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Microsoft signs MoU with NALSAR

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CIOL Bureau
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BANGALORE: Microsoft Corporation India Private Ltd has signed a three year Memorandum of Understanding with National Academy of Legal Studies and Research University (NALSAR), Hyderabad, to implement "The Microsoft Intellectual Property Scholar Program".

Microsoft aims to establish a knowledge bank in the area of Intellectual Property through this programme.

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Microsoft will select three "Microsoft Scholars" from the final year batch of the B.A. B.L. (Hons.) program at NALSAR, to undertake fundamental research and author papers on topics related to Intellectual Property rights. Research scholarships will be provided by Microsoft to these scholars and based on the research generated by them, a lecture series will be organized by NALSAR.

Announcing the scholarships at NALSAR, Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel, Microsoft Corporation said, "Microsoft has an R&D spend in excess of $7 billion per year, making us one of the largest holders of intellectual property rights, with more than 3,000 patent applications filed in this year alone.

New inventions, including computer hardware and software, are transforming the ways we live and work and raising new questions and challenges for intellectual property rules as well. Today, we live in a world that is far more global in character and we cannot afford to discourage important advances in knowledge and understanding with discordant patent regimes. We need to reward innovation, not stymie it."

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Ranbir Singh, vice chancellor, NALSAR said, "As an institution which fosters a challenging and exciting intellectual environment, we are extremely excited about our new partnership with Microsoft. The Microsoft Intellectual Property Scholar Program will seek to engage the students in the area of Intellectual Property - a field which has been hitherto ignored in India. We are confident that our students will immensely benefit from the program and will be able to further the growth of Intellectual Property in the country."

Under the terms of the MoU, NALSAR will make available to the Microsoft Scholars a dedicated study room, which was inaugurated by Justice K Ramaswamy, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India at the Dr. N. C. Banerjee Centre for Intellectual Property Law Studies, with requisite computing facilities and internet access. Relevant library and research resources will also be made available to the students, All software required in this computer facility for the Microsoft Research Scholars, will be provided free of cost, by Microsoft.

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