Women in India face unique challenges in protecting their intellectual property rights: Justice Hima Kohli

Supreme Court judge Justice Hima Kohli recently highlighted the unique challenges faced by women in securing and protecting their intellectual property rights (IPRs) in India..According to Justice Kohli, these challenges are due to gender bias, discrimination at workplace, lack of awareness and education concerning IPR and limited access to legal resources and support."Women face unique challenges in securing and protecting their IPRs in India such as gender bias, discrimination in the workplace, lack of awareness and education concerning IPRs. Another significant challenge faced by women in India is the need for more legal resources and support. Many women are unable to access legal resources necessary to secure and protect their financial interest," she said.She added that many women face challenges in securing and protecting their intellectual property rights due to cultural, linguistic, and geographical barriers to seeking legal assistance, limiting their participation..The Supreme Court judge was addressing a gathering on World IP Day Celebrations at the Delhi High Court. The event was attended by Delhi High Court Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Union Minister Piyush Goyal. .Justice Kohli, in her speech, emphasized the need for a conducive atmosphere for research and development, as well as adequate safeguards for inventors, authors, and creators. She also suggested that generating and publicizing gender-focused data on women's participation in innovation and IP could help policy-makers create more precise policies focusing on women."Generating and publicising gender-focused data of the per cent of women in the field of innovation and IP should be the first step in identifying challenges faced by them. It can provide policy-makers with the guidance to make surgically precise policies, focusing on women," she said..Despite these challenges, Justice Kohli said that there is hope for a brighter future given that despite the lack of education and awareness about IPR, there are now more opportunities than ever before for women empowerment..She said that through initiatives such as workshops, seminars, and mentoring programs, women are being educated about various forms of IP protection. This knowledge, she explained, would empower them to take control of their ideas and innovations. Further, she said that addressing stereotypes and gender biases in IP is critical to promoting gender equality and ensuring that women creators have an equal opportunity to succeed.To achieve this, Justice Kohli emphasized the need to change societal norms that limit the participation of women in the workforce, address biases in the legal system, and provide access to resources and support to women creators. She further emphasized that the industry must rise to create opportunities for women to enter and advance in STEM fields and to ensure that women creators have access to resources to succeed..The event also saw the participation of women industry leaders including judges, scientists and businesswomen who spoke of challenges and the way forward..At the event, Justice Prathiba M Singh of Delhi High Court presented a report on ‘One year of the IP Division’. She credited the leadership of the Delhi High Court, the forward-looking judges who presided on the IP Division and the registry of the court for the setting up of the division. "It's only by working hard and through dedication that we can fulfil our aspirations," she said. .CoFounder & MD of covaxin-maker BharatBiotech Suchitra Ella, who was one of the women facilitated, shared her journey. She emphasised that patenting and intellectual property have brought innovators a lot of credit. She also opined that the scientific temperament exists in the youth and all they need is the ecosystem. "When Covid-19 struck, we were for the first month as an organisation grappling with what we need to. We were not waiting for some other vaccine or some other country to come and save us from this pandemic," she said. .Rocket scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation, Nandini Harinath was also felicitated during the programme. She shared that at ISRO it does not matter whether one is a man or woman, all that matters is how much someone delivers. "I must say, I was very lucky to be a part of the Mars mission.".Debjani Ghosh, the President of National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) also addressed the audience and discussed some good news for the Indian IP Landscape. "So far most of our patents were applied outside India. Today, nearly 45 per cent are applied domestically. So things are progressing in the right direction", she pointed out.Speaking on the need for women in innovation, she went on to underscore the importance of diverse perspectives. .[Read our live-coverage of the event below]