India’s distinctive program which aims at raising awareness about Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) among students, the Intellectual Property Talent Search Examination (IPTSE) has commenced registration. Registrations for the latest edition of IPTSE have started from 5^th November 2020 and will remain open till 15^th January 2021. With the support of the government, educational institutions and industry, including Ericsson and the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM), IPTSE was established in 2018 and has gained in popularity not only among students but also among universities, schools and colleges in its previous editions.

Designed for high school and undergraduate students, IPTSE will be accessible to students from diverse streams such as design, fashion design, media and mass communication, law, engineering and technology with the intent of fostering inclusivity and promoting the spirit of innovation and enterprise. Students from across the country can participate in the online IPR examination that is to be held in February 2021 (tentatively).

TIMELINE for IPTSE 2020

• Registrations: 5th November, 2020
• Examination: February, 2021 (Date to be announced soon)
• Results: March. 2021 (Date to be announced soon)
• Award Ceremony: (Date to be announced soon)

The objective of IPTSE is to educate young minds about intellectual property rights, namely copyright, patents, trademark, geographical indication, industrial design and trade secrets. Educational institutions can play an active role in raising awareness about intellectual property rights by encouraging students to take part in the examination. Consultations are on with central and state education boards to maximize participation in the initiative. Many schools have already expressed their willingness and are nudging students to take part in IPTSE 2020. While the regional champions will be awarded with certificates, the national Champions will be awarded with Rs 40000, Rs 25000, and Rs 10000 for 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd division for both school students and college students’ category. While deciding Regional Champions Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, U.P, Haryana, Delhi to be considered under north region where as Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry, Andaman & Nicobar are under south region. Similarly, the east region comprises of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and the west region consists of Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh.  

Following the enthusiastic response to IPTSE 2.0, a new initiative called IPTSE Youth Leaders Program has also been instituted for students. As part of the program, a select few students have been hand-picked to be Intellectual Property Champions and will advocate for the protection of intellectual property rights. Moreover, incorporating student feedback, the IPTSE website has been overhauled to make it more user-friendly. An added feature, the website chatbot, improves the Q&A mechanism to enable faster query resolution and content navigation.