The latest IPR workshop for the students and researchers of CSE, EE, ECE, GSSST, SMST and CET was conducted in IIT Kharagpur on 3rd February 2018, with distinguished patent advocate Mr. Naren Thapetta as the special guest speaker. In an interactive four hour seminar split into two halves, Mr. Thapetta talked about the various facets of software patenting, including the history of the governing laws and their development over time. He drew comparisons between the existing patent laws in India and in the USA, and through an argument-counter-argumentative approach made the case for software patents within well-defined boundaries. He further emphasized on the role of the claims as being central to the value of the patents, and through the citation of several real-world examples drew home the idea of the importance of the claim structure. The workshop was also followed by a panel discussion, where a panel consisting of the guest speaker Mr. Naren Thapetta along with Prof. Padmavati, Prof. Matilal and Prof. TK Bandyopadhyay from RGSOIPL and Prof. C.R Raj, PIC, IPR and IR Cell, and Prof. Goutam Saha, MHRD IPR Chair Professor, IIT Kharagpur encouraged and discussed upon queries from members of the audience. The discussion witnessed enthusiastic participation from the audience.
