Toycathon: A JKSCERT initiative | Workshop on Design Registry and Intellectual Property Rights

Under the guidance of Director JKSCERT Prof. Parikshat Singh Manhas, the Department of Education in Art and Vocation, State Council of Educational Research and Trainings JK organised a Mega Workshop on the Design Registry from 21^ST - 22^ND December 2023. The two day workshop which was held in the Seminar Hall of Division Office SCERT-KD is first of its kind by its nature and purpose. The workshop was organised to register the design and the innovative ideas designed and developed by the students under the Toycathon.

The Toycathon is the JKSCERT initiative under which the students develop and design the innovative toys at school level then these toys are examined at Zonal level, District level and Divisional level and a grand finale is organised at the Divisional level in which the best toys are selected for certification on the basis of being innovative, culturally aligned and environment friendly.

This year the director took the initiative to the next level. The Director JKSCERT through his visionary leadership and extra-ordinary-efforts made it possible to have the patent registry of the best toys on the basis of uniqueness, innovative and conceptually future oriented at the UT level.

The experts in the workshop who examined the selected toys for the Design Registry were from the reputed institution of the nation like Shri Parameswar Saha, Assistant Controller of Patents & Design, Controller General Of Patent Design and Trade Marks Kolkata, Shri Ejjirothu Srihari, Examiner of Patents & Designs, Controller General Of Patent Design and Trade Marks Chennai and Mr. Deepak Mehra from the IP Mitra, Mumbai Maharashtra.

The students who participated and presented their toys and innovations for patent registration in the workshop were from the 10 district of Kashmir division. The team of experts examined the selected toys and innovations and after the professional examination finalized 57 toys and other innovative ideas for registrations in two days from the Kashmir division.

The main objective of the workshop was to have the patent registration and to secure and protect the intellectual property rights for the budding innovators, artists and the entrepreneurs of Jammu and Kashmir. A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention. It provides the patent owner the right to decide how - or whether - the invention can be used by others.

In exchange for this right, the patent owner makes technical information about the invention publicly available in the published patent document. It is to encourage and protect the innovative and creative efforts of the young minds by securing their ownership of their original works (Intellectual Property Rights).

Mr. Deepak Mehra from the IP Mitra while presenting his views with regard to the workshop and the innovative toys said that the experiencing in this workshop has been mind-blowing and the workshop proved that the students of the Jammu and Kashmir are second to none in the field of scientific temper, problem solving, inclusiveness and innovation. He said that this is the first time in the history of patent registration that the officers from the Patent Institutions are visiting any educational institution for the on-site registration.

The IP Mitra Officer hailed the efforts of the Director JKSCERT Prof Parikshat Sing Manhas for convincing the Controller General of Patent Designs and Trade Marks for the on-site registration in Jammu and Kashmir.

The said officer also thanked the students and the coordinating team for their spirit, dedication and hard work which they put for making the workshop a grand success. In his massage he said that the 21st century belongs to the innovations and the students who are innovative in their thought and actions are destined to rule and these events actually can change the future of nation.

Mesmerized by the paper art work of the students, Mr. Deepak Mehra bought a toy from a class 7th student namely Wajida Abid (Tibatian Public School Hawal, Srinagar) in the workshop and became the first customer of the young student. He publicly accepted that he has never seen such a beautiful paper art work.

Besides the students, escort teachers and the technical experts the workshop was attended by the In Charge SCERT-KD Prof. Dr. Zahoor Ahmad Dar, Estate Officer Mr. Mohammad Sultan Khan, the other officers and faculty members from the Division Office and the Central Move Office of SCERT, Kashmir. It is important to mention that the coordinating team of the workshop comprised of Mtr. Shagufta Nazir, Mr. Vivak Jindyal, Mr. Latif Ahmad Rather and Mtr. Bilquees Azra. The supporting team included Mr. Syed Hamid Bukhari, Mtr. Muthaira Haneef, Mtr. Babra Shabir and Mtr. Dilshada Bano.

Masood Ali Mir is Senior Academic Officer at SCERT-JK