Bangalore, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/29/2016 -- Dr. Kalyan C. Kanakanala, Managing Partner of BananaIP, was invited to speak at the TEDx event organized by Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Bangalore on the 27th of February, 2016. He has been asked to speak about what motivates inventors to invent. This year's theme was "Knitting Visions" and the speakers for the event included eminent personalities such as Vinita Bali, Vani Ganapathy, Sangeetha Menon, Shinie Antony, Jockin Arputham, Dr. Abhas K. Mitra, Dr. Shailesh Kumar, Dev Shah and Disha Oberoi.
Dr. Kalyan began his talk by addressing the fact that we are surrounded by inventions. We use these ingenious creations every day, yet most of us don't even know the brains behind the invention, the creator, the inventor. We never stop and wonder why an inventor invents, what motivates them to invest their time, energy, resources, etc. to create something. The reason could be anything; it could be money, fame, recognition or even for the mere fun of it. Dr. Kalyan then went on to discuss a study conducted by his organization over a period of five years, where they interviewed a thousand inventors in diverse domains ranging from electronics to biotechnology. Besides being a great learning experience, the study was also an eye-opener of sorts. They discovered that majority of the inventors simply invented because they loved to invent or due to the innate desire to improve something. However, the most interesting discovery was that most of them did not list 'patents' as a motivating factor for inventing.
Dr. Kalyan then delved into the role of the patent system and the rationale behind patenting inventions. Inventions are a result of hard labour, research and development, which need some sort of patronage or investment to convert them into commercially viable products. This is where patents come in; they play a crucial role in encouraging investors to invest in these inventions and their further commercialization. Nevertheless, holding numerous patents may not be the mark of true inventorship. To substantiate this Dr. Kalyan discussed statistics related to invalidity of patents, where the percentages varied from 50 to 80 odd percent in nations such as the UK, USA, Japan and Germany.
He then went on to discuss several inventions, which were very different from one other, each serving a different purpose, but each patented. Some patents, for example an Apparatus for kicking butt seemed outrageous, while others like a method of sensitizing people about appropriate disability support were more noble and useful. He tried to draw a comparison between both types of patented inventions and remarked that as the criterion for inventions set by patent law in fairly low, a patent cannot be the judge of inventorship. They neither motivate an inventor nor do they attribute credibility to them.
In the last part of his talks he spoke about the importance of creating an inventor friendly environment which would inspire one to create, build or improve something. Every creative mind is different from the other and every inventor has his own creative process. Whether it is taking short naps or having a special thinking spot like one's bathroom. While some inventors are very orderly and organised, others do not care as much about conducting research in a structured manner. However, one thing is for sure that every inventor is driven by passion. Every inventor has a desire to create something. And to allow an inventor to do so, restraints of any kind, whether physical or psychological, should not be forced upon them. In concluding his talk, Dr. Kalyan said "…..you cannot tell an inventor - be in office by 9 AM, finish inventing, and leave by 5pm. Do not carry work home. It just doesn't work that way."
Dr. Kalyan's talk gave everyone an insight into an inventor's mind. He posed question which are not generally asked, nor adequately answered. The talk was inspiring, thought-provoking and engrossing. Speaking about the talk a participant commented "It was truly refreshing to hear Dr. Kalyan speak. He went against the grain and explored the motivation behind an invention."
The event was attended by corporates, academicians and students. The video of Dr Kalyan's talk as well as other speakers will be available on the official TEDx NMIMS Bangalore website. The script to his talk we be made available on Sinapse blog (sinapseblog.com)
About BananaIP Counsels
BananaIP is led by founder and Managing Partner Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala, an experienced and reputed Intellectual Property (IP) expert in the country. Over the last fifteen years, he has helped many companies move up the IP/Patent value chain and gain business/financial value from their intellectual assets. Dr. Kalyan also has a number of books on patent law and IP strategy to his credit, and teaches at premier institutions such as National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore, and Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore.
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