India-US science deal signals IPR hope

In her speech, Rice thanked Sibal for the ‘‘milestone agreement that will open collaboration in the crucial sector of science and technology’’. Sibal said the agreement had long been in the pipeline. ‘‘It was in 1492 that Christopher Columbus started for india but landed in the US. It took US five centuries to discover India. It is only in the new millennium that the historic agreement has been signed,’’ he said.

The agreement was to be showcased by both countries on July 18 if the nuclear deal did not go through. But as the nuke deal was agreed upon, the science and technology agreement was to be signed between Foreign Minister Natwar Singh and Rice; only Rice was busy that day.

Sibal, on his way to Washington to promote technological and scientific cooperation in areas of mutual benefit, will sign the document. ‘‘This vital agreement has been hanging fire for the past 10 years due to IPR issues,’’ Sibal told The Indian Express from Paris. ‘‘The agreement is critical to India as it will pave the way for frontier technology to come into our country.’’

Science and Technology Ministry officials said it is an intergovernmental agreement that will lay down a roadmap for collaboration in science. ‘‘The two governments were discussing the issue for a long time and have now finally gotten down to put it on paper,’’ said Dr V.S. Ramamurthy, secretary Science and Technology. ‘‘The deal would formulate modes of cooperation and agreement on sharing of intellectual property. Scientists from India can get credits in scientific papers, patents and even share royalty from patents.’’