Chandigarh, Jan. 23 -- Despite a steady rise in patents granted over the past five years, Panjab University has seen only limited translation of its intellectual property into real world use, with official data showing that just four patents have been commercialised and nine transferred to external entities against a total of 90 granted during the period.

Patents follow two post-grant pathways; technology transfer or commercialisation. For PU, technology transfer does not involve handing over ownership rights. Instead, external organisations are permitted to use the technology in return for royalties or upfront payments, while ownership remains with the university. Commercialisation, on the other hand, involves converting a patent into a...