Ahmedabad: For a state that often boasts of its entrepreneurial spirit, Gujarat lags behind others when it comes to research, innovation and protecting innovations. Gujaratis seem more inclined to use their innovation commercially instead of protecting it. As a result, Gujarat accounts for only 0.9% of total patents filed in India.

Members of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) have come together to form Gujarat Innovation Society (GIS) to create awareness among entrepreneurs to protect their innovations. The body was launched in April 2010, but started getting active in August.

In the last five years, on an average, 32,000 patents were filed from India per year. However, on an average only 5,816 patents were filed by entrepreneurs living in India, while the rest have been filed by non-resident Indians. Surprisingly, per annum average number of patents filed by Gujaratis stood at only 288 between 2005-06 and 2009-10.

"Gujarati entrepreneurs are not lagging behind in innovation, but they do not bother to file patents to protect these innovations," said Jaimin Vasa, vice-chairman of GIS. Vasa believes that lack of awareness is the cause.

GIS will not only create awareness with regard to intellectual property rights (IPR) but also provide support. "We have prepared a schedule of activities that will enable us to reach every nook and corner of the state to guide entrepreneurs," said Sunil Shah, chairman of GIS.

The society will also organise lectures and seminars and invite people who have already patented their innovations to share their experiences. "The general notion is that filing of patents is a lengthy and expensive process, so there is a tendency to avoid it. We want to erase this wrong impression by having people share their success stories. This will lead to more patents being filed from Gujarat," said Shah.