Deadline: 1 April 2025
The Centre for Research in Innovation Law for Shared Prosperity (CRISP) at BITS Law School, Mumbai (under BITS Pilani in India) invites applications for the Innovation Law & Policy Fellowship 2025 (“Fellowship”), May 2025 ‒ Jan 2026.
The Fellowship provides a platform to undertake legal and policy research in contemporary areas of technology innovation in wireless, information & communication technologies (ICTs). Patents are essential to the creation and functioning of technical standards in fast moving communication technologies, such Wi-Fi and 5G/6G, help consumers, industries, and nations in more ways than one. As one of the fastest growing markets globally, India is moving towards being an innovation-driven economy with impetus on domestic R&D, in-house innovation, facilitation to technology startups, and protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) for shared prosperity of society.
In this area, law & policy debates are important because (1) these technologies are complex and necessary in various industries, (2) the process of development of technical standards is long and dynamic, (3) IP regimes are required to be unambiguous and robust, and (4) the jurisprudence on IP licensing in these technologies continues to emerge and evolve.
Thematic Areas
- Role of IPRs in an innovation economy with a focus on mobile communication technologies
- Policy discourse and emerging jurisprudence on IPRs in mobile communications technologies
- Creation and commercialization of IP in India by startups and SMEs with a focus on patents
Benefits and Support
- This is an opportunity to work on a LLM/PhD/post-doc proposal and/or to get a high-quality research publication.
- Along with access to research material and legal databases, Fellows will gain from networking with various experts.
- CRISP will offer a monthly stipend of Rs. 5,000 to each eligible and selected Fellow for 9 months.
- The cost of logistics for in-person and online meetings will be borne by CRISP for each Fellow.
- An award of Rs. 2,00,000/- to be given to one Fellow whose research is determined as outstanding by the jury.
Eligibility Criteria
- Scholars, lawyers and researchers residing in India and working/studying in law, policy, technology, and business with interest in the above mentioned areas, especially tech innovation & IPRs in startups in India, are welcome to apply.
- Students in advanced stages of law school, postgraduate students enrolled in a law program, registered PhD/post-doc students, early-stage lawyers, and law researchers in research organizations are particularly encouraged to apply.
For more information, visit BITS Law School.
