Name: Sneha Solanki

Semester: 9th

Course: BBA., LLB(Banking and Finance)

Submitted to: Latika Choudhary Ma’am

SAP ID: 500054605

"COVID-19 effect on innovation sector concerning economic
downturns"

Abstract

It is the first time in the history that “The World IP Day-2020” was celebrated under the blanket
of worldwide lock-down. IPR provide certain exclusive rights to the inventors or creators of that
property, in order to enable them to reap commercial benefits from their creative efforts or
reputation. This paper theorizes how COVID 19 has impacted the intellectual property landscape
and adopts an IP perspective on the currently unfolding COVID-19 pandemic to identify
pandemic related IP challenges.

The economists and industry experts have for some time estimated a strong negative impact on
the economy due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The research paper will consider the relationship
between the IPR regimes and the economy of India, it will give in-depth reasoning as to how
these crisis can be become an opportunity for more innovation, keeping in mind the desperate
need of smart technology that can make things easier for the people to get back to their work.
This will definitely demand for a stronger IPR regime. The paper will mention about the Indian
laws on IPR that unfortunately has certain provisions in its Patent Acts which allows the Central
Government to take over any patent that can be of use in a state of National emergency or in
circumstances of extreme urgency under Section 100 and 102 of the Patents Act, 1970. Here the
interests of the researchers and research organizations should also be safeguarded and properly
regulated by the government and hence a balance has to be maintained. This research paper
strives to explain both these ends thoroughly. At last, the paper will mention how innovation
sector can play a major role in “self-reliant India”, as domestic innovators can develop high
quality healthcare solutions at par with global competitors which are more affordable and
adaptable.

Introduction

Innovation is an important mechanism for enterprises to adapt to a changing environment,

become more competitive or at least hold their own against rivals and thus secure their business
success into the future.1 But do these widely accepted insights remain valid even in a severe
economic crisis? Do companies see innovation as an opportunity to mitigate the impact of the
crisis on their business? Do they possess the necessary resources to successfully conduct and
complete innovation projects in a crisis?

Entrepreneurs and innovators across India have responded quickly to the challenge posed by the
COVID-19 pandemic. A host of new innovations, some emerging from start-ups that have been
incubated by universities, have appeared in recent weeks.

There are a number of reasons for the quick response, including the urgency of the humanitarian
situation and a proactive approach to crowdsourcing ideas from the government. India also has a
wealth of trained engineering talent and helps foster what’s called jugaad – a frugal innovation
mindset to find hacks to problems with limited resources.
In early April, the Indian government launched a COVID-19 tracking app called Aarogya
Setu which uses GPS and Bluetooth to inform people when they are at risk of exposure to
COVID-19. The app was launched before a similar initiative from tech giants Google and Apple
got off the ground.

Start-ups including KlinicApp and Practo, are providing COVID-19 tests at home and online
consultation with doctors through their platform. In response to the shortage of ventilators for
critical care, start-ups such as Nocca Robotics (incubated at Indian Institute of Technology(IIT)-
Kanpur), Aerobiosys Innovations (incubated at IIT Hyderabad) and AgVa Healthcare are
developing low-cost, easy-to-use, and portable ventilators that can be deployed even in rural
areas of India. These ventilators would need medical regulatory approval before they could be
deployed.

Start-ups are also supporting the government’s public information campaign on coronavirus by
developing technology platforms to disseminate government notifications. The Kerala state
government launched an app called GoK-Kerala Direct using a platform developed by QKopy. It
sends COVID-19 updates and travel information via phone notifications, and via SMS to older
phones for the less than half of India’s population without smartphones. These messages are
delivered both in English and in Malayalam, the local language.
John F. Kennedy once observed that the word “crisis” in Chinese is composed of two characters—
one representing danger, the other opportunity. He may not have been entirely correct on the
linguistics, but the sentiment is true enough: a crisis presents a choice. This is particularly true
today. The COVID-19 pandemic has upended nearly every aspect of life, from the personal (how
people live and work) to the professional (how companies interact with their customers, how
customers choose and purchase products and services, how supply chains deliver them).

The unfolding crisis has already hampered many organizations with executive orders forcing some
manufacturers to at least temporarily shutter operations. However, as history has shown,
manufacturers are a seasoned group of highly skilled professionals capable of finding interesting
ways to reinvent themselves -- often bouncing back even stronger when faced with seemingly
unsurmountable challenges. How manufacturers respond to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak will
ultimately demonstrate their resiliency.

Everything was running smoothly; our lives were on track. The 21st century was blooming like
any other day until we could know our unpredictable future. An outbreak of novel corona virus
began in the city of China, Wuhan which rapidly spread with confirmed cases in many countries.
The virus showed the symptoms of fatigue, sour throat, high fever etc. Later, travel related
transmission were observed in various countries which raised the situation of global health
emergency. Virus spread rapidly across the countries causing deaths and trauma around the globe.
Gradually, it went out of control as it started spreading by infected humans and surface contact,
more and more people went into quarantine. The symptoms advanced to respiratory illness and
lung failure. One by one countries started shutting themselves from public places to international
and domestic transport, schools, colleges, restaurants, courts, shopping malls, gymnasiums, salons,
everything was evacuated. The virus expanded wildly throughout the globe that humans were
forced to sit home. Lockdown has been imposed in all the countries it was an emergency protocol
which prevented people from leaving a given area. The pandemic situation made people live by
technology, they started working from home through web cameras and video conferencing portals.
From corporate sectors to judiciary everyone is working online through technology. Education and
learning also took place through online platforms. Digital technology has brought new innovations
in challenging time. Many of us have been already using phones, digital media and other artificial
gadgets in our day to day lives, but during the current scenario of pandemic, technology has
become even more important to us. During the lockdown, everyone tried to abstain from going out
and doing their work, but technology made the work easier and flexible. The economy of the
countries is not dragging to worst situation just because of the new age technology.

Government mandated lockdown has impacted delivery of traditional education services with
schools and colleges shut. This has led to acceleration in the adoption of edu-tech services and
created a new demand for online education. Edu-tech players like BYJU’s, Unacademy, Toppr,
upGrad, Vedantu, who have often played a supplementary role in a student’s life, have gained a
greater share of importance.

The biggest edu-tech player, BYJU’s, claims a 3X increase in the number of students accessing
their platform, adding up to 57 million students on their platforms. While most start-ups are
scrounging for VC funding, BYJU’s has earned Decacorn status (valuation of $10 billion) after a
funding round led by Bond Capital during this tough period.

The sector has also moved towards consolidation, in a race to become the one-stop platform for
all educational services. Unacademy acquired a leading postgraduate medical entrance exam
preparation platform, PrepLadder. It recently acquired Kreatryx that offered multiple products for
GATE and SSC CGL aspirants. Media reports also indicate the leading edu-tech player, BYJU’s
is in talks to acquire doubt solving search engine Doubt nut and kids coding platform White Hat
Jr.

Response to Covid-19

The Global Innovation Index (GII) 2020, released in September 2020 and co-published by the
World Intellectual Property Organization, Cornell University, and INSEAD, analyzes key global
innovation trends and presents a ranking of the innovation performance of more than 130
economies around the world. This is the 13th year of the report, which launched in 2007.
Although the GII 2020 results were computed amid the coronavirus crisis and thus don’t capture
the full impact of the pandemic, we can use the findings from the GII body of work compiled
over the last decade to form an outlook on the short and medium term.
Since 2009, average innovation expenditures worldwide have been growing faster than GDP.
According to GII estimates, in 2017 and 2018, global R&D grew by 5.0 percent and 5.2 percent,
respectively — in line with the strong growth of the period before the 2008 financial crisis and
significantly stronger than global GDP growth during that same period.

1. During the crisis, support research and development activities as part of emergency measures
and of recovery packages Within an overall context of public funding of STI that should
remain stable or grow during the pandemic, and considering the nature of the COVID-19
crisis, in the short term it is suggested that priority should be given to measures such as:

2. Grants for R&D carried out by academic or public institutions as well as by the private sector
on vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics to treat or prevent the spread of the coronavirus,
particularly those that focus on the specific needs of developing countries;

3. Grants for preparedness, response and prevention research, with a particular emphasis on
digital technologies; Prioritize procurement for health system infrastructure, labs, equipment
and supplies from firms with a stronger commitment to innovation; Emergency loans to firms
(particularly SMEs) conducting R&D relevant to COVID-19 and that were financially hit by
the crisis. It will be equally crucial that recovery packages include a strong component of
fiscal support to STI and to innovation-intensive activities. For instance, smart recovery
packages could present an opportunity to prioritize investments in innovation-enabling
infrastructure, particularly for the digital economy, and support the transition to renewable
energy and more environment friendly manufacturing and services. Along this line, 13
European climate and environment ministers have signed a joint article calling for a
European green deal in response to COVID-19.6 Similar considerations would be relevant to
other regions, including in the developing world.

4. During the crisis, support research and development activities as part of emergency measures
and of recovery packages Within an overall context of public funding of STI that should
remain stable or grow during the pandemic, and considering the nature of the COVID-19
crisis, in the short term it is suggested that priority should be given to measures such as:
Grants for R&D carried out by academic or public institutions as well as by the private sector
 on vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics to treat or prevent the spread of the coronavirus,
particularly those that focus on the specific needs of developing countries; Grants for
preparedness, response and prevention research, with a particular emphasis on digital
technologies; Prioritize procurement for health system infrastructure, labs, equipment and
supplies from firms with a stronger commitment to innovation;

5. Emergency loans to firms (particularly SMEs) conducting R&D relevant to COVID-19 and
that were financially hit by the crisis. It will be equally crucial that recovery packages include
a strong component of fiscal support to STI and to innovation-intensive activities. For
instance, smart recovery packages could present an opportunity to prioritize investments in
innovation-enabling infrastructure, particularly for the digital economy, and support the
transition to renewable energy and more environment friendly manufacturing and services.
Along this line, European climate and environment ministers have signed a joint article
calling for a European green deal in response to COVID-19.6 Similar considerations would
be relevant to other regions, including in the developing world.

6. Support a systems approach to policymaking that includes natural sciences, engineering and
social sciences while a global public health crisis unfolds, it is inevitable that most attention
is focused on medical and public health responses that can deliver solutions to the immediate
problems of stopping the spread of disease and healing the sick. However, a systems
approach that emphasizes multidisciplinary and multisector approaches, is likely to be the
most effective strategy to improve the preparedness and resilience of societies against future
similar threats. This requires sufficient flow of resources to support not just biomedical
research and innovation but a much broader range of scientific and technological knowledge
and its practical applications.

7. Ensure international cooperation and coordinated policy responses COVID-19 is now rapidly
spreading to the developing world where the capacity of public health systems and the
financial resources to address the pandemic are both lower than in developed countries.
International cooperation is more critical than ever, and all relevant actors should work
together to fund, design and deliver solutions, particularly when it comes to developing
science and technology-based solutions.
8. Crowdsourced platforms have also proved to be an important channel for bringing together
the wisdom from universities, industry and government. The national government launched
the COVID-19 solution challenge on March 16 that invites innovators to offer ideas and
solutions for tackling the pandemic. Industry associations such as the Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry collaborated in an online hackathon to develop non-
medical solutions for COVID-19. Similar crowdsourced platforms from start-up incubators
such as Break Corona received 1,300 ideas and 180 product solutions within two days of
launch. In another effort, volunteers have set up an online crowdsourced portal called Corona
safe-Network, a real-time open-source public platform containing details on COVID-19
precautions, tools and responses which serves as a useful starter-kit for innovators.
9. Small and medium-sized enterprises are innovating more in response to the coronavirus
crisis. Already, 27% of enterprises have introduced product, process or business model
innovations. If we add those companies who are still planning to do this, that share rises to
43%. This is a remarkably high share, not just because the crisis broke out a short time ago. It
shows that innovating is an important way for SMEs to tackle the crisis. Businesses that have
suffered heavy losses in turnover, above all, are focusing on innovation, with a share of 41%.
Companies that have already introduced innovations in the past are also more likely to
innovate in the crisis (42% compared with 30% of businesses without innovation activity in
the past years). This shows that innovative enterprises are capable of responding to crises at
short notice. That makes them more crisis-resilient than others. However, innovations
resulting from the coronavirus crisis are less likely to be R&D-based and are implemented in
the company almost without any lead time. This allows the conclusion that they are not the
result of more long-term development processes but often represent measures that can be
adopted on an ad hoc basis. In return, the companies’ tight financial situation is likely to
actually cause more fundamental innovation projects to be spread over a longer period,
reduced in scope or abandoned entirely. So there is reason to fear that the coronavirus crisis
will adversely impact the development of fundamental innovations in the SME sector.

Innovation in the era of covid-19

Epidemics and pandemics have rooted the world since ages. From H1N1, Ebola, SARS we have
been learning to develop ourselves more with the advent of each outbreak. Technology couldn’t
vanish the situations but could help in its spreading, empowering and warning people. There was
an increase in the demand of hand sanitizers and masks which led to immense shortage of the both.
So, to fight the shortage new.

Automatic Mask Machines' manufactured masks which were 40% cheaper than imported masks.
Rudhaar a very low-cost ventilator was launched together, by the team of scientists and engineers
in India. Just like Rudhaar, Jeeva Setu ventilator by REVA University was an innovation. An
Indian Navy doctor developed a very low-cost PPE kit “NavRakshak”. These PPE kits are made
of breathable fabric and could be used in hot and humid weather conditions. Wireless
thermometers which detects the temperature within some distance without actually touching the
people are being seen at offices, airports, hospitals, railway stations and at other crowded places.
Innovation of robotic technology in healthcare system, businesses etc. is a step forward to fight
with the virus. There is no stop in the use of technology and innovation in the challenging situation
of pandemic. This technological advancement has made us reach to the far better conditions, which
would not have been possible without data science.

Health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic highlight the urgency of finding solutions to a
number of problems. Business innovation and startups can identify unmet needs and respond with
proposals to provide effective solutions to certain aspects of the pandemic. 1 One of the greatest
challenges for innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems in the LAC region in a context such as
this one is the coordination capacity of stakeholders in each ecosystem to respond swiftly, both to
emergencies and to ongoing needs. This challenge is particularly complex when stakeholders
cannot meet in person to solve coordination problems quickly.

Different field and their innovation amid covid-19

While we cannot solve challenging problems overnight, the engagement of companies,

universities, governments, non-profits, and individuals around the world has shown that society
can focus on tackling real-world challenges quickly. Early research emanating from universities
and health agencies in China helped the rest of the world understand the impact of COVID-19,
and scientific research efforts continue to grow worldwide. Healthcare workers are our heroes in
saving lives, but are also changing how healthcare is delivered. Rapid testing kits to detect the
virus were developed within weeks, including Alibaba’s machine-learning image-detection
model, which detects COVID-19 in 15 seconds. Meanwhile, vaccine development is well
underway.

Financing can also be a challenge. Although there are programs aimed at supporting the
development of new ideas, they must now compete with other initiatives, especially health
response initiatives, for resources. In addition, similar to MSMEs, startups are confronting both
demand-side and supply-side constraints in the supply of parts, components, services by vendors,
and other critical inputs, which may threaten the survival of MSMEs in the short term.

While fighting the novel corona virus, new technology and innovations have evolved, Countries
across globe are advancing with technological possibilities. With most of the world’s workforce
especially the white-collar workers are working from home, students are attending online lectures,
health ministries and judiciary are having roundtable conferences while sitting at home, essentials
are being delivered at home, entertainment media is boosting their profit.

• Explosion of Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and other online portals Due to increasing
demand of working from home in the pandemic there is an explosion of demand for
communication portals from companies like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack etc. But these
changes are not short term, these crises may change our working in the future. The “WFH”
concept is a boost for all cloud companies and especially the collaboration and meeting tools.
Remote work is the new normal which saves commute time and provide much more flexibility.
Mental and psychological apps help in reducing stress and anxiety.
• The widespread coverage of COVID -19 situation and practice of social distancing made
people feel more stressed and anxious. Excess use of smartphones and other digital appliances
are making everyone restless. So, to combat the stress and anxiety there are many smartphone
apps made available. Multiple digital and wellness apps are now open for free membership.
One of them is headspace which provides collection of meditation and mindful content,
especially to fight against COVID -19.
• Development of apps to help in detecting Covid-19 symptoms and situations. Many
government agencies, universities and companies have launched the apps that are helping to
know the real time situation of COVID-19. These apps also provide us updates about number
of corona virus cases in our surroundings. Aarogya Setu in India and COVID Symptom Study
 are the apps provided by the respective government to their natives to track about the
contracted people in their surroundings and the current situation of COVID19. These are
tracking apps which use the smartphone's GPS and Bluetooth features to track the coronavirus
infection.
• Tourism is one of the most significantly impacted sectors due to worldwide government
imposed lockdowns not seen in over a century. Tourism contributes to 10% of the global GDP
amounting to nearly $9 trillion. Covid-19 will primarily accelerate innovation and digital
transformation in India’s travel and tourism industry that contributed to about 9.2% of the
India’s GDP in 2018 according to UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Travel,
aviation and lodging companies will be on the lookout for win-win B2B partnerships that will
help them recover and thrive in the post-Covid world. Consequently, government restrictions
on movement and tourist traffic became a general trend. In addition to the economic downturn,
it is the reason why international tourism took a severe hit. Considering the fact that tourism
is one of the largest and fastest-growing industries globally, a huge effort should be undertaken
for tourism to reach back to its core capacities in the present situation. The situation needs to
be strategically addressed with proactive measures for tourism to regain socio-economic
stability after the pandemic. This industry includes air, sea and land transportation, food supply
chain, accommodation sector, entertainment, recreation, etc. Consequently, there is a wide area
of businesses proposing changes, and mostly because the post-COVID tourists will not be the
same as pre-COVID ones. Innovative solutions regarding safety and hygiene measures, as well
as the proximity of medical facilities, will be of key importance in meeting the public’s
expectations.
During a global crisis, the tourism and hospitality industry usually takes the strongest punch,
being one of the strong pillars of the modern socio-economic system.

• The COVID-19 pandemic is driving transformation in the food and nutrition industry at a
pace never witnessed before. Businesses are rushing to take steps to adapt their offerings in
the face of this new landscape, one that could be altered permanently even after we make it
out the other side. The closing of borders, shortage of workers, and lockdown of the out-of-
home channel are posing immediate challenges to the highly globalized food sector and thus
to our food supply itself. These new ways of producing, sourcing, processing, distributing,
and consuming healthier foods could become the “new normal”
• The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that followed have disrupted private food
supply chains and the public support systems the poor rely on for food and good nutrition.
In India, the National Informatics Centre created the “Kisan Rath” mobile app to help
farmers and traders find vehicles to move their fruits and vegetables to market. In Malawi,
farmers are reportedly adding value to products otherwise lost—tomatoes into pastes, for
example—and using online advertising platforms to get the word out. In Oman, the Ministry
of Agriculture and Fisheries has established an online auctioning platform to enable
electronic bidding for fish. Innovations in distribution have likewise been driven by
government, as well as by communities themselves. In India, an amendment to the
Agriculture Produce Market Committee Acts now allows farmers to sell their harvests from
multiple locations and to any buyer, rather than just in designated markets. In Fiji, the
Agriculture Marketing Authority stepped in to buy fresh foods direct from suppliers unable
to travel to market, selling them on at no added cost to market vendors. In Nepal,
communities established “Agri-ambulances” to get vegetables from farm to market.

Suggestions:

1. We can research, experiment, and innovate quickly

2. There is an increased focus on empathy and solving real-world problems: As an
entrepreneurship professor, I meet lots of aspiring entrepreneurs. While incremental
improvements to existing business models are of course beneficial, I am most excited when I
work with entrepreneurs who are attempting to tackle the real problems facing our society.
Devastating situations like the COVID-19 crisis highlight issues such as inequality in access
to healthcare, food insecurity, and homelessness, both globally and in our local communities.
For most people reading this, staying at home is an inconvenience, but these times are likely
far more challenging for those less fortunate.
3. We need to—and can—collaborate for change: Complex problem-solving is not easy. A
diversity of skills and knowledge is essential to creating big solutions. While globalization
helped spread the virus, co-creation with others around the world can help solve this crisis.
We are fortunate to live in a time when the Internet is available to facilitate collaboration
initiatives
India needs to sustain and enhance this entrepreneurial mindset to create the next wave of
innovation to continue the fight against COVID-19 and for the socio-economic recovery once
lock-down restrictions begin to ease.
With COVID-19, we are seeing innovations emerging based on empathy for those around us.
Organizations in multiple sectors are applying concepts such as design thinking, systems
thinking, and lean startup to use their human capital to problem-solve quickly. This
demonstrated effort suggests that in the future, other big real-world challenges could also be
tackled with a sense of urgency through innovation. I do not doubt that if we maintain this
focus on customers and real-world issues, we will start to see better products on the market
and live in a better society.