Researchers, students, and faculty at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) have filed a total of 417 Patents during the 2024-25 Financial Year, surpassing the ‘One Patent A Day’ vision of Director Prof. V. Kamakoti. This includes 298 Indian Patents and 119 International Patents.
Additionally, the institute filed 39 designs, 6 copyrights, and 1 trademark, bringing the total IP filings to 463 for the 2024-25.
IIT Madras has been actively filing patents in various emerging and high-impact fields. These include energy and battery innovations, microfluidic technologies, healthcare and assistive applications besides robotics and Artificial Intelligence. During 2024, a large number of inventions were filed in Electronics and Communication, Energy and Environment, Mechanical and Automotive, Healthcare and Medical Devices, Robotics and Automation, and Materials and Manufacturing, among other fields.
In the last five years, IIT Madras has developed various technologies and transferred to industry partners like Start-ups, MSMEs and MNCs through licensing deals worth Rs. 28 Crore. The biggest of these was the 5G RAN sub-system technology transferred to Tejas Network (TATA Group).
“For India to be a Technology Superpower as we March towards Viksit Bharat @ 2047, protecting our Intellectual Properties is crucial. I am very proud, that the IIT Madras team has filed 417 patents in the financial year 2024-25, with a significant raise in the number of International patents.”
Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras
Congratulating all the students, researchers, faculty and the IP Cell of the Institute, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “For India to be a Technology Superpower as we March towards Viksit Bharat @ 2047, protecting our Intellectual Properties is crucial. I am very proud, that the IIT Madras team has filed 417 patents in the financial year 2024-25, with a significant raise in the number of International patents.”
Elaborating further, Prof. Manu Santhanam, Dean (ICSR), IIT Madras, said, “IIT Madras has been leading in IP filing in the country among academic institutions as it understands the significance of protecting the innovations that will fuel the industries of tomorrow. The transfer of technology to the industry has also been scaled up in recent times, leading to the direct impact of IIT Madras research in practice.”
In the last 5 years, the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) at IIT Madras has doubled the licensing revenue and tripled the number of IPs licensed. On Average, the TTO generates Rs. 2.5 crore through deals annually with around one to two licensing deals a month. TTO also boost the IITM Startup ecosystem by facilitating technology licensing to Students and Faculty inventor owned Startups.
During 2024-2025, the TTO has successfully licensed more than 30 IP/Patents with various companies such as Tunga Aerospace, OEG, AspenTech, Ciena, Rural-Mandi, InsituMicron, Jahen & Jos, Envitran, Zemblance, Greenvironment, Thryv, Chrissron, Raksha Solutions, Sonolight, ParvAI Labs and Tritiyaeye, among others. TTO licensing focused on IP especially patents has greatly increased due to more PCT and international patent filing.
“IIT Madras has been leading in IP filing in the country among academic institutions as it understands the significance of protecting the innovations that will fuel the industries of tomorrow. The transfer of technology to the industry has also been scaled up in recent times, leading to the direct impact of IIT Madras research in practice.”
Prof. Manu Santhanam, Dean (ICSR), IIT Madras
IIT Madras has implemented a structured and efficient patent filing process to foster innovation and protect intellectual property. The Office of Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research (ICSR) at IIT Madras coordinates the different aspects related to IP and Technology Transfer. It also has a dedicated Legal Cell. The process begins with inventors submitting their Invention Disclosure Forms to the Intellectual Property Management (IPM) Cell in ICSR.
Additionally, IPM Cell has worked closely with research groups, reviewing their inventions and prototypes, which has contributed to a surge in design filings. A focused effort on copyright protection for researchers’ creative works also led to a substantial number of copyright applications in the last financial year.