The renewable energy sector is one of the fastest evolving sectors in India. India is already witnessing the need for a swift adoption of clean sources of energy due to visible adverse climate change effects and amid supply concerns due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, being an economy heavily reliant on coal and oil. The aforesaid challenges have led to an interest in developing means for adopting new technologies, which are not only clean but are also resource efficient. As most world economies, including India, continue to search for sustainable solutions by way of technological advancements, the calls for more investment in technologies to enable the transition to green energy have been and will continue to gain momentum. Having a robust intellectual property regime to protect, enforce and exploit these technological advancements is the need of the hour and poses one of the key challenges for innovators and companies in the green energy space to protect their proprietary products and processes.A strong ecosystem of intellectual property rights will encourage more innovation and creativity, incentivising the creators to monetize their work by way of sharingthe same through licensing or other commercial means, which in turn shall ensure further research and development, growth, employment and continued innovation and expansion, all while being beneficial to the environment. In the long run, the IP rights will also result in lowering the costs of the products and processes developed, which is crucial to maximising the potential of clean energy and widen its reach to other geographies, particularly developing economies. Protecting IP rights will also ensure that there is no unauthorized use of a right holder’s invention by a third party and that the same can be securely exploited only by the right holder and with his consent.Patents play a pivotal role in the complete technological life cycle starting from R&D to the market introduction, where the demanding technologies can be protected under patents and license out to third party to cater financial profit. Patent provides business with temporary exclusive rights that allow them to collect a percentage of the added value of their inventions and the investment made to create and develop them. As per Indian patent office weekly publication in the recent years there is a high rise in filings of patent applications related to EV industry. IPR isdecisive in determining participation by business in technology deployment. IPR is likely to be an essential instrument to stimulate investments in Renewable Energy Sector. Design rights on the other hand are also an important tool as they can offer a simpler way to protect the aesthetic appearance of a new products.Apart from patents, brand management is also an important factor for consideration. For companies involved in transition to green energy, it is imperative to maintain their green credentials to advance their reputation. Care should be taken while selecting brand namesto avoid running a risk of infringement while also avoiding descriptive words which will run afoul of the statutory requirements for protection. Creators or companies should also ensure that their green credentials are capable of being substantiated and are not mere claims, which are likely to harm them adversely and result in thembeing accused of greenwashing. Companies should also remain vigilant and be on the lookout in both online and offline spaces to prevent counterfeiting.
While filings for IP rights related to clean technologies are on a rise and are expected to grow in the coming years, India may also look to bring in more measures on the lines of the intellectual property offices of US for speedier and cost-effective IPprotection and incentivise the right holders for further innovation and research.Further the government should also think for establishment of express provisions where the IP related to renewable energy must be prosecuted in a short interval of time from several years to fewer months. Today many IP offices has already introduced the fast-track programme for IP in renewable energy.
The conclusion can thus be drawn that IPR is an important determinant of renewable energy production. Depletion of non-renewable resources is taking place at an alarming rate. Hence, it is necessary to adopt a change towards green technologies, towards new global environmental policies, and stronger protection of IP rights in this field. When more protection is given to renewable energy firms, investors feel more secure and confident to expand their business as their efforts (e.g., wind farm design, solar panel installation technique, biomass processing method, etc.) are recognised. With the establishment of strong protection to assure property rights, there are higher injections of capital by the investors to promote renewable energy production as the business goals of this sector are safeguarded.
[This piece was written by Akanksha Mathur, Senior Principal Associate, Aayush Sharma, Senior Principal Associate, and Aditya Pratap Singh, Associate at S&A Law Offices]
