This paper will discuss key success factors, impacts, and challenges encountered Technical problems of the asphalt throughout a supply chain of the para-asphalt road construction business. This road paper concludes with the lessons learned and further addresses a new collabora- Asphalt is a natural substance derived tive research opportunity that comes with this licensing deal. from the distillation of crude oil and also used in various ways as sealant, preserva- Introduction this case to demonstrate how this license tive, waterproofing agent, and pavement has overcome major barriers that are often hailand is the leader of producer and binder. The use of asphalt has increased addressed e.g. technical barriers like tech- exporter of natural rubber in the world rapidly in world consumption, most of T nical risk, lack of operational test data, (Workman 2020). Para rubber is one of which have been used in road construc- unawareness of new technology, lack of Thailand’s most economic agricultural tion. However, asphalt is quite sensitive transfer experiences, limited absorptive products. Natural rubber is an engineering to temperature fluctuation. In tropical capability, and lack of trust (Greiner and countries, asphalt is soft at normal tem- material for the production of numerous Franza 2003). It further demonstrates the perature but tends to flow like a viscous products such as tires, automotive parts, technical solutions corresponding to the liquid at high temperatures. Here, the lack conveyor belts, gloves, condoms, balloons, government’s policy on road construction. of rheological and viscoelastic properties etc. However, the price of natural rubber A specific business model of the license of asphalt can cause deformation on the fluctuated and the production was over- was developed as a solution when a key road surface. At low temperature, asphalt capacity. Having a sound policy to support player of the road construction supply change its properties, becomes hard, rigid, the rubber industry is thus detrimental to chain has limited experiences in managing solid which could easily cause brittleness survive the rubber business and stakehold- different forms of intellectual property (IP) and further lead to fatigue cracking failure. ers in the entire value chain in Thailand. right. In doing so, this paper is divided into Asphalt roads experienced with increasing The objectives of this paper are to report five main parts. Part I provides an overview traffic load, higher traffic volume, and- ex a successful case of a license of ultra- of the importance of the rubber industry in treme weather conditions (cold, hot, and low-ammonia latex for asphalt cement Thailand. Part II describes the background wet weather) require resealing to prevent in Thailand. The success of and barriers of the research projects, carried out by the cracking every three to five years. Reseal- concerning technology transfer has been Green Latex and Rubber Materials (GLRT), ing the asphalt road surface cost both time around for decades. The authors employ the Innovative Rubber Manufacturing and money. Either natural polymer (such

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 31 Intellectual Property Management: A Case Study of a License of Ultra-Low-Ammonia Latex for Asphalt Cement in Thailand

as natural rubber) or synthetic ­polymer caused by the ammonia vapors, that ization, the commercial latex has to be (such as SBS or EVA) together with addi- comes with a pungent odor and clogging kept for 21 days after the production. But tives become one of the alternative so- of natural rubber latex in pipelines. Am- with this ULA latex technology, it can be lutions in improving the asphalt proper- monia vapors are widespread and there used within 1-2 days after the production. ties for asphalt pavement. This Polymer are complaints from nearby communities. Most importantly, when working with the Modified Asphalt Cement (PMA) provides Under the production process, commer- industry, it is critical to comply with any higher strength and durability of asphalt cial ammonia natural rubber latex is nor- required industrial standard. Having used road surface than that of the asphalt ce- mally mixed with asphalt and additives in a the ULA latex technology, the ULA-NRMA ment (Chen et al. 2002). reactor at a temperature ranging between products meet the standard of Thai indus- 140-160°C as shown in Figure 1. It provides the following properties: trial products (TIS 2731-2559). In using an ammonia gas trapping equip- - high rutting resistance As indicated in the technical problems of ment for disposal in wastewater treatment - high fatigue resistance the asphalt road, this ULA latex for Asphalt ponds, it has resulted in an imbalance eco- - decrease raveling Cement becomes a key solution in road system as ammonia destroys microorgan- - anti-stripping construction industries. Listed below are isms in wastewater treatment ponds (Lan- - long lifetime some core benefits of this ULA latex tech- dreth 1989). Installation of the ammonia - save maintenance cost nology. Those are: trapping equipment and the construc- - high skid resistance tion of additional wastewater treatment 1) Concentrated latex production Thailand has started to produce Natural ponds are neither effective nor sustain- - Ensure less pollution from ammo- Rubber Modified Asphalt Cement (NRMA) able to solve the problems of ammonia nia vapors in latex factory and Para since 1957 (Vichitcholachai 2013). Among vapors in the NRMA plants. In solving this AC plants the natural rubber used in asphalt modi- long-existing issue, an Ultra-low Ammonia - Could be transported to latex fac- fication, latex is mostly used because it (ULA) Latex used for mixing with asphalt tory without any storage required yields a higher quality of the NRMA prod- cement is developed. Special features of - Promote stability at high tempera- ucts, comparing to other forms of rubber ULA latex include a very low ammonia ture at the same amount. Unfortunately, am- concentration (0.10-0.15%), high mech- 2) Para asphalt cement production monia is the only choice of preservatives anical stability time (> 1,500 sec), good - Reduce complaints from surround- that are used to preserve the property of thermal stability and long shelf life in re- ing communities the natural rubber latex. The manufactur- sponding to the industrial standard (more - Reduce clogging in Para AC pipe- ers often suffer from pollution problems than 6 months). Normally, before any util- lines - Does not require either ammonia gas trapping equipment installa- tion or additional wastewater treat- ment ponds construction 3) Para asphalt concrete production - Reduce pollution from ammonia vapors - The high-quality ULA-Para AC prod- ucts comply with the standard of Thai industrial products (TIS 2731- 2559) Technology management This session is divided into two aspects: IP protection and business model devel- opment. The license of the ultra-low-am- monia latex for asphalt cement is selected for the discussion for several reasons. First, this case demonstrates a sound strategy in dealing with a licensee with limited experi- ences in the IP management. To achieve Figure 1: A production process of natural rubber latex modified asphalt the goal of a technology transfer, it is es- cement (NRMA) sential to understand the needs and limi-

32 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Intellectual Property Management: A Case Study of a License of Ultra-Low-Ammonia Latex for Asphalt Cement in Thailand tations of the licensee. Occasionally, many research organizations can come up with advanced and complicated solutions to technical problems. Its development is often connected with high technical Figure 2: A supply chain of the para asphalt road construction and personnel requirements. As a result, it becomes a concern by the producers/ trade or technical information is ­considered chain of the para asphalt road construction industry when they want to acquire the a weak point in many R&D institutions in business. It includes 1) a research organiza- technology (Mazurkiewicz and Poteral- Thailand. And this license of the ultra-low tion who provides the licensed technology, ska 2017). Second, the licensed technol- ammonia latex for the asphalt cement has 2) a ULA latex producer who produces the ogy demonstrates different attributions of no exception. The reasonable measures to ULA latex for the asphalt cement, 3) a Nat- different forms of IP. A patent alone shall keep the trade information secret could be ural Rubber Modified Asphalt (NRMA) pro- not suffice the transfer of this technol- executed in many ways. A simple example ducer, and 4) a road construction company ogy. To ensure that the provided solution could be done by a Confidential Disclos- who demands the para asphalt cement for secures the business of the partner com- ure Agreement (CDA) to be signed prior to the para asphalt concrete. panies, the licensed technology requires disclosing or revealing any necessary infor- In this case, the NRMA producer is one of mation. If without proper management of an additional form of knowhow that is the top producers of the natural rubber confidentiality of technical information, protected under the Thai trade secret law. modified asphalt cement in Thailand. They trade secret proprietor could easily lose Finally, the success of this case involves have four manufacturing plants across their right to the trade secret protection. both understandings and contributions Thailand. Prior to the launch of the policy Strategically, the patent on this method of multi-stakeholders. The understand- of the DRR, their interest focus merely on alone will not make the case successful. ing is based on a long term relationship the regular asphalt production. In meeting The research group has emphasized that that the research group and the ULA latex the policy of the DRR, the NRMA producer this patent works only with the use of a producer have established. Because of this is looking for the para asphalt technology ULA latex specific qualification. Otherwise, strong relationship and trust, the research to be used for the para asphalt cement. it would not have yielded a desired result. group becomes a solution provider to the The natural rubber used for the modified So far as the management of the trade se- ULA latex producer, who has become a li- asphalt is usually in the latex form which cret is concerned, the key producer of the censee later on. is preserved by ammonia. Nonetheless, para asphalt cement becomes reluctant to considering the growing asphalt pro- take this technology. Having addressed the IP protection duction business of the NRMA producer, concern of the trade secret management, There are two forms of IP under this licens- the ammonia vapors remains their high the next part discusses the business model ing agreement. The licensed intellectual concern as it has resulted in a hazardous development that becomes a key solution properties involve the patent protection working environment at their manufactur- to the producer of the para asphalt cement. on a method of increasing the stability ing plants. Therefore, the ULA latex for the of latex and reducing the amount of am- asphalt cement becomes their solution as Business model development monia in the production of low ammonia The license of this ULA latex for asphalt it provides them two key answers namely concentrated latex for use at high-temper- cement involves four key players. As men- meeting the demand of the DRR’s policy in ature applications. The second form of IP tioned in the introduction, para rubber is promoting the para asphalt cement, and protection involves a formula of an ultra- one of Thailand’s most economic agricul- reducing the air pollution caused by the low ammonia for concentrated latex to be tural products. Since 2013, the Depart- preservative, ammonia. Unfortunately, al- used with the asphalt cement, which is ment of Rural Roads (DRR) has announced though the NRMA producer is interested protected under the Thai trade secret law. a policy to promote the use of para rub- in the ULA latex, they are not comfortable According to the Thai Trade Secrets Act, the ber with the asphalt for road construction being the one to manage the licensed in- law requires three elements to be eligible and pavement. In corresponding to the tellectual properties, in particular, the for trade secret protection: the trade infor- National Twenty Year Strategy Plan on the trade secret. This brings to a question of mation must not be publicly known by per- Para Rubber (FY 2017-2037), the DRR has who should be the one to manage the sons normally connected with the informa- continued to promote more uses of the licensed intellectual properties. Concern- tion; the commercial value of which derives latex for the asphalt cement. Because of ing the innovation process and manage- from its secrecy status; and the controller this policy of the DRR, major producers of ment, the person or team to manage such must take reasonable steps to maintain asphalt cement in Thailand are looking for a process depends on the type of organ- the secrecy (The Thai Trade Secret Act B.E. the technology that meets the demand of ization. (Ungureanu et al. 2016) 2545 2002). The latter requirement of “rea- the road construction company. In Fig. 2, it In this case, instead of being a direct licen- sonable steps to maintain the secrecy” of demonstrates key players under the supply see of the ULA latex technology, the ULA

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 33 Intellectual Property Management: A Case Study of a License of Ultra-Low-Ammonia Latex for Asphalt Cement in Thailand

latex producer comes into play as being a industry. The natural rubber latex is an ini- to a commercial latex in the para asphalt more experienced party. One of the key tial material that is preserved before going cement production. It provides a high factors in the para asphalt business is through the processing and transforming impact on the local para asphalt indus- that it requires the long term experiences to the rubber products. Throughout the try for several reasons. First, the ULA latex in mixing the asphalt. The research group entire supply chain of the para asphalt reduces air pollution from the ammonia has a long-term established relationship road construction industry, it involves vapors at the latex and the para asphalt with the ULA latex producer. The trust is many players including but not limited to manufacturing plants. It expedites the there and as a result, three key stakehold- rubber farmers, latex manufacturing pro- manufacturing process. Normally, before ers agree with the licensing conditions ducers, natural rubber modified asphalt any utilization, the commercial latex has to have licensed the intellectual proper- producers, and the road constructors. For to be kept for 21 days. But with this ULA ties to the ULA latex producer, who will many years, the research team has worked latex technology, it can be used within supply such produced ULA latex to the with each of these players to identify 1-2 days after the production date. Until NRMA producer. This business model their needs and concerns to better pro- 2020, the ULA latex has been used for the reflects the fact that all parties have the vide them either consultation services or road pavement in Thailand totaling more same understanding of their needs, and technical solutions. This has established a than 3,000 kilometers which has saved they know the strength and weaknesses long term and deep relationship between the maintenance costs of the road con- of each other. More importantly, due to the research group and the stakeholders. struction of Thailand more than USD 16 a clear tangible value of the ULA latex to Second, it is often the case that many Million/year. the natural rubber latex producer, this li- desired transfer of technology are tech- The impact of the ULA latex does not stop cense has overcome the common barrier nology at a laboratory scale level with lim- there. Policy-wise, this technology also of the successful transfer of technology, ited field tests. This has resulted in failures supports the UN Sustainable Develop- mismatch of the demand and supply. The of the technology transfer. To work with ment Goals including goal 9 (Industry, In- next section will discuss more about the the industry, an up-scaling process with novation, and Infrastructure) and goal 12 key success factors as well as the lessons the industry to explore a feasibility and val- (Responsible consumption and produc- learned from the case study. idate the technology is crucial. Third, the tion). For goal 9, the ULA latex is consid- employed case study clearly defines the ered as a green technology that functions Success, lessons learned, subject matter that are licensed, and the as a bio-modifier of asphalt binder for the impacts, and challenges scope of what to deliver to the licensee. Fi- road construction/pavement industry. The nally, an expectation management is rec- NRMA products made from the ULA latex Key success factors and lessons ommended to both sides. Often times, the give high quality, sustainable, and resili- learned licensor believes that their licensee has an ent asphalt concrete road. This helps to The research team has been closely absorptive capability and is able to under- upgrade domestic transportation both working with the rubber industry both stand the licensed IP while the licensee in urban and rural areas which supports small and large scales across Thailand for would expect to see the licensed tech- the economic development and human decades. The key success factors from their nology solve their problems and make well-being of Thailand. Besides, a longer extensive experiences can be listed and them more money. In the case study, both lifetime of the natural rubber modified described as followings: licensor and licensee have a good expect- asphalt roads reduces the recurrence of a. understanding the nature of the indus- ation management. Their relationship has the road repairs. At the practical level, it try long established, resulting to the under- indirectly reduces severe traffic jams as we b. familiarity of the working nature of the standings of both sides, and are willing to have less road reconstruction. This further industry work together to ensure the licensed tech- saves fuel and time consumption. Increas- i. Expertise of the team and under- nology work as originally planned. ing consumption of the renewable natural standing the key players including Impacts rubber delivers sustainable benefits for the end users The discussion of this section is divided into rubber farmers and the rubber industry. ii. Gone through the up-scaling pro- two parts. The first part briefly discusses the Concerning goal 12, the ULA latex tech- cess with the industry impact of the ULA latex on the asphalt road nology supports domestic natural rubber c. clarity of the licensed specification and construction industry in Thailand. Next, a consumption about 3,500 tons/year to scope of deliverability discussion will touch on another layer of the construct the asphalt roads across Thai- d. expectation management impact that the ULA latex has supported land. The development of the ULA latex First, due to the long term experiences and aligned with the UN Sustainable De- replacing conventional latex achieves with the rubber industry, it allows the re- velopment Goals (UNSDGs). the management of toxic chemicals search team to know the industry’s need As introduced in the introduction, the used in the rubber industry. This helps and understand the nature of the rubber ULA latex is developed as an alternative to ­significantly reduce the release of

34 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Intellectual Property Management: A Case Study of a License of Ultra-Low-Ammonia Latex for Asphalt Cement in Thailand

­ammonia gas to the air and minimize the Capacity constraints scientific expertise of the research team adverse impacts on worker’s health, sur- Due to limited personnel resources and with the practical manufacturing skills rounding communities, and environment. the turn-over rate of the research assis- of the industrial partner (Phanraksa and Typically, greenhouse gas emissions are tants, this has directly resulted in losing Rubesch 2012). reported in units of carbon dioxide equiva- manpower. The remaining team has to The IP management can be learned: find the replacement and this requires lent (CO2 eq). Ammonia is converted to CO2 Having learned how the formula trade eq by multiplying by their emission factor tremendous time to train those new staff. secret has been handled, the NRMA pro- In addition to this limitation, insufficient in kg CO2 eq per unit. (2.07 kg CO2 eq per ducer has shown their interest to get a kg of ammonia) (Williams and Al-Ansari infrastructure has always been the case license directly from the research group, 2007). The ULA latex contains ammonia in research institutions in the developing rather than having the ULA latex produ- lower than the conventional latex as 0.1%. world. To up-scale the technology, a pilot cer done it. At the beginning, the NRMA From 2018-2020, the ULA latex has been plant is desired. Currently, the research producer hesitated to get involved with produced for more than 8,000 tons. This team has to reach out latex manufacturer the trade secret due to their limited expe- has resulted in the reduction of the total to help trial on the large scale production riences. Now that the stakeholders have ammonia content as 8 tons. In sum, the of the ULA latex. Nonetheless, as this tech- learned from each other, next potential nology contains the trade secret formula, ULA latex can reduce the CO2 eq context licensing deal could be based on a dif- as 16,560 tons. access to such formula should be restrict- ferent business model. Whether the next ed and limited. Although the formula is deal follows the same or take a different Meeting Tomorrow’s Challenges protected under the Thai trade secret law, licensing pattern, maintaining the good any unintentional leakage of the formula Technical challenges for future relationship is the key to the success. IP to outsiders would easily jeopardize the technology is definitely essential for business but it is secrecy status of the technology. Aside from the asphalt roads, concrete not everything of the deal. roads and gravel roads are also common Conclusion Acknowledgment and built-in Thailand. The construction Technology commercialization is a chal- of these 3 kinds of roads uses different The authors would like to express our lenge everywhere. The challenges and technologies. It becomes a challenge for sincere gratitude to Dr. Wibool Piyawat- barriers may include but not limited to the research team to apply the ULA latex tanametha from Biomedical Engineering technical risk, lack of operational test data, with concrete and gravel road construc- Department, King Mongkut’s Institute of unawareness of new technology, lack of tion. The difficulty is how to mix the ULA Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) for his transfer experiences, limited absorptive latex with cement, coarse aggregate, sand, editing and invaluable comments and capability, risk aversion, and lack of trust. and soil to get a homogeneous mixture advice. However, these challenges can be over- and obtain the excellent quality roads. In come when the stakeholders have a good the future, the research team hopes to take References understanding of the technology transfer part in setting the standard of natural rub- 99Fermando, M.J. Nadarajah, M. (1992) process. ber based roads in Thailand. Use of Natural Rubber Latex in Road Know the industry’s need: The needs of Construction. Polymer Modified As- Competitive challenges the rubber industry and end user like the phalt Binders. ASTM STP 1108, Ken- Since the leading asphalt manufacturer in NRMA producer is identified right at the neth R. Wardlaw and Scott Shuler, Eds., Thailand uses the ULA latex for their NRMA beginning. They are the one who suggest American Society for Testing and Mater- production, it drives the ULA latex devel- the opportunity to the research team. ial, Philadelphia. ) opment from competitors in the rubber A relationship is a key to the success: 99Greiner, M.A., Franza, R.M., (2003) Barri- industry. Now, ULA latex has 2-3 competi- Greater opportunities are derived from a ers and Bridges for Successful Environ- tors in the market. It is a big challenge good relationship that comes with trust. mental Technology Transfer. Journal of for the research team to keep the market While the current license of the ULA latex Technology Transfer, 28. 167-177. shares of the ULA latex in the road con- is still on-going, the NRMA producer has 99Chen J. -S., M. -C. Liao & H. -H. Tsai. struction/pavement industry. Customer already identified their interests to work (2002), Evaluation and optimiza- engagement becomes a competitive on other relevant problems with the re- tion of the engineering proper- strategy for the research team. The team search group. The ULA latex producer ties of polymer-modified asphalt., has been endlessly working on further and the NRMA producer become less Practical Failure Analysis Volume 2, development of the ULA latex. This is to risk averse because they see the value pages 75-85. maintain their status as a champion who the ­relationship brings. A licensing has leveraged the para asphalt cement in- deal’s real value derives from creating 99International Conference on Manu- dustry in Thailand. a relationship that brings together the facturing Engineering and Materials,

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 35 Intellectual Property Management: A Case Study of a License of Ultra-Low-Ammonia Latex for Asphalt Cement in Thailand

ICMEM 2016, 6-10 June 2016, Nový 99Rogers, E.M., Takegami, S., Yin, J. (2001) 99Ungureanu, M., Pop, N., and Ungureanu, Smokovec, Slovakia. Lessons learned about technology N. (2016 ). Procedia Engineering, 149, 495 99Mazurkiewicz, A., Poteralska, B. (2017) transfer. Techinnovation 21, 253-261. – 500 Technology Transfer Barriers and 99R.R. Landreth, (1989) Use of bacteria 99Vichitcholchai, N. Panmai, J. Na-­ ­Challenges Faced by R&D Organizations. cultured in a full scale biological sys- Ranong, N. (2012) Modification of As- Procedia Engineering 182, 457-465. tem treating coke plant wastewater, phalt Cement by Natural Rubber for Water Science and Technology WSTED4, 99Nair, N.R., Mathew, N.M., Thomas, S., Pavement Construction, Rubber thai Vol.21, No.12, p 1829-1832. Chatterjee, P. and Siddqui, Ma. (1992) journal 1: 32-39. Physical and Rheological Characteristics 99The Thai Trade Secret Act B.E. 2545 99Williams, G. & F. Al-Ansari (2007). IFA of Liquid Natural Rubber Modified Bitu- (2002). Available at https://www.ipthai- Benchmarking of Global Energy Effi- men. Polymer Modified Asphalt Bind- land.go.th/images/781/______2_1.pdf ciency in Ammonia Production. Work-

ers. ASTM STP 1108, Kenneth R. Wardlaw 99Ungureanu, M., Pop, N., and Ungure- shop on Energy Efficiency and CO2 and Scott Shuler, Eds., American Society anu, N. (2016) Procedia Engineering 149, Reduction Prospects in Ammonia Pro- for Testing and Material, Philadelphia. 495 – 500 International Conference on duction, IN: IFA Technical Committee 99Phanraksa, O., Rubesch, E. (2012) “Key Manufacturing Engineering and Materi- Meeting, 12-14 March 2007 Ho Chi Minh elements of technology commercial- als, ICMEM 2016, 6-10 June 2016, Nový City, Vietnam http://www.worldstop- ization: A case study of a license of Smokovec, Slovakia exports.com/natural-rubber-exports- country/ rubber latex technology in Thailand,” 99Vichitcholchai, N. Kan Chai Yang Para 2012 IEEE International Conference on Pha-som Yong Ma-Tdoy (2013). How to 99Workman, D. Natural Rubber Exports Management of Innovation & Technol- mix rubber latex with the asphalt, Var- by Country. Available at http://www. ogy (ICMIT), Sanur Bali, pp. 465-470, doi: asarn Yang Para (Para Rubber Journal) worldstopexports.com/natural-rubber- 10.1109/ICMIT.2012.6225850. (Electronic Version), p 18-24. exports-country/

New Madrid System Online Service for Filing International Applications The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has launched the Madrid Application Assistant, which automat- ically records all the information required to complete an international application. The Madrid Application Assistant is the latest improvement to the service level of the Madrid Registry as part of WIPO’s drive to enhance the creation and management of trademark rights under the Madrid System. The Madrid Application Assistant helps users to generate high-quality application files. Through the data import from the Office of origin’s national/regional trademarks database, the application is automatically pre-populated with the relevant information for a Madrid international application - from contact details to a full list of goods and services. Built-in features also include the automatic verification of the classification of the list of goods and serv- ices, as well as its translation. This reduces user effort while also lessening the risk of irregularities, thus making the process of filing an international application more efficient and accurate. By integrating online filing options currently available in all member Offices concerned, the Madrid Application Assis- tant serves as a convenient gateway to navigate applicants to those services quickly. Furthermore, improved quality of application files generated by the Madrid Application Assistant will contribute to substantially reduce workload of examination for the Office of origin by minimizing irregularities. The Madrid Application Assistant is derived from Madrid e-Filing, the WIPO-powered online filing solution for Madrid Member IP Offices. This means it could easily be upgraded to the latter in order to support all examination work by Offices of origin from start to finish, including online verification and real-time communication of files to WIPO. IP Of- fices are encouraged to liaise with WIPO to discuss upgrading the Madrid Application Assistant to Madrid e-Filing in the Offices of origin. WIPO advises all users of the Madrid System to use the Madrid Application Assistant and online filing services offered by IP Offices. It is committed to providing more online services under the Madrid System for the benefit of the users as well as member IP Offices. For more information, access: https://www.wipo.int/madrid/maa-landing/

36 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Intellectual property rights and intellectual property management

reward to receive for any ones’ creative Pankaj Prabhakar Borkara, Ashutosh Paturkarb ­efforts. In earlier times, only physical or aDy. Controller of P&D, GL-Mech.IPO Mumbai and Head, Rajiv Gandhi National tangible assets like movable and immov- Institute of Intellectual Property Management (RGNIIPM), Nagpur, India, able properties fetched the maximum O/o CGPDTM, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry - Govt. of India value and the owner had an exclusive Tel: 0712-2540916; Mobile: (+91) 9224425777, E-mail: [email protected]; Web: right over it. With the passage of time, www.ipindia.gov.in new ideas cropped in, new concepts and bProfessor & Dean, Dr. Ambedkar Institute of Management Studies And Research means for the progress of mankind were (DAIMSR), Deekshabhoomi, Bajaj Nagar, Nagpur, Maharashtra 440010, India thought of and new inventions came to the forefront, which brought about industrial, Abstract economic and cultural development in the society. These new activities acquired Intellectual Property (IP) means, creative ideas and expressions of the human mind the form of intangible assets owing to the (intellect) that have commercial value. Intellectual property is intangible assets as a inherent and practical values associated result of human achievement that have commercial value and are original, such as with them. In the new era, Micro, Small Patents, Designs, Trademarks, Copyright, like music etc. These assets help industry and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have to increase valuation. The protection and management of these assets are very cru- vast role in creation, protection and IP cial. IP management facilitates the interaction between the industry and institutes valuation. Intellectual property valuation helps in maintaining the complete inventory of IP, determination of valuation of IP can be both qualitative and quantitative assets etc. The patent management involves obtaining and maintaining patents in nature. Qualitative analysis deals with, and requires technical, legal and business skills. Intellectual property management at a microscopic level for intangible as- needs to develop IP Cell, Internal technology commercialization team, IP manage- sets. The qualitative study formulates as- ment committee and IP policy, develop IP plan and strategy and identify, measure sumptions on which the financial models and monitor the IP assets and audit the IP portfolios periodically. like cost approach, market approach are based. MSMEs should be kept themselves in middle between the industries and uni- Therefore, another form of property right Background of intellectual versities/academics, so that effective are was generated which required safeguard- property based collaboration can be happened ing for the owners of those properties. The ntellectual Property (IP) means, creative and they should look ahead to form the property right, pertaining to such intan- ideas and expressions of the human independent IP cell. It will further provide I gible assets, is called Intellectual Property mind (intellect) that have commercial incentive to create IP and mechanism for its Rights, popularly known as IPR. It share value. IP is the property represented by protection and utilization, simultaneously many of the characteristics associated the product emanating from creativity of enhancing awareness, greater interaction with conventional concept of the personal the human mind, human intellect and cre- among universities, academic and research property. At present, IPRs are regarded as ative ideas. It can be an invention, original institutions and identify the communica- a source of national wealth and mark of design, trademarks, artistic creation etc. In tion gaps between them. It is observed an economic leadership in the context of earlier times, only physical or tangible as- that Asian countries are more proactive to global market scenario. sets like movable and immovable proper- protect their IP’s. From the figures 1 & 2, ties fetched the maximum value and the The Intellectual property is an asset and, as it is observed that the filing of IP in Asian owner had an exclusive right over it. With such, it can be bought, sold, mortgaged, countries is highest. In patents, 66.8 % the passage of time, new ideas cropped licensed, exchanged or gratuitously given are from the Asia and rest is for world; for in, new concepts and means for the pro- away like any other form of the property. trademarks 70% filing coming from Asian countries; similarly for designs 69.7% are gress of mankind were thought of and Further, by acquiring a legal right over the coming from the Asian countries. new inventions came to the forefront, property, the creator of the intellectual property seeks to ensure that he has ex- which brought about industrial, economic Types of intellectual property and cultural development in the society. clusive right over it and that the property rights These new activities acquired the form of can be put to use by others only with his intangible assets owing to the inherent consent. Besides, ownership of intellectual Property are divided into two catego- and practical values associated with them. property right is the legal recognition and ries, tangible and non-tangible property

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 37 Intellectual property rights and intellectual property management

Figure 1: IP filing statistics in the world

(Table 1). Intellectual Property Rights can Patents ­entitled, as a reward for his intellectual be broadly divided into two categories: Patent is an exclusive right granted by efforts and compensation for expenses the Government to the applicant for his incurred in research and experimenta- Industrial Property - Patents, Designs, disclosed invention of industrial product tion relating to his invention. Patent right Trademarks, Geographical Indications, etc or process which should be new, non- gives protection against infringement and Copyright - Writings, Musical work, obvious, useful and patentable as per the creates possibility of assigning or licensing Audio-visual work, Dramatic work, patentability criteria laid down in the na- of the right and enables the patentee to Painting & Drawings, Sound recording, tional law. A patent offers technical solution take legal action against any person who is Broadcasts, Performance of musician, to a technical problem. In lieu of disclos- exploiting the patented invention without actors, singers etc ure of invention, the Government provides consent or license from the patentee. A pa- legal protection for a limited term for the tentee acquires the right, enforceable by The signification of Intellectual property invention. A patent enunciates a contract law, to decide who should and who should for institutes and industries and is pre- between an inventor / applicant and the not use his patented invention. He/she re- sented in Table 2. Government and gives the territorial right tains this right for the term of the patent Industrial property in the country where it is granted. provided he pays the necessary renewal It mainly consists of Patents, Designs, and Trade The patent right enables the inventor to fees. The grant of patent right by the gov- Marks, Geographical Indications (Table 3). derive material benefit, to which he is ernment does not mean that the govern-

38 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Intellectual property rights and intellectual property management

Figure 2: IP filing statistics in the world ment itself would automatically enforce Table 1: Various forms of property the patent right. It is up to the owner to bring an action, usually under civil law, for Property any infringement of his patent right. Tangible Property Non-tangible Property Designs Intellectual Property Rights Design means only the features of shape, House Industrial Property Copyright configuration, pattern, ornament, com- (fixed property) position of color or line or a combination Bike/car (movable Patents Writings, thereof. It must be applied to any article, property) Designs Musical work, Trademarks Sound recording, whether two dimensional or three dimen- Geographical Performance of musician, actors, sional or in both forms, by any industrial pro- Indications singers cess or means, which in the finished article Copyrights etc. Dramatic work, appeal to and are judged solely by the eye. Audio-visual work, Such a design is registerable, provided it is Painting & Drawings, not contrary to public order or morality or Computer programs etc. does not contain obscene or scandalous matter. Registration of a design confers price and functionality, design is the only indicate origin of manufacture or service upon the registered Proprietor the exclusive differential that matters for achieving mar- or vendor in that respect and enable cus- right to apply a design to the article in a class ket advantage and competitiveness. tomers to distinguish the product of one in which the design has been registered. manufacturer from the goods of the other. Industrial designs are of great commercial Trademarks When properly advertised, the Trade Mark value because shape or configuration of the A Trade Mark is a visual symbol in the form becomes an effective instrument to attract article can often be a great selling point. of word, name, logo, label etc, as applied the customers and acquire goodwill of When companies are competing at equal to an article of commerce, with a view to the customer. A Trade Mark, through its

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 39 Intellectual property rights and intellectual property management

Table 2: Significance of IP for institutes and industries

Significance of IPR Benefits Published Patents can be used for further Research & Avoids duplication of work Development Transferring invention as public property after expiry Anyone can manufacture said product which may save the cost of royalty Encouragement for latest Technology i.e. helps industry to Public will get new and better technology improve existing technology to produce better products Venturing into new market by innovated products Expanding market share with latest products. Serves as an Indicator of achievements & identify the ability Applicant/ Inventor will get Royalty after technology transfer / of researcher licensing / commercialization which will motivate Increase the valuation of company / market value. Tax IPRs being intangible assets forms substantial part of assets of a saving in R& D cost company and thus increase the valuation in balance sheet. Preventing competitors from copying or imitating Infringement actions against any party who infringes rights

Table 3: Types and importance of various IPRs Geographical Indication Geographical indication (GI) identifies agri- IPR property created by human mind cultural, natural or manufactured goods, Patents for new and inventive inventions originating from a definite territory. It is an Designs for any new design applied on product that appeals to eye indication or appellation of the origin of a particular product. For the purpose of quali- Trademarks logo, word name etc. for identification of the manufacturer or fying for geographical indication protection, vendor of the product, the goods should have special qualities or Geographical Goods which are referring to place of origin of that product characteristics or reputation based upon the Indications climatic or production characteristics which Copyright are rights for songs, music, text, computer programs are unique to the geographic location. e.g., Darjeeling Tea, Basmati Rice, Kanchipuram Table 4: Important work areas of IP management sarees, Nagpur oranges etc. “Goods” means such goods as agricultural, natural or manu- Areas of IP Management Benefits & work to be carry out factured goods, as originating or manufac- IP Cell & IP policy formulation Repositioning of R&D tured in the territory of a country or region or for the organization locality in that territory, where a given qual- IP Generation Aware employees in various departments about ity, reputation or other characteristic of such the identification of patent-able inventions and goods is essentially attributable to its geo- protection of IPs. graphical origin, and in case of manufactured Creating additional incentive to researchers goods, either the production or processing IP Assessment Competitive assessment or preparation of the goods take place in IP valuation Strategic decision making such territory, region or locality. GI confers Identify value from R&D legal protection to geographical indications determine the impact of in India and prevents unauthorized use of a research to the society registered geographical indication by oth- IP portfolio management. Developing linkages with other research ers. It boosts exports of Indian geographical maintain patent databases institutions for forming long-term beneficial indications by providing legal protection. It partnerships. promotes economic prosperity of producers Building licensing / joint venture/ joint collaborative research of goods produced in geographical territory. Attracting funding from private/public sector Copyrights Copyright is protection that covers pub- widespread and extensive use in public, Trade Mark helps the consumer to answer lished and unpublished literary, scientific becomes popular and eventually results in the question,” who makes the product or and artistic work. Copyright relates to acquiring an exclusive right, which can be who has provided the service?” e.g. COCA the exclusive right to do or authorize to legally enforced by the owner of the mark. COLA, SONY, TVS, LIC etc. do certain acts in relation to original lit-

40 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Intellectual property rights and intellectual property management erary, dramatic or musical work, artistic and maintaining patents which require 12) IP evaluation and commercialization creations (paintings, photographs, work technical knowledge (to identify and to as- of IP assets by assignment & licensing. of architecture, artistic craftsmanship) sess technology), legal and business skills. 13) Action should be taken in case of in- cinematographic films, sound recording, In large organizations they have separate fringement / erosion of IP. software program etc., provided such dedicated team/department to protect 14) Prepare stronger IP protection system works are fixed in a tangible or material intellectual property. In smaller organiza- and secure the confidential information. form. Copyright comes into existence as tions, they are likely to hire patent manage- Conclusion soon as the work is created and protects ment firms/ law firms. skill and labor employed by the creator in Some of the key work areas of the Intel- An IP management culture is essential in production of his work and varies accord- lectual property management have been industries and institutes. Industries and ing to the nature of the work. Copyright is identified which can be implemented in Universities should work collaboratively in not given for just an idea, but subsists only industry as well as in institutes (Table 4). the field of IPR to make the students em- in the material form to which the ideas are ployable. Agreement between institutes translated or expressed. No copyright is Methodology for intellectual and industry for collaboration or joint granted for a person who merely com- property management research should be made compulsory to municates his brilliant idea to an artist or 1) Set-up/Formulate IP Cell, Internal tech- avoid the duplication of research work for play writer. The production i.e. the result nology commercialization team, IP proper IP management. In all institutes of communication of the idea, is the copy- management committee & IP policy there may be creation of advisory boards right of a person, who has fixed the idea for the organization; obtain feedback comprising members from industry to fill in a form. The author has no monopoly and review for improvements; identify the communication gap in academic & in the ideas or subject matter; others can a centralized IP office with executive industries. produce the same result and can have a authority like Office of the GM, Dean copyright provided they do it independ- or Head etc. References 2) Develop IP plan for IP protection, IP ently. It is a Bundle of Rights and can be ex- Books & Publications exchange, IP market-watch etc. ercised independently of each other. Un- 99Patent strategy – By H. JacksonKnight, 3) Develop an IP strategy authorized copying or reproduction of the - Willey author’s work amounts to infringement. 4) Identify, measure and monitor the IP 99Intellectual Property Law in India - But, a fair dealing with the work for private assets. Identify the hidden Intellec- P.S.Narayana uses i.e. study, research, review, criticism tual capital of organization & ways to etc, without an intention of commercial measure it. Focus on IP assets for IP 99Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright De- gain is not an infringement. creation, protection, IP evaluation, IP signs & Geographical Indications - enforcement etc B.L.Wadera 5) Raise level of awareness by creating IP Intellectual property 99WIPO Guide to Intellectual Property Awareness, IP culture and employees management Worldwide training in the field of IP and inform Intellectual properties are intangible assets them the rights and responsibilities. 99WIPO Intellectual Property Handbook which result from human achievements 6) Administer Incentive Award pro- 99Indian patent office that have commercial value and are ori- gramme. Implement Invention ginal, such as patents, designs, trademarks, Mining or brainstorming 99RGNIIPM/ IPO, India training manuals/ copyright, like music etc. These assets help 7) Implement and maintain Invention materials industry to increase their valuation. The Notebook system Websites protection and management of these as- 8) Resolve inventor-ship issues and work 99www.ipindia.gov.in sets are very crucial. IP management facili- with inside/outside IP counsels, co- tates the interaction between the Industry ordinate and track all IP / Patent At- 99www.google.com and institutes which helps to commercialize torney activity 99www.wipo.int R&D results. Intellectual property manage- 9) Organize and facilitate IP review com- 99http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge ment helps in maintaining the complete in- mittee meetings ventory of organizations’ IP, determination 10) Record IP in an IP asset register. Create 99http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bit - of valuation of IP assets etc. Also the term and maintain the IP database stream/123456789/3595/1/JIPR%20 patent management involves obtaining 11) Audit the IP portfolios periodically 11%285%29%20330-333.pdf

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 41 Tech Events

2020 Nov 7–9 2020 5th Asia Conference on Environment and Sep 16–18 7th International Tradeshow for Bio Business & Phuket, Sustainable Development (ACESD 2020) Bangkok, Investment in Asia Exhibition Thailand Contact: Ms. Nancy Liu Thailand Contact: Anucha Parnphichate Conference Secretary Project Manager / Head of Science & Technology Unit Tel.: +86-28-86512185 Tel: +662 670 0900 ext. 202 E-mail: [email protected]; Web: http://www.acesd.org/ E-mail: [email protected] Nov 13–16. 9th Asia-Pacific Forum on Renewable Energy Web: https://www.bioinvestmentasia.com Jeju, (AFORE 2019) Nov 19-21 Bengaluru Tech Summit 2020 Republic Contact: Bengaluru, Contact: Gurunath Angadi of Korea Secretariat, 05836 Room B515, H Business Park, India Project Head 25, Beobwon-ro 11-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications Republic of Korea No.11/6, ‘NITON’, Block ‘C’, 1st Floor, Palace Road, Tel: +82-2-883-8051; Fax: +82-2-883-8042 Bengaluru - 560 052, India E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +91-80-4113 1912/13 Web: http://afore2019.org/afore2019/ E-mail: [email protected] Nov 18–19 GREEN WORLD ASIA [email protected] Singapore Contact: Angie Eng Web: https://www.bengalurutechsummit.com Director of Marketing & Partnerships Sep 22–24, POWER-GEN ASIA 2020 Tel: +65 6817 5811 Jakarta, Contact: Clarion Events Ltd Mob: +65 8163 2109 Indonesia Bedford House E-mail: [email protected] 69-79 Fulham High Street Web: https://www.greenworldasia.com/ London SW6 3JW, United Kingdom Nov 30–Dec 02 ASIAWATER EXPO & FORUM 2020 Tel: +44 (0) 121 767 3769; Fax: +44 (0) 121 767 2880 Kuala Lumpur, Contact: United Business Media (M) Sdn Bhd E-mail: [email protected] Malaysia Suite 5-01, Level 5, Sunway VISIO Tower Sep 23–25 RENERGY -RENEWABLE ENERGY INDIA EXPO 2020 Lingkaran SV, Sunway Velocity Noida, Contact: Exhibitions India Group Pvt. Ltd. 55100 Kuala Lumpur India 217-B, Okhla Industrial Area Malaysia Phase - III, New Delhi -110020, India Tel: +603 9771 2688 Tel: +91 11 4279 5000; Fax: +91 11 4279 5098 Fax: +603 9771 2799 Web: http://www.exhibitionsindia.com/ Web: https://www.asiawater.org/ Sep 28–29 Green Energy Future Central Asia 2020 (GEFCA 2020) Dec 2nd–3rd Climate Risk Summit Asia Tashkent, Contact: GEFCA 2020 Singapore Contact: Jusnita Chang Uzbekistan 1 A Navol St, Tashkent 100017, Uzbekistan Tel: +6013 333 3962 Tel: +86 186 0171 2917 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Web: https://events.economist.com Web: https://www.centralasia.greenenergy-future.com/ 6–7 Dec 2020 International Conference on Green Energy and Sep 29–Oct 1 Internet of Things World Asia Phuket, Technology (ICGET) Singapore Contact: Jaimman Wadhera Thailand Contact: Conference coordinator Tel: +44 (0) 20 755 19200 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://researchfora.com/ Web: https://tmt.knect365.com/iot-world-asia/ Conference2020/Thailand/8/ICGET/ Oct 7–8 2nd Annual Cleantech Forum Asia Dec 8–10 ASIA 2020: Water Resources & Singapore Contact: Secretariat Kuala Lumpur, Renewable Energy Development in Asia E-mail: [email protected] Malaysia Contact: Secretariat Web: https://www.cleantech.com/event/ Tel: +44 20 8773 7244 cleantech-forum-asia/ E-mail: [email protected] 14–17 Oct ECO-EXPO KOREA 2020 Web: https://www.iwra.org Seoul, Contact: Ministry of Environment - South Korea Dec 15–17 INTERSOLAR INDIA 2020 Republic Government Complex-Sejong Mumbai, Contact: MMI India Pvt.Ltd. of Korea 11, Doum 6-Ro, Sejong-si 339-012 India Inizio 507 & 508, 5th floor Republic of Korea Cardinal Gracias Road Tel: +82 44 201 6568 Opp. P&G building Web: http://k-eco.or.kr/ Chakala, Andheri (E) Oct 27–29 ASIA CLEAN ENERGY SUMMIT 2020 Mumbai – 400 099. India Singapore Contact: ACES Secretariat Tel: +91 22-4255 4700; Fax: +91 22-4255 4719 Tel: +65 6338 8578 Web: http://www.mm-india.in/en/meta/home/home.html Web: https://www.asiacleanenergysummit.com 2021 Nov 05–08 10th Asian Conference on Sustainability, 18–21, 2021 FOODTECH INTERNATIONAL 2020 Tokyo, Energy & the Environment (ACSEE2020), an Jakarta, Contact: Wakeni - PT. Wahana Kemalaniaga Makmur Japan interdisciplinary conference Indonesia Kompleks Perkantoran Graha Kencana Blok CH - CI Contact: The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) Jl. Raya Pejuangan No. 88 Sakae 1-16-26 – 201, Naka Ward, Nagoya, Aichi, Jakarta 11530, Indonesia Japan 460-0008 Tel: +62 (21) 53660804; Fax: +62 (21) 5325887 Web: https://acsee.iafor.org Web: http://foodtechinternational.net/

42 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Tech Ventures & Opportunities

Business Coach Tech Opportunities

Start-up Venture Creation 44 Technology Offers 57

 Skill development in India l Mosquito-larvae killing pesticides l Philippine Roadmap for Digital l Continuous room-temperature Startups biodiesel production Technology Transfer 46 l Chitin and chitosan l Registration of licensing agreement l Herbal formulation for leucoderma in Thailand l Novel transducer matrix for l Rights, obligations and limitations to biosensors patent rights l Plant biomass-based metal sorption column Venture Financing 50 l Tea catechins as anti-aging l Green Climate Fund compounds l Modes of financing for startups l Novel drug delivery for AIDS

l Dengue tetravalent vaccine Managing Innovation 53 l Nanogold-loaded carbon bullets as l Innovation programmes in gene carriers Malaysia l Microfine ginger powder with high l Innovation promotion in India drug and spice values

Green Productivity 55 l Dehydrated fruits by freeze drying l Green technology in Malaysia technique l Cleaner production in Sri Lanka l Bio-digestor

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 43 Start-up Venture Creation 44 providing training according ­ to theNational Skills are eitherschool/college dropouts orunemployed. from Apart to who isexpected benefitcandidatesIndian nationality of (TCs) The Short Term Training at PMKVY imparted Training Centres term training Short Key components ofthescheme paid by theGovernment. Under this Scheme, Training andAssessment fees are completely Recognition under of assessed andcertified Prior (RPL). Learning willalsobe experience learning orskills withprior Individuals training thatskill will help them in securing a better livelihood. youthable alarge numberofIndian to takeupindustry-relevant (MSDE). Scheme is to en Certification The ofthisSkill objective Development &Entrepreneurship ofSkill scheme oftheMinistry Pradhan Kaushal Mantri Vikas Yojana istheflagship (PMKVY) Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) (vii) Leveraging Public Infrastructure. Trainers, Employment, (v)Overseas (vi)SustainableLivelihoods, (i) Institutional Training, (ii)Infrastructure, (iii)Convergence, (iv) of theMission. They are: asbuildingblocksforinitially to act achievingoverall objectives tutional mechanism. have Seven sub-missions been proposed Directorate to ofthenational facilitate insti smoothfunctioning –allofwhichwillhave withMission horizontal linkages (DGT) opment Corporation andDirectorate (NSDC), General of Training Development (NSDA), Agency National Devel Skill National Skill sion Directorate by three willbesupported otherinstitutions: Executive Committee) astheexecutive Mis oftheMission. arm a Steering Committee Directorate andaMission (alongwithan consist ofaGoverning Council guidance for at apex level, policy havetives oftheMission beendividedinto three tiers, whichwill (MSDE). Keyinstitutionalmechanismsfor achievingtheobjec Development andEntrepreneurship ofSkill driven by Ministry be implemented through astreamlined institutionalmechanism at to scalewithspeedandstandards. will achievesectors skilling It acrossordinate efforts, butalso expedite decisionmaking skilling would Development not only consolidateMission Skill and co ties. Further, to achieve thevisionof India’,‘Skilled theNational vergence across training andStates activi sectors interms ofskill Youth Day. Skills hasbeendevelopedThe to Mission create con Hon’ble Prime on 15.07.2015 on the occasion Minister of World Union Cabinet on01.07.2015,andofficiallylaunched bythe was Development approvedThe Mission National Skill by the National Development Skill Mission developmentSkill inIndia https://www.msde.gov.in/pmkvy.html Development ofSkill &EntrepreneurshipMinistry (MSDE),Government ofIndia Start-up Start-up Venture Creation

TECH MONITOR •Apr-Jun 2020 Qualification Qualification ------sessed and certified under the Recognition underthe of sessed andcertified Prior (RPL) Learning shallbeas experience learning orskills withprior Individuals Recognition ofpriorlearning Level 5andbelow. the Short Term Training component shallbeNSQF oftheScheme alignment withtheCommon Norms. Trainings under imparted paid by theGovernment. Payouts shallbeprovided to the TPs in UnderPMKVY,(TPs). theentire training andassessment fees are shall be provided placement assistance by Training Partners Upon successful completion oftheirassessment, candidates training varies perjobrole, ranging between 150and300hours. Entrepreneurship, Financial andDigital Literacy. Duration ofthe Framework (NSQF), Skills, TCs training inSoft shallalsoimpart activities. andon-ground ticipate Melas inNational actively Career Service months with press/media coverage; they are also required to par process. six every andRozgarTPs Melas Kaushal shallconduct ment of the target through beneficiaries adefined mobilisation toline withthis, theinvolve assigns PMKVY specialimportance mulative for ofthecommunity knowledge better functioning. In andaccountability,transparency andhelpsinleveraging thecu success ofPMKVY. ensures ofthe community Active participation mobilisation forand community is extremely critical Social the Kaushal andRozgar Mela corporates whodesire to provide training to candidates. orany Body tonomous otherequivalent Body/Statutory bodyor ofCentralGovernment Institutions andState Government(s)/Au for anyKVY stakeholder. Aproposing stakeholdercanbeeither from theterms andconditions ofShort Term Training underPM (NOSs). SpecialProjects are that projects require somedeviation able Qualification Packs (QPs)/NationalOccupational Standards and trainings inspecialjobroles not definedunderthe avail premises ofGovernment bodies, bodies, Corporates orIndustry of aplatform that willfacilitate trainings inspecial areas and/or The SpecialProjects component envisages ofPMKVY thecreation projects Special RPL candidates. To gaps, address PIAs knowledge may offer Bridge Courses to Types (RPLCamps, RPLat Employers Premises andRPLcentres). incentivized to implement inany RPLprojects ofthethree Project (SSCs) orany otheragenciesdesignated by MSDE/NSDC,shallbe Councils Agencies Implementing Skill (PIAs),ject suchasSector of theunregulated workforce to theNSQF. ofthecountry Pro component oftheScheme. RPLaimsto align thecompetencies Business Coach ------Business Coach Start-up Venture Creation Philippine Roadmap for Digital Startups Venture Creation Start-up The Department Information and Communication (DICT), The Philippines http://www.dict.gov.ph

The Philippine Roadmap for Digital Startups is a short and to take a coordinated and systematic approach towards devel- long-term strategic plan for the Philippine startup community oping internet-related innovation against ambitious targets as a and The Department Information and Communication Technol- means for inclusive growth. The focus is to produce innovative ogy (DICT) towards developing digital innovation in the coun- businesses that find solutions to our country’s most inherent try. The goal of this initiative is to generate innovative startups challenges. that will spur economic growth and to find solutions to society’s The roadmap is a collective effort for the community by the com- most pressing and pervasive issues. This roadmap is a framework munity, which includes the government, tech startup participants, that clearly defines our overall direction to push for digital in- and the academe, to come up with appropriate programs for the novation – one that can leverage the country’s resources to its Philippines, focusing on the country’s unique factors/features. highest potential. The purpose is to provide support on all stages of development The Roadmap is divided into three parts: for tech startups and entrepreneurs of different backgrounds to flourish. • The Internet-Related (Digital) Startup Ecosystem – Pro- vides a clear definition of terms, goals and benchmarks. A The roadmap contains studies of other tech startup ecosystems, summary of current internet-related technology ecosystems, which includes South America, China, Silicon Valley, Singapore as well as one for the current Philippine startup ecosystem, is and Israel. These ecosystems have attracted talent that fos- included. tered local innovation because they have the right mechan- ism in place for them to grow and reach their highest poten- • Patterns of Technology Startup Ecosystem – Provides in- tial. Their environment (Intellectual Property, facilities such as sights from various startup ecosystems around the world, Science Parks, Research and Development, Multinationals that highlighting key features of each ecosystem. It also explores have served as an exchange platform of knowhow, and Fund- the Philippines’ current progress in those defined key areas as ing) allowed individuals to create and work collaboratively and well as a SWOT analysis of the local ecosystem. strategically. • Action Plan – Enumerates the short and long-term rec- The Philippines, by all means, should strive to develop itself not by ommendations for all stakeholders to improve the Phil- aiming to be a replica of Silicon Valley, but by aligning its unique re- ippine digital startup ecosystem as well as the localized sources and core strengths with strategic planning. The country has programs based on existing programs from international an attractive demographic (a growing young population, growing ecosystems. middle class, etc.), rich in natural resources, a pleasant culture (e.g. The information and findings in this roadmap are gathered from polite, English speaking). These are areas that should be highlighted leading local technology startup founders, as well as from existing on top of appropriate measures to development. The technology literature of various projects, government reports, and affiliates startup participants today alongside the government should aim including leading universities and startups. to implement the best practices in promoting Internet-technolo- The Philippine Roadmap for Digital Startups: 2015 and Beyond gy innovation through a step-by-step process and analysis on the provides a framework for the government and the private sector roadmap.

Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries The Technology Bank for the least developed countries (LDCs) has been operationalized with the signing of the Host Country Agreement and the Contribution Agreement between the Government of Turkey and the United Nations. The new Bank is expected to improve the utilization of scientific and technological solutions in the world’s poorest countries and promote the integration of least developed countries into the global knowledge-based e- conomy. The establishment of the Technology Bank marks the first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target to be achieved, SDG 17.8. Its achievement is highly symbolic, as it responds directly to the 2030 Agenda’s principle of leaving no one behind. For more information, access: http://unohrlls.org/technologybank/

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 45 Technology Transfer Business Coach Registration of licensing agreement in Thailand

Department of Intellectual Property, Thailand http://www.ipthailand.go.th

Consideration criteria Proceeding according to the official’s instruction Licensing Agreement to use the patent is the contract, with which 1. In case that the official finds a correctable defect in the ap- the patent/petty patent owners grants the specific right to the plication, the official shall notify the applicant or his patent licensee. The permission shall not exceed the protection period agent/patent attorney for the correction. The applicant shall as prescribed by law. finish the correction within 90 days of the notification recep- * The protection period of invention patent lasts 20 years. tion date. After such period, without the correction, the ap- plicant shall be deemed to have abandoned the application, * The protection period of petty patent lasts 6 years, or upon except the Director-General extends the period for correction the petty patent renewal application according to Article 65 as deemed appropriate due to any necessity. paragraph 2 of the laws. 2. After the applicant corrected the application, the applicant Technology Transfer Technology Conditions of application submission shall submit the correction application and the fee to the Department of Intellectual Property or the provincial office 1. To register a licensing agreement, the applicant shall submit of the Ministry of Commerce. The corrected application shall the form as determined by the Director-General, together with enter the consideration and initial inspection processes re- a licensing contract to use the invention patent/petty patent. spectively, similarly to the re-submission of the application. 2. Authorization 3. In case of application submission via the website of the De- 2.1 In case the applicant of the patent does not reside in the partment of Intellectual Property, the inspecting official shall Kingdom of Thailand, he shall authorize the patent agent/ check the completeness of information and details in the pa- patent attorney registered with the Director-General of tent/petty patent application, request or other applications the Department of Intellectual Property to act on his be- based on information and details appearing in the e-patent half. In this regard, the power of attorney shall be pre- filing system. In this regard, the applicant shall present the sented to the Director-General in accordance with the application and supporting documents to the Department following regulations; of Intellectual Property within 15 days of application num- (1) If the authorization is done outside the Kingdom of ber reception date and patent/petty patent application filing Thailand, the signatures in the authorization letter or date via internet. The inspection of application submitted via power of attorney shall be certified by the authorized internet shall be in accordance with the Notification of the official of the Thai embassy or consulate or Director Department of Intellectual Property Re: Principles and con- of the office of the Ministry of Commerce located ditions for submission of patent/petty patent application, in the country where the principal or power grantor requests or other applications via internet. resides, or the person authorized to act on behalf of the said officials or the person authorized to certify Notes the signature according to the law in that country, or 1. The working process starts after the inspection of the docu- (2) In case the authorization is done in the Kingdom of ments is completed, as specified in the manual of the public Thailand, the applicant shall submit a copy of pass- service. port or temporary residence certificate of the princi- 2. In case the application or documentary evidence is not cor- pal or power grantor, or any evidence indicating that rect or incomplete, the official shall record the defect of the at the time the authorization was made, the principal document or indicate the required additional documentary or power grantor was in Thailand. evidence (Record of conditions on application reception). The 2.2 The Power of Attorney shall be attached with the revenue applicant shall correct the document and/or submit the add- stamp of 30 Baht/patent agent or patent attorney/appli- itional document within 90 days of the application filing date. cation. If the applicant fails to submit all additional documents within

46 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Business Coach Technology Transfer

the specific period of time, the applicant shall be deemed 7. In case the applicant or the authorized patent agent/patent Technology Transfer to have abandoned the application. The official shall return attorney does not submit the application by himself, and the application to the applicant and inform the reason of the granted power to the other person to submit the applica- return and his appeal right. tion, the application submitter shall present a sub power 3. Any person fee paid to the Department of Intellectual Prop- of attorney or temporary power of attorney, so that he is erty shall not be refunded in all cases, except eligible to submit the application and sign in the record of conditions on application reception. If it appears that the (1) The law stipulates that the fee must be refunded, or application and the documentary evidence is not correct or (2) The applicant double-paid or overpaid the fee, by which incomplete, and the application submitter is not authorized the faulty payment resulted from the mistake of the state to sign on the said record, the official shall not receive the official, not the payer. In this regard, the Department of application. Intellectual Property shall consider the refund case by case. 8. The working period does not include the time period when 4. In case the applicant is required to submit many additional the applicant follows the official’s instruction or corrects the documentary evidences, the applicant shall submit all add- application, or the period of temporary suspension of regis- itional documentary evidences in the same time. tration. 5. In case the applicant submits the copy of the documentary evidence, the applicant shall certify the copy of the docu- Relevant laws mentary evidence. The Ministerial Regulation No.25 (B.E. 2542) issued by virtue of the Patent Act B.E. 2522 (Dated 24 September 1999). 6. In case the applicant submits the document in foreign language, the applicant shall submit the document with Thai translation The Patent Act B.E. 2522 as amended by the Patent Act (No. 2) B.E. and the correct translation certification of the translator. 2535 and the Patent Act (No. 3) B.E. 2542

Artificial Intelligence-Based Image Search Tool for Brands The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has launched a new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered image search technology that makes it faster and easier to establish the distinctiveness of a trademark in a target market. Earlier-generation image search tools primarily determine trademark image similarity by identifying shapes and colors in marks. WIPO’s new AI-based technology improves on this technology by using deep machine learning to identify combinations of concepts – such as an apple, an eagle, a tree, a crown, a car, a star – within an image to find similar marks that have previously been registered. The new technology results in a narrower and more precise group of potentially similar marks, facilitating greater certainty in strategic planning for brand expansion into new markets. With fewer results to scrutinize, this also translates into labor-cost savings for trademark examiners, attorneys and paralegals, industry practitioners and researchers. WIPO’s new AI search technology leverages deep neural networks and figurative elements classification data from the Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks and from large trademark offices. All users can -ac cess the AI search technology for free through WIPO’s Global Brand Database, where it has been fully integrated into the database search engine. The new search functionality covers the national collections of 45 trademark offices already participating in the project - even if they have not been using a classification system for figurative elements. This represents a total number of almost 38 million trademarks to date. WIPO periodically adds new collections from around the world to the database. For further information, contact: Media Relations Section World Intellectual Property Organization Tel: (+41 22) 338 81 61 / 338 72 24 Fax: (+41 22) 338 81 40 Web: https://www.wipo.int

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 47 Technology Transfer Business Coach Rights, obligations and limitations to patent rights ASEAN Intellectual Property Association http://www.aseanipa.org

Rights and obligations of patent owners the owner of the patented invention or industrial design. Where a person who, before the filing date or priority date (if any) of Patent rights an invention or industrial design application, was using or had A patent owner shall be granted the right to use or allow others made substantial preparation toward the using of an invention to use the patented invention or industrial design. The patentee or industrial design independently created but identical with the also has the right to prevent others from using the patented in- invention or industrial design claimed in the application, the said vention or industrial design without his/her own authorization prior user shall be entitled to continue the use after the patent and to dispose thereof. is granted, within the extent and volume of use or substantial The use of an invention means carrying out the following acts: preparation toward the using already made. The prior user shall manufacturing the patented product; applying the patented pro- not be entitled to enlarge the extent and volume of use unless cess; exploiting the patented product or a product obtained by it is so permitted by the owner of the patented invention or in- dustrial design. The prior user's right shall not be allowed to be

Technology Transfer Technology the patented process; circulating, advertising, offering for sale, stocking for circulation of and importing the above mentioned transferred except for the case it is transferred together with the product. business establishment where the prior user's right is exercised.

The use of an industrial design means carrying out the following Compulsory license acts: manufacturing products with an appearance embodying The right to use an invention shall, without permission of the pa- the patented industrial design; and circulating, advertising, offer- tentee, be granted to another entity or individual upon decision ing for sale, stocking for circulation of and importing the above of the State competent authority if (i) the use of the invention is mentioned products. intended for the public interest, non-commercial purposes, na- tional defense, security, prevention and treatment of disease, for Obligations of the patent owners people’s nutrition, or meeting other urgent needs of society; (ii) the The patent owner has obligation to: (1) pay remuneration to the patentee fails to fulfill the obligation of using the invention after inventor(s); (2) pay the annuity or renewal fee for maintenance or the expiration of four years from the date of filing of the patent renewal of the patent; and (3) use or license the patented inven- application and three years from the granting date of the patent tion or industrial design to another person upon decision of the for invention; (iii) the person who wants to use the invention fails, State administrative authority (compulsory license). within a reasonable period of time for negotiation on reasonable For a patent for invention, the patent owner shall be under ob- considerations and commercial conditions, to reach an agreement ligation to permit the owner of the dependent invention using with the patentee on a license to use such an invention; or (iv) his/her dominant (basic) invention, provided that the dependent the patentee is regarded as performing an act of anti-competition invention has been proved to have made an important technical prohibited under the competition law and regulations. advance in comparison with the dominant invention and to have The right to use the invention under the compulsory license high economic value. In case the owner of the dominant inven- granted by a decision of a State competent authority shall meet tion fails, without legitimate grounds, to satisfy the request made the following conditions: by the owner of the dependent invention, the State competent authority may, without permission of the owner of the dominant a. The right to use shall be non-exclusive; invention, grant a license to exploit the dominant invention to b. The right to use shall only be limited to such a scope and dur- the owner of the dependent invention. ation sufficient to attain the purpose for which the compul- sory license was granted, and predominantly for the supply Limitations to patent rights of the domestic market; The patent rights as mentioned above shall be limited by prior user's rights, compulsory license, and other acts. c. The licensee of the compulsory license shall not assign the right to use the patented invention to another person, except Prior user's rights where the assignment is made together with his/her business The exercise of the prior user's right to invention or industrial establishment and sub-license others to use the patented design shall not be considered as an infringement of rights of invention;

48 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Business Coach Technology Transfer d. The licensee of the compulsory license shall pay the patentee/ Other cases Technology Transfer licensor adequate remuneration, taking into account the eco- The following shall be exempted from patent infringement: nomic value of the allowed use, in compliance with the re- 1. Use of the invention or industrial design for personal needs or muneration frame provided for by the Government; non-commercial purposes, or for the purposes of evaluations, e. The patentee of the dominant invention shall also be entitled analysis, research, teaching, testing, pilot production or for to grant a license to use the dependent invention on reason- collecting data to carry out procedures to obtain a production able terms and conditions; and license, import or product marketing permit; f. The licensee of compulsory license to use the dominant inven- 2. Use of the invention or industrial design only for the purpose tion shall not be entitled to assign such right, except with the of maintaining the operation of a foreign vehicle in transit or assignment of the entire right to the dependent invention. only temporarily entering into the territory of Vietnam;

ASEAN Standards Harmonization Initiative for Energy Efficiency In ASEAN countries, inefficient air conditioners (ACs) have contributed to environmental problems due to inefficient electricity consumption as well as high GHG emissions. Addressing this challenge might be difficult since there are still non-tariff barriers to trade that need to be removed to enhance regional market integration for higher efficiency ACs and there is not yet any harmonized energy efficiency (EE) standards for higher efficiency ACs in the region. Funded under the EU SWITCH-Asia affiliated program, ASEAN SHINE aims at increasing the market share of higher efficient air-conditioners in ASEAN through harmonization of test methods and energy efficiency standards, -adop tion of common Minimum Energy Performance Standards, and changing consumer purchasing attitudes in favour of energy efficient air-conditioners. The progressive phasing out of inefficient ACs and the increased share of higher efficient ACs will lead to: • Improved efficiency at demand-side in ASEAN residential sector. • Reduced emissions of greenhouse gases in ASEAN. • Removal of non-tariff barriers to trade within ASEAN and enhance regional market integration. • As the action will result in having the same harmonized EE standards for ACs in the ASEAN region. The major activities: • Establishment of the EU-ASEAN Energy Efficiency Standards Harmonization Initiative • Harmonization of standards for testing methods • Regional policy roadmap • National policy roadmaps for increase of MEPS • Capacity building for testing laboratories • Capacity building for AC manufacturers (SMEs) • Consumer awareness campaigns For more information, contact: ASEAN Centre for Energy ACE Building, 6th Floor Directorate General for Electricity Complex HR. Rasuna Said Blok X-2, Kav. 07-08 Kuningan, Jakarta-12950, Indonesia Tel; (62-21) 527 9332 Fax: (62-21) 527 9350 E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.aseanenergy.org

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 49 Venture Financing Business Coach Green Climate Fund

Green Climate Fund, Republic of Korea https://www.greenclimate.fund

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a new global fund created to low emission, climate resilient development. To achieve max- support the efforts of developing countries to respond to the imum impact, GCF seeks to catalyse funds, multiplying the effect challenge of climate change. GCF helps developing countries of its initial financing by opening markets to new investments. limit or reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt The Fund’s investments can be in the form of grants, loans, equity to climate change. It seeks to promote a paradigm shift to low- or guarantees. emission and climate-resilient development, taking into account the needs of nations that are particularly vulnerable to climate Key features change impacts. GCF invests in adaptation and mitigation activities in developing It was set up by the 194 countries who are parties to the United countries, managing a project portfolio that is implemented by Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in its partner organisations, known as Accredited Entities. Venture Financing Venture 2010, as part of the Convention’s financial mechanism. It aims to deliver equal amounts of funding to mitigation and adaptation, GCF’s approach is marked by several distinct features: while being guided by the Convention’s principles and provisions. balanced portfolio: GCF’s investments are aimed at achieving When the Paris Agreement was reached in 2015, the Green Cli- maximum impact in the developing world, supporting paradigm mate Fund was given an important role in serving the agreement shifts in both mitigation and adaptation. The Fund aims for a 50:50 and supporting the goal of keeping climate change well below balance between mitigation and adaptation investments over 2 degrees Celsius. time. It also aims for a floor of 50 percent of the adaptation allo- cation for particularly vulnerable countries, including Least De- Responding to the climate challenge requires collective action veloped Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), from all countries, including by both public and private sec- and African States. tors. Among these concerted efforts, advanced economies have agreed to jointly mobilize significant financial resources. Coming Unlocking private finance: The Fund is unique in its ability to en- from a variety of sources, these resources address the pressing gage directly with both the public and private sectors in trans- mitigation and adaptation needs of developing countries. formational climate-sensitive investments. GCF engages directly with the private sector through its Private Sector Facility (PSF). As GCF launched its initial resource mobilization in 2014, and rap- part of its innovative framework, it has the capacity to bear sig- idly gathered pledges worth USD 10.3 billion. These funds come nificant climate-related risk, allowing it to leverage and crowd in mainly from developed countries, but also from some developing additional financing. It offers a wide range of financial products countries, regions, and one city (Paris). including grants, concessional loans, subordinated debt, equity, GCF’s activities are aligned with the priorities of developing coun- and guarantees. This enables it to match project needs and adapt tries through the principle of country ownership, and the Fund to specific investment contexts, including using its funding to has established a direct access modality so that national and sub- overcome market barriers for private finance. national organisations can receive funding directly, rather than Country ownership: GCF recognizes the need to ensure that de- only via international intermediaries. veloping country partners exercise ownership of climate change The Fund pays particular attention to the needs of societies that funding and integrate it within their own national action plans. are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, in particular Developing countries appoint a National Designated Authority Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (NDA) that acts as the interface between their government and (SIDS), and African States. GCF, and must approve all GCF project activities within the coun- GCF aims to catalyze a flow of climate finance to invest in low- try. This country-driven approach ensures GCF’s activities operate emission and climate-resilient development, driving a paradigm in harmony with national priorities. shift in the global response to climate change. The aim of all GCF activities is to support developing countries Our innovation is to use public investment to stimulate private limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to cli- finance, unlocking the power of climate-friendly investment for mate change impacts.

50 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Business Coach Venture Financing Modes of financing for startups Venture Financing

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), India https://smallb.sidbi.in

Finance is required by a business enterprise at almost every stage short-term financial needs. The increasing popularity of public of the business life cycle. MSMEs often find it difficult to arrange deposits is due to: adequate finance for their operations as well as for expansion and  The rate of interest the companies have to pay on them is growth. These enterprises can raise finance by various methods. attractive. Below are some of the ways to raise long term and short term capital.  These are easier methods of mobilizing funds than banks, es- Sources of long term capital pecially during periods of credit squeeze Reinvestment of profits  They are unsecure Profitable companies do not generally distribute the whole Risk capital amount of profits as dividend but, transfer certain proportion Risk capital denotes the provision of capital where the provider re- to reserves. This may be regarded as reinvestment of profits duces the risk burden of the entrepreneur, and in turn bears some or ploughing back of profits. As these retained profits actually part of the overall risk involved in a productive activity. As per a belong to the shareholders of the company, these are treated definition widely used in India – The term ‘risk capital’ includes as a part of ownership capital. Retention of profits is a sort of equity as well as mezzanine/ quasi equity financial products that self-financing of business. The reserves built up over the years have features of both debt and equity. Risk Capital is an import- by ploughing back of profits may be utilized by the company for ant instrument for not only start-ups and innovative / fast grow- the following purposes: ing companies but is also critical to those companies looking at  Expansion of the undertaking growth. Risk capital substitutes promoter’s contribution, thereby reducing the capital to be brought by the entrepreneurs. Under  Replacement of obsolete assets and modernization such cases, Risk capital is one of the most viable options for raising  Meeting permanent or special working capital requirement capital for MSMEs. Some of the major risk capital options avail-  Redemption of old debts able for MSMEs include Venture Capital, Angel Investment and Public Listing. The benefits of this source of finance to the company are:

 It reduces the dependence on external sources of finance Issue of shares It is the most important method. The liability of shareholders is  It increases the credit worthiness of the company limited to the face value of shares, and they are also easily trans-  It enables the company to withstand difficult situations ferable. A private company cannot invite the general public to  It enables the company to adopt a stable dividend policy subscribe for its share capital and its shares are also not freely  It increases the debt raising capacity of the company transferable. But for public limited companies there are no such restrictions. There are two types of shares: Loans from commercial banks / financial institutions  Equity shares: the rate of dividend on these shares depends Medium and long-term loans required for setting up projects can on the profits available and the discretion of directors. Hence, be obtained from banks and \or financial institutions for all viable there is no fixed burden on the company. Each share carries projects. Similarly, funds required for modernization and renova- one vote. tion schemes can be borrowed from them. Such loans are gener- ally secured by mortgage of the Company’s properties, pledge of  Preference shares: dividend is payable on these shares at a shares, personal guarantees etc. fixed rate and is payable only if there are profits. Hence, there is no compulsory burden on the company’s finances. Such Public deposits shares do not give voting rights. Companies often raise funds by inviting their shareholders, em- ployees and the general public to deposit their savings with the Issue of debentures company. The Companies Act permits such deposits to be re- Companies generally have powers to borrow and raise loans by ceived for a period up to 3 years at a time. Public deposits can issuing debentures. The rate of interest payable on debentures is be raised by companies to meet their medium-term as well as fixed at the time of issue and the debentures have a charge on the

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 51 Venture Financing Business Coach

property or assets of the company, which provide the necessary the debtors’ balance is taken over by the bank on payment of security. The company is liable to pay interest even if there are no ­specified charges by the company. book debts may be assigned profits. Debentures are mostly issued to finance the long-term by the seller to a FACTOR, who will provide about 80 - 85 % or requirements of business and do not carry any voting rights. more of the value of the book debt, as advance to the seller. The FACTOR will also undertake the task of collecting the amount rep- Sources of short term capital resenting the debt (credit sales) from the debtors. Factoring is an Trade credit important avenue of raising short funds against the receivables Companies buy raw materials, components, stores and spare for the MSME units. The charges payable to the FACTOR is treated parts on credit from different suppliers. Generally, suppliers grant as cost of raising the funds credit for a period of 3 to 6 months, and thus provide short-term finance to the company. Availability of this type of finance is con- Discounting bills of exchange nected with the volume of business. When the production and This method is widely used by companies for raising short-term sale of goods increase, there is automatic increase in the volume finance. When the goods are sold on credit, bills of exchange are of purchases, and more of trade credit is available. generally drawn for acceptance by the buyers of goods. Instead of holding the bills till the date of maturity, companies can discount Factoring them with commercial banks on payment of a charge known as The amounts due to a company from customers, on account of bank discount. The rate of discount to be charged by banks is

Venture Financing Venture credit sale generally remain outstanding during the period of prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India from time to time. The credit allowed i.e. till the dues are collected from the debtors. amount of discount is deducted from the value of bills at the time The book debts may be assigned to a bank and cash realized of discounting. The cost of raising finance by this method is the in advance from the bank. Thus, the responsibility of collecting discount charged by the bank.

Selected Green Technology Funds Adaptation Fund (AF) https://www.adaptation-fund.org The Adaptation Fund (AF) is designed to finance climate change adaptation projects and programs based on the priorities of eligible developing countries. Climate Investment Funds https://www.climateinvestmentfunds.org The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) accelerates climate action by empowering transformations in clean technology, energy access, climate resilience, and sustainable forests in developing and middle-income countries. Global Environment Facility Trust Fund http://www.thegef.org The Global Environment Facility provides funding to meet the agreed incremental costs of meas- ures to achieve agreed global environmental benefits in biological diversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, primarily desertification and deforestation, chemicals and wastes. Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) https://www.thegef.org/topics/least-developed-countries-fund-ldcf The LDCF meets the needs of least developed countries whose economic and geophysical char- acteristics make them especially vulnerable to the impact of global warming and climate change.

52 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Business Coach Managing Innovation Innovation programmes in Malaysia Managing Innovation Malaysian Innovation Foundation https://www.yim.my

Inclusive innovation Social Innovation (MSI) Fund Specifically designed to empower the bottom 40% of the in- The MOSTI Social Innovation (MSI) project was launched with the come group to leverage on innovations to promote the trans- objective of improving the well-being of the society through the formation of communities including microenterprises in the rural implementation of project, services, capacity and skill building areas through handholding and technical and management or innovation output using the existing technology that can be support, the High Impact Project 6 – Inclusive Innovation (HIP6) implemented sustainably. programme is part of the SME Masterplan 2012-2020 organised As a start, the implementation of MSI involves outreach pro- by SME Corp and managed by YIM as appointed Lead Agency. grammes to the grassroots level and scaling up innovative ideas HIP6 promotes public-private partnership to share responsibil- from the outreach programme with the objective of “humanising ity and accountability in creating drivers of change that can em- innovation”. power the bottom 40% of the income pyramid to leverage on Innovators can submit their project ideas to MESTECC for the MSI innovations created for the benefit and wellbeing of the com- grant. MESTECC functions as a one-stop centre for innovators to munities. submit their innovations with proof-of-concept. The innovation Since the programme was incepted, almost 23,000 people have projects will be matched with its agencies and collaborators to participated in the HIP6 Inclusive Innovation Challenges which facilitate and monitor the projects. is organised to identify deserving innovations for support and funding. Lifelong Learning Initiative Grassroots innovators (GRIr) have benefited the community Mainstreaming grassroots innovations by innovating products and services that are useful and of Mainstreaming Grassroots Innovation (MaGRIs) programme is a values to their community. However, their contributions are project that focuses on upscaling and accelerating the develop- often neglected, not brought to proper authorities for their ment and diffusion of potential grassroots innovations in Malaysia development and advancement. GRIr are national assets con- via collaboration with various parties from government, industry, tributing to social and economic growth. GRIr need proper grassroots community and youth. recognition, capacity building initiative to motivate, sustain The MaGRIs programme provides an environment to develop them to innovate better solutions, provide leaderships at grassroots innovators with potential innovations and groom grassroots level. them to become community role models. New methods to stimu- This project was funded by The Boeing Company under Boe- late grassroots commercial activities into mainstream commercial ing Global Corporate Citizenship (BGCC). In the first sequel, the activities are often uncovered while grassroots innovators lever- project has successfully accredit 20 grassroots innovators in age through opportunities to mainstream their innovations into 2016 and with the BGCC support again an additional 20 grass- mainstream commercial activities. Often, academic and industry roots innovators are selected for APE in the second sequel, collaborators are roped in to support the MaGRIs programme 2017. activities. Through Lifelong Learning Initiative – Accreditation of Prior Ex- From innovation development to commercialisation with market perience (APE) platform, an individual’s expertise, skills and ex- diffusion to inclusive communities, the programme even has its periences officially recognized based on National Occupational own MaGRIs Ambassador originating from the same communi- Skills Standards (NOSS) into Malaysian Skills Certificate qualifi- ties, sharing community success stories and creating engagement cations: Certificate of Competency, MSC levels 1 to 3, Diploma with this targeted community. Since MaGRIs was incepted in 2016, Malaysian Skills or Advanced Diploma Malaysian Skills; awarded more than 13,000 people have engaged with the programme. by the Government. UNCTAD Virtual Institute The Virtual Institute (Vi) is UNCTAD’s programme of support to academia. Vi helps developing countries design evidence-based policies that result in inclusive and sustainable development. The Vi enables academic institutions to prepare qualified decision-makers and provide analyses to underpin the formulation of economic policies in their countries. For more information, access: https://vi.unctad.org

TECH MONITOR • Apr-June 2020 53 Managing Innovation 54 and sanitation etc. energy, transport, facturing, health,education, agriculture, water specificareasAICs would suchasmanu beestablishedinsubject ponents required for encouraging innovative Moreover, start-ups. trainings andotherrelevant partners, comseed capital, industry accessmentoring to business planning support, the start-ups, foring facilities, coupled withtheavailability experts ofsectoral physical infrastructure interms ofcapitalequipment andoperat with suitableincubation of India facilities across various parts and sustainableenterprises. The AICswould create world class innovative businessesintheirpursuit to become scalable start-up centres calledAtal Centres Incubation (AICs) that would nurture theestablishment ofnewincubationAIM intends to support Atal Incubation Centre adaptivethinking, learning, physical computing etc. such as designminds; and inculcate mindset, computational skills scheme isto foster curiosity, creativity andimagination inyoung Laboratories (ATLs) in schoolsacross India. The of this objective Innovators’, Atal isestablishingAtal Innovation Mission Tinkering With avisionto ‘Cultivate children asNeoteric in India oneMillion AtalLabs Tinkering 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Five majorinitiatives takeninfirst year ofestablishment: tostructure oversee innovation ecosystem ofthecountry. different stakeholders, create awareness and create an umbrella economy, provide platform for and collaboration opportunities and policiesfor fostering innovation indifferent ofthe sectors ship inthecountry. AIM’s isto objective develop newprogrammes initiative to promote aculture of innovation and entrepreneur Atal (AIM) Innovation isGovernment Mission ofIndia’s flagship Atal Innovation Mission Managing InnovationManaging

ARISE-To stimulate innovation andresearch intheMSME Atal Community Innovation Center- To stimulate community Campaign-Mentor India Anational Mentor incol network Challenges-FosteringAtal New India innovations product and Atal Centers-Fostering Incubation and world classstartups Atal Tinkering Labs-Creating problem solvingmindsetacross dustry. regions including ofthecountry Tier 2and Tier 3cities. centric /underserved innovation andideasintheunserved alltheintiatives ofthemission. support laboration withpublicsector, corporates andinstitutions, to aligning themto theneedsofvarious sectors/ministeries. adding anewdimensionto the incubator model. schools inIndia.

TECH MONITOR •Apr-Jun 2020 Innovation promotion inIndia National for Institution Transforming (NITIAayog), India India ------tive to engage leaderswhocan guide andmentor students in Mentor ofChangeProgram isastrategic nation buildinginitia Mentor ofChange Program able to access resources for piloting, testing, creation. and market Commercialization Valley ofDeath, inwhichinnovators are un ket. The Atal Challengeaims to address NewIndia thesecond stage andcommercialization innovations to stageintaking mar Researchers have longtalkedofthe ‘Valleys ofDeath’ at theearly ofsociety. onlivelihoodwater directly ofallsections canimpact solutions intheareas likehealth,housing, hygiene, energy and ize innovation inareas to critical India’s growth. The innovative One ofAtal Innovation Mission’s goalsisto incentiv primary Atal New Challenge India (ANIC) and provide indigenoussolutionsfor challenges inIndia. sectors, capabilities, leadership in nation-critical develop export as well asthegovernment, to improve India’s substitution import amongsttheindustry and mindsetofengaging andco-creating aimsto and smallenterprises. inculcate aculture It startups Indian program to identify, fund, guide, hand-hold, andprocure from ARISE will be a multi-phase, multi-sector, and multi-stakeholder vated undertheARISEprogram andsmallenterprises. by start-ups who willbecome thefirstbuyer inno ofthesolutions/products ofCentralthrough / Departments, Government support Ministries lems andsubsequently creation trigger sectors, ofnewindustrial to catalyze research, innovation, findsolutions probto thesectoral Micro, Small, enterprises. andMedium The program’s is objective and small enterprisespetitiveness including startups of Indian ARISE isaninitiative to promote research, innovation andcom (ARISE) Atal Research &Innovation for SmallEnterprises andinnovation ecosystem.startup regions whichat presentunserved ofthecountry lackavibrant thesociety. to serve willfocusdesign thinking onundeserved/ It ed to encourage ofinnovation thespirit through solutiondriven innovationcommunity drive inthecountry. The program isdirect Atal hastakenthisnewinitiative Innovation Mission to support Atal Community Innovation Center and mentors are to expected beenablersrather thaninstructors. and entrepreneurship. These labs are non-prescriptive by nature, andinculcate ofinnovationand computational thespark thinking them to experience, suchas design future andpractice learn skills andenable one ormore suchlabsorwith thestartups/incubators for weekare leaderswhocanspend1to in looking 2hoursevery under theprograms ofAtal across Innovation India. Mission We thousands ofAtal and incubators Tinkering Labsandstartups https://aim.gov.in/overview.php Business Coach ------

Business Coach Green Productivity Green technology in Malaysia Productivity Green Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) https://www.mida.gov.my

In line with Malaysia’s aim to become an inclusive and sus- Energy efficiency/energy conservation tainable advanced nation by 2020, Green Technology (GT) As price of energy steadily increases over the years, there is a need has been identified as one of the drivers of the future econ- to adopt energy efficiency measures to ensure productive use omy for the nation that would contribute to the overall Green of energy and minimize waste. The use and adoption of energy Growth and Sustainable Development. Under the National efficiency systems and technology is encouraged through intro- Green Technology Policy, the cross-sectoral GT focuses on duction of incentives and import duty exemptions on qualified four sectors namely energy, building, waste management and machines and components. Consecutively, energy efficiency -ac transportation. tivities also open up opportunities for energy service companies Renewable energy (ESCOs) to provide energy efficiency services to potential clients. In 2019, a total of 75 projects in energy efficiency/energy conser- Malaysia is emphasizing greater importance for Renewable vation with total investments of RM536.44 million were approved Energy (RE) generation through specifically formulated poli- incentives. Investments were mainly from domestic sources i.e. cies and initiatives to spur the growth of the sector as a major RM168.86 million meanwhile RM367.58 million were from foreign step towards green economy. Other than the Feed-in-Tariff sources. These investments are expected to provide 148 employ- (FiT) mechanism, the Net Energy Metering (NEM) and Large ment opportunities in the sub-sector. Scale Solar (LSS) Photovoltaic plant schemes were intro- duced in 2016 to boost RE generation. NEM benefits users in Green technology incentive terms of savings in electricity bill through lower electricity usage and energy credit from solar power generation while Under the provision of Budget 2014, tax incentives for Green Tech- LSS allows developers to produce renewable energy in larger nology in the form of Green Investment Tax Allowance (ITA) for the capacities. purchase of green technology assets and Income Tax Exemption (ITE) on the use of green technology services and system were intro- In 2019, a total of 350 projects in renewable energy with total duced to further strengthen the development of green technology. investments of RM3.78 billion were approved incentives. Out of the total, 88.5 per cent was contributed by domestic invest- Application for incentive is to be submitted to MIDA for green ments and 11.5 per cent by foreign investments. Solar energy technology projects and services, and to Malaysian Green Tech- projects made up the bulk with 330 projects amounting to nology Corporation (MGTC) for purchase of green technology RM2.10 billion comprising of 314 solar self-consumption pro- assets as listed in MyHijau Directory, by 31 December 2020. Pro- jects worth RM413.35 million and 16 large scale solar projects jects which qualify for this incentive are renewable energy; energy valued at RM1.69 billion. In that period, six mini-hydro projects efficiency; integrated waste management and green building / worth RM1.52 billion were also approved, while the remaining green data centre. In addition, eligible services activities include approved projects were made up of 13 biogas projects worth system integration of renewable energy; energy services; services RM149.33 million, and one biomass project worth RM6.58 mil- related to green building / green data centre; green certification lion. These projects are expected to create 761 employment of products, equipment & building; and green township. opportunities in this sub-sector. Source: MIDA Investment Performance Report 2019

WIPO GREEN – The Marketplace for Sustainable Technology

WIPO GREEN is an online platform for technology exchange. It supports global efforts to address climate change by connecting providers and seekers of environmentally friendly technologies. Through its database, network and acceleration projects, it brings together key players to catalyze green technology innovation and diffusion. The WIPO GREEN database is a unique catalogue of sustainable solutions and needs across the world. It offers technologies from prototype to marketable products, available for license, collaboration, joint ventures, and sale. It also contains needs defined by companies, institutions, and non-governmental organizations looking for technologies to address specific environmental or climate change problems. For more information, access: https://www3.wipo.int/wipogreen/en/

TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 55 Green Productivity Business Coach Cleaner production in Sri Lanka

National Cleaner Production Centre, Sri Lanka http://www.ncpcsrilanka.org

Resource Efficient and Cleaner • “Cradle to Grave” -From raw material extraction to point of Production (RECP) assessments consumption & disposal • “Cradle to Cradle”- From raw material extraction to point A cleaner production (CP) audit is often the first step towards man- of reuse aging, controlling and improving the environmental performance There are three main Product Carbon Footprint standards that of a company. If a company was not previously concerned about are or will be applied worldwide: the environmental impacts of its production, an audit is the best way to establish the actual status and determine the best ap- • PAS 2050 proach to reducing waste, wastewater and emissions. It analyses • GHG Protocol and quantifies input, output and waste generation at each step • ISO 14067> of a production process. As a proactive environmental measure Environment management CP helps companies to comply with rules and regulations. There Green Productivity are three types of audits focuses on improving resource efficiency. Centre conducts water and energy audits and facilitates the cli- ents’ relevant information on enhancing their water and energy GHG assertion performances. NCPC has been registered as an ESCO (Energy Ser- vice Company) with the Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) since National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC) of Sri Lanka has the 2009. NCPC has acquired modern energy measuring equipment expertise and capacity to measure and report your organization to carry out electrical and thermal energy measurements. carbon footprint. Our services are ranging from organization level to product level in line with GHG Protocol, ISO 14064-1 & 2, ISO Energy management 14067 and PAS 2050 carbon foot printing standard. Our inhouse The concern on energy consumption and energy cost has been expertise in cleaner production and energy will help to propose increasing across all energy intensive industry sectors not only comprehensive GHG mitigation opportunities to the company. because of its immediate impact on production costs, but also Quantification of GHG Emissions of your business activities or because of environmental impacts. Cost of energy in any organ- product will help to; ization can potentially bring significantly down to improve busi- • Understand the impact that your product/ business has on ness benefits, through proper energy services. NCPC, Sri Lanka the climate at each stage of its life cycle. is a member of “RECPnet” global network, leading the global • Identify the most effective way of reducing emissions, Cleaner Production agenda, with a network of over 70 such Cen- whether it is in your own operations, with your suppliers, tres around the globe. As such, there is no organization better or in how your customers use and dispose of your product. equipped to deliver a robust solution that best suits your energy • Reduce costs through greater energy efficiency and waste efficiency needs. reduction. • Respond to customer demand – and enhance your brand Chemical management reputation (credible, confident and positive external mes- This component is carried out according to Responsible Produc- saging) tion which is a unique initiative that drives continuous improve- • Develop successful, long-term and economically competi- ment in health, safety and environmental performance. tive relationships with suppliers. • Minimize risk by ensuring compliance with the carbon le- Water auditing and water footprint gislation Water is an indispensable but scarce resource today, hence dem- Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) onstration of the corporate commitment to protect the fresh water resources through conducting water audits & implement- The PCF sums up the total greenhouse gas emissions generated ing the recommendations, quantifying the water footprint (ISO by a product over the different stages of its life cycle. Different 14046) inevitably boost the corporate image of a company. Using types of PCFs exist. water efficiently support in savings of energy and raw materials • “Cradle to Gate”- From raw material extraction to point of as well as to cut down waste water treatment costs. Every busi- distribution ness is a little different, but a water audit is an easy way to start.

56 TECH MONITOR • Apr-Jun 2020 Technology Offers

Mosquito-larvae killing pesticides Transfer Terms Our partner, a Hungarian Institute has developed a novel way  Technical services for the production of carrier materials for mosquito-larvae kill-  Technology licensing ing pesticides. They are interested in a license agreement for the  Equipment supply production of pesticide carrier substrate or selling of production equipment or the carrier material itself. Target Countries

HUNGARY World-wide Area of Application  Environment protection ▼ Continuous room-temperature biodiesel  Agriculture production  Tourism Our partner, a Hungarian Institute has developed a novel continuous  War against malaria, dengue and mosquito-spread diseases process for the room-temperature production of biodiesel. The main Advantages advantage of this technology is the avoidance of soap formation which  The special low-density highly porous carrier material can so far cause many problems during biodiesel production (emulsion absorb a lot of liquid (ca. double of its weight), namely the formation, washing problems, slow phase splitting, etc.) They are in- fermentation liquor containing larvicides terested in a license agreement or selling of production equipments.  The air-drying in mild conditions gives a stabilized encapsu- Area of Application lated biological mosquito killing agent without lyophilization Biofuel production plants, fuel mixing firms step Advantages  The chemical composition of the granules gives an appro-  Room temperature process, energy saving priate medium to stabilize and enhance the effectivity of the  Avoidance of soap formation, thus many other problems do enzymes of larvicides not occur, like: Advantages of the product  Problems during emulsion formation; Washing problems; Slow  Low-density and sizes phase splitting  Cheap air-spreadability  Continuous production technology in a simple apparatus  High surface density on water (tube reactor)  Controlled larvicide capacity  Cheap catalyst removing (KHSO4 or H2SO4) by recyclization of catalyst-removing KHSO4 (acid) with regenerable ion-ex-  Floatability and time-dependent sinkability changers  Low production costs  The byproducts (K2SO4, glycerol or methanol)) can be used as rape-  Selectivity for blood-sucking mosquitoes seed production fertilizer or starting material for biogas production  Combinability with other active ingredients  No water in glycerol phase  No environmental pollution  Low methanol and potassium content in the raw ester phase  Long storage ability Environmental Aspects  Combination with attractants for female mosquitoes to put larva in a treated area  Cleaner production  Energy efficiency Environmental Aspects  Cleaner production Development Status Pilot plant  Energy efficiency Legal Protection Development Status Patent Pilot plant Technical specifications Legal Protection Vegetable oil methyl esters are generally produced at 60 °C in the Patent presence of 1 % KOH/NaOMe catalyst with stirring for 15-60 min. Technical specifications Transfer Terms The subject of the present invention are carrier materials for mosquito-larvae killing pesticides (carrier composites). ­Numerous  Technical services insecticide preparations have already been developed for exter-  Technology licensing minating  Equipment supply

TECHTECH MONITOR MONITOR • •Jan-Mar Apr-Jun 20172020 5757 Technology Offers

Target Countries Advantages World-wide  In case of leucoderma after application of the formulation For the above two offers, contact: there starts formation of patches (natural colour of skin) within Laser Consult Ltd (Hungary) a week H-6701 PO Box 1191  The patch increases and gradually covers the whole affected Szeged area Hungary  The disease is completely cured within few months. Chitin and chitosan  Formulation can be prepared without sophisticated instru- ment. Chitin and chitosan are important byproducts form the shell of shellfishes. Chitin is the most important organic con- Development Status stituent of the exoskeletal material of invertebrates and the Pilot plant INDIA important economical source of this material is the shrimp Technical Specifications ▼ processing industry. Chitin and its derivatives, chitosan find  In case of leucoderma after application of the formulation various industrial applications like, biotechnology, food there starts formation of patches (natural colour of skin) within processing, pharmacy and medicine. a week Area of Application  The patch increases and gradually covers the whole affected Various industrial applications like, biotechnology, food process- area ing, pharmacy and medicine. Advantages Transfer Terms Chitin and its derivatives, particularly chitosan find industrial  Joint venture application in various fields namely flocculation, paper making,  Technology licensing textile printing and sizing, ion exchange chromatography, re-  Research partnerships moval of metal ions from industrial effluents, manufacture of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics and as an additive in food industry. Target Countries Environmental Aspects World-wide Waste utilization Contact: Development Status Hiran Biotech Research and Developemnt Division  Pilot plant 66 Turner Road Cantt., Kanpur 208004, U.P., India  Fully commercialized Transfer Terms Novel transducer matrix for biosensors  Consultancy The principal objective of the present invention is to provide a  Technology licensing process for the synthesis of nanostructured conducting polymer (NSCPs) by using structure directing agents. In addition, this in- Contact: vention also provides a process to develop a nanostructured Central Institute of Fisheries Technology conducting polymer with high electrical conductivity. Another CIFT Junction, Matsyapuri, Willingdon Island objective of the present invention is to use the synthesized nano- Cochin 682029 structured conducting polymers as a transduction matrix for the India development of biosensor. Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a method for the development of optical Herbal formulation for leucoderma biosensor by using synthesized nanostructured conducting poly- It is well known that these diseases have property of recurrence and mers as a transduction matrix. most of the medicines used for cure have various side effects and Area of Application also the disease is also not fully cured. Our formulation is quite ef- An optical glucose biosensor has a potential application in the fective in curing all the above three diseases in short period of time. testing of biological samples. In case of leucoderma after application of the formulation there starts formation of patches (natural colour of skin) within a week. Environmental Aspects The patch increases and gradually covers the whole affected area. Environment friendly Area of Application Development Status Herbal heath formulations for skin diseases Laboratory model

5858 TECHTECH MONITORMONITOR •• Jan-MarApr-Jun 20172020 Technology Offers

Legal Protection Area of Application Patent Application includes antiaging agents Transfer Terms Environmental Aspects  Consultancy Environment friendly  Technical services Development Status Laboratory model  Technology licensing Legal Protection Patent Plant biomass-based metal sorption column Transfer Terms The present invention provides a process for developing a plant biomass based biosorption column for the removal of metal ions.  Consultancy The biomaterial comprising of leaves of Jatropha is immobilized  Technical services on a modified silica gel. The silica gel is modified with cationic  Technology licensing polymers for improving the binding of the biomaterial, porosity of the column and to maintain uniform flow rate. The biosorp- For the above three offers, contact: tion column may have possible application in the removal of spe- Amity University cific ions from contaminated sites or wastewater. The prepared Sector-125, Noida biosorbent column is very cheap, recyclable and can be used for Gautam Buddha Nagar 201303 selective sorption of Cr (VI) and Cu (II) ions from synthetic multi- India elemental water samples Area of Application Novel drug delivery for AIDS The prepared biosorbent can be used for purification of water in In order to achieve distinct therapeutic objectives and advantages, terms of heavy metals. the technology suggests an alternative pharmaceutical composition Advantages i.e an antiretroviral drug encapsulated in a vesicle. This pharmaceutical The prepared biosorbent column are very cheap, recyclable and composition is considered to obtain a reduction in the frequency of can be used for selective sorption of Cr (VI) and Cu (II) ions from dosing, a reduction in the amount of drug consumed by the patient. synthetic multi-elemental water samples. The pharmaceutical composition comprising of vesicles, liposomes are lipid bilayers surrounding an aqueous space. The drug substances Environmental Aspects are encapsulated within the liposomes. The ability of liposomes con- Environment friendly sisting of components other than phospholipids and cholesterol or Development Status their semisynthetic derivatives to enhance the encapsulation of bio- Laboratory model active substances provides new promising perspectives for establish- Legal Protection ing new, efficient and stable carriers for drug delivery. Patent Area of Application Transfer Terms Pharma industry  Consultancy Advantages  Technical services  Facilitates controlled & direct delivery of the drug.  Technology licensing  Reduces frequency of dose.  Overcomes first pass and other pre systemic drug degradation Tea catechins as anti-aging compounds of biologically active ingredients.  Reduction in the amount of drug consumed by the patient. The present invention relates to the preparation of consumable composition for oral administration that contains tea catechins.  Vesicles can be incorporated into the biological system via The composition prepared by the process of this invention is use- different routes of administration. ful in providing controlled release of catechins contained therein.  Minimizes the dose dependent debilitating toxic effects. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, consum-  Liposomal formulation developed has therapeutic superiority. able composition containing tea catechins dispersed therein is  Maintains Minimum Viral Inhibitory Concentration through- ­provided. The present invention provides consumable compos- out the therapy. ition for oral administration containing tea catechins. The com- position prepared by the process of this invention is useful in Development Status providing controlled release of catechins contained therein. Laboratory model

TECHTECH MONITOR MONITOR • •Jan-Mar Apr-Jun 20172020 5959 Technology Offers

Legal Protection Advantages Patent applied for  Preparation process is very simple and easy to implement Transfer Terms  The carbon matrix forms 95% of the carrier reducing the amount Technology licensing of gold needed and the plasmid used per transformation  Advantages of usage of gold particles- High DNA packing Dengue tetravalent vaccine density, better transformation efficiency, low nuclease deg- The technology describes a novel recombinant envelop domain- radation, being in nano scale, higher surface area is obtained- III based tetravalent protein which elicits protective immune re- more gene cargo handled sponses against each of the four serotypes of dengue virus, DEN-1,  Advantages of usage of carbon support- Inert and less damage DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4. Hence it is capable of inhibiting the causing- wound caused due to penetration healed faster, bet- infectivity of each dengue virus serotype which is responsible for ter piercing capacity, for example, can effectively pierce hard different form of dengue fever. The technology further suggests plant cell walls, less force required to penetrate the plasma a process for the preparation of this tetravalent protein which membrane as compared to silver nano needles involves codon optimizing the sequence, followed by cloning, transforming and purifying the novel recombinant tetravalent Development Status protein. This technology has been tested on mice. Laboratory model Area of Application Legal Protection Medical industry Patent Advantages Transfer Terms Technology licensing  It is a tetravalent vaccine against four different serotypes of dengue virus i.e. DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4. Contact: National Chemical Laboratory, CSIR  Effective against different types of dengue serotypes. A208, PAML Building,  It inhibits the infectivity of each dengue virus serotype. National Chemical Laboratory  Cost effective option in comparison to existing treatments. Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Development Status Pune 411007 Laboratory model India Transfer Terms Technology Licensing Microfine ginger powder with high drug and For the above two offers, contact: spice values SkyQuest Technology Consulting Pvt. Ltd. Microfine ginger powder has wide applications in pharmaceutical, 501, Krishna Complex, Opp. Devashish School, brewery, soft drink, meat canning, pickle processing, curry and con- Bodakdev, Ahmedabad 380054 fectionery industries. The microfine ginger powder can be directly India added in soda water for removal of certain throat irritation and similar affections. The product has high domestic and export potential. From Nanogold-loaded carbon bullets as gene 5 kilogram of peeled ginger, around 700 grams of microfine powder can be produced. The process of production is free from pollution. carriers Area of Application Scientists have developed a process for the preparation of carbon  Domestic and industrial kitchen embedded nano gold particles with sharp edges which can be used as gene carriers. The bullets are sharp enough to penetrate hard  Food processing industries material, with less damage (a comparatively lower force of 0.1-0.2  Brewery and confectionery industries nN required for penetration) and can be delivered with a convenient delivery gun .Intracellular gold particles (biogenic) synthesized by a Advantages fungus in situ, embedded on a carbonaceous matrix.  Microfine Area of Application  Free from presence of ash.  Gene therapy/ improved gene delivery for research and other  Produced without generating temperature at the pulverizing potential applications point.  DNA based immunization, to study gene function and its regu-  The product maintains high drug and spice values. lation, to establish various disease models, metal ion removal,  The process of production prevents evaporation of oil during fuel cells, anti bacterial applications, catalysis pulverization.

6060 TECHTECH MONITORMONITOR •• Jan-MarApr-Jun 20172020 Technology Offers

Environmental Aspects fertilizer of good quality to benefit agriculture. This is our process Cleaner production to create maximum value, help reduce the pollution problem and Development Status create benefits from solving the problem. Commercial prototype Area of Application Transfer Terms Environment, Energy, Innovative of products Turnkey Environmental Aspects Contact:  Cleaner production Department of agriculture Innova Reserach Centre Pvt Ltd  Waste utilization Ochanthuruth, Kochi, 682508, india  Energy efficiency  Systems integration Dehydrated fruits by freeze drying technique Development Status  Idea Thai government organization offers technology for fruit dehy- dration by freeze drying technique. Freeze drying is a process  Design in which water in the sample is frozen at very low temperature  Laboratory model (between -20°C and -40°C) and then sublimed under vacuum  Pilot plant and low temperature (below -50°C). This technique was applied to produce various kinds of dehydrated fruits, namely jack fruit,  Commercial prototype rambutan, lychee, longan and durian.  Fully commercialized

Area of Application Legal Protection Dehydration of various types of fruits. In addition to the fruits  listed above, the technique can be applied to other fruits as well Trade Mark by applying specific conditions to different fruits.  Patent Advantages  Technology license and copy right The advantage of freeze-drying technique compared to other Technical Specifications drying techniques are: good physical appearance; chemical sta- bility; biological activity; and product recovery and reproduci-  Capacities size: 2-10 ton/day (wastes) bility  Organic fertilizer: 20% of wastes Development Status  Electrical: 3 phase 380/220 VAC. 23KVA Commercial prototype  Machine size: 1.5 x 10 x 3.5 m. (up to Capacities) Transfer Terms  Control panel: 0.95 Consultancy Transfer Terms Contact: Biological Science Division  Consultancy Department of Science Service  Subcontracting Rama VI Road, Ratchathewi District  Joint venture Bangkok 10400 Tel: +(622) 2458993  Technical services Fax: +(622) 2458993  Technology licensing  Equipment supply

THAILAND Bio-digestor  Turnkey ▼ The Company acts by dealing with the causes of pollution: wastes, especially the biomass wastes or fresh wastes which cannot be Contact: efficiently dealt with. Since biomass wastes increase every day Thai Central Mechanics Co.Ltd.(Thailand) and accumulate more and more, the provision for landfills starts 1 moo 10 Soi Watmahawong, Poochaosamingprai Rd, to be inadequate. Therefore, we focus on researching systems T.Samrong A.Phrapradaeng and machines that can deal with wastes continuousely, on a daily Samutprakarn basis. That is, we will process wastes and turn them into organic Thailand 10130

TECHTECH MONITOR MONITOR • •Jan-Mar Apr-Jun 20172020 6161 Asia-Pacific Tech Monitor

Readers are requested to complete the Response Form to the best of their knowledge/opinion and return it to APCTT by fax or email. We look forward to your cooperation to serve you better.

Technology Intelligence Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (APCTT) C-2 Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi -110016, India Fax: +91) (11) 26856274, Email: [email protected], [email protected]

I read Tech Monitor ☐ Always ☐ Often ☐ Sometimes ☐ Never 1. I find the design and layout of the Tech Monitor ☐ Excellent ☐ Very Good ☐ Good ☐ Not Good 2. I find the language used in the Tech Monitor ☐ Easy to understand ☐ Little difficult to understand ☐ Difficult to understand 3. I find the Tech Monitor ☐ Very valuable ☐ Generally valuable/interesting ☐ Somewhat valuable/ interesting ☐ Little value ☐ No value I read Tech Monitor because I appreciate ☐ Technology Market Scan ☐Technology Scan ☐ Special Feature (articles) ☐Tech Events ☐Technology Opportunities ☐Business Coach 4. I find the following sections Very useful Useful Less useful No use Technology Market Scan ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Technology Scan ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Special Feature (articles) ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Tech Events ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Technology Opportunities ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Business Coach ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ 5. Tech Monitor facilitated/contributed to: ☐ Understand issues related to technology development and transfer ☐ Enhance my knowledge on latest technological developments and events ☐ Identity technology/business partners ☐ Negotiate technology/business transactions ☐ Establish contact with institutions/authors/experts ☐ Conclude a technology transfer ☐ Acquire a technology ☐ Selling a technology ☐ (Any other, please specify) 6. To get similar information, I read other periodicals like:

7. I would like Tech Monitor to cover the following:

About Myself Name: Gender: ☐Female ☐Male Nationality: Profession: ☐ Policy Maker ☐ Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) ☐ Consultant ☐ Financier ☐ Researcher ☐ Professor/ Teacher ☐ Student ☐ Others (Please specify) Contact details: Organization: Designation: Street Address: P.O Box: Country: Telephone: Fax: E-mail: Website:

Note: The survey results would be used for APCTT’s internal purposes only. Selected Analytical Reports and Technology Platforms & Databases of APCTT

Analytical Reports (available online) 1. National Assessment Framework on Enabling Environment, Technology Innovation Ecosystem for Making Sustainable Energy Options Affordable and Accessible (For Indonesia and Lao People’s Democratic Republic), January 2014 http://apctt.org/nis/sites/all/themes/nis/pdf/National-assessment-framework_-final_ESCAP.pdf 2. Report on the National Assessment Framework of Enabling Environment and Technology Innovation Eco-system for Making Sustainable Energy Options Affordable and Accessible – Indonesia, May 2014 http://apctt.org/nis/sites/all/themes/nis/pdf/Indonesia_Report-on-National-Assessment-of- Sustainable-Energy_optimized.pdf 3. Indonesia National Sustainable Energy Strategy Report on Enabling Environment and Technology Innovation Ecosystem for Affordable Sustainable Energy Options, May 2014 http://apctt.org/nis/sites/all/themes/nis/pdf/Indonesia-National-Strategy-Report_final.pdf 4. Report on the National Assessment Framework of Enabling Environment and Technology Innovation Ecosystem for Making Sustainable Energy Options Affordable and Accessible - LAO PDR, May 2014 http://apctt.org/nis/sites/all/themes/nis/pdf/Lao_Report-on-National-Assessment-of-Sustainable- Energy.pdf 5. Lao People’s Democratic Republic National Sustainable Energy Strategy Report on Enabling Environment and Technology Innovation Ecosystem for Affordable Sustainable Energy Options, May 2014 http://apctt.org/nis/sites/all/themes/nis/pdf/Lao-National-Strategy-Report_final.pdf 6. National Innovation System (NIS) training manual - “NIS Diagnosis and STI Strategy Development to Achieve National Sustainable Development Goals”, 2016 http://apctt.org/nis/sites/all/themes/nis/pdf/NIS%20Training%20Manual.pdf

Technology Platforms and Databases

1. APCTT’s Technology4SME Database The Technology4SME Database serves as an online platform for information exchange on the availability and sourcing of technologies for small and medium enterprises in countries in the Asia Pacific region. http://apctt.org/technology-transfer 2. Renewable Energy Technology Bank The primary objective of the Renewable Energy Cooperation-Network for the Asia Pacific (RECAP) established by APCTT is to facilitate technology transfer cooperation among countries in the Asia- Pacific region in the area of renewable energy. RET-Bank provides tested and proven renewable energy technologies (RETs) initially in the areas of solar, biomass, wind, mini-hydro power and geo-thermal energy. http://apctt.org/recap/renewable-energy-technology-bank 3. Global Technology Databases APCTT has compiled a list of global as well as country-wise technology databases that deal with the technology transfer related services for SMEs and entrepreneurs. http://apctt.org/aptitude/