Mumbai: US-based invention investment company Intellectual Ventures and Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay on Monday signed a pact to license and commercialize inventions of students and faculty of the institute.

The treaty, signed by Ashok Misra, chairman Intellectual Ventures (India) and Krithi Ramamritham, dean reasearch and development of IIT-B, is expected to result in the wider dissemination and practical utilization of inventions generated by IIT-B faculty, students and staff.

Intellectual Ventures (IV), a pre-venture capital company, will both license IIT-B inventions accepted under this programme and work on a number of possible commercialization strategies for them, Misra said.

“IV will pay IIT-B fees for such licensing and also bear the cost of patenting associated with these inventions,” he said.

IV will also set up an intellectual centre within a year at IIT-B in an area of 4,000 sq feet to hold workshops and interact with faculty and students, Misra said.

The engagement between IIT-B and IV is expected to enhance the atmosphere for invention at the institute and also encourage more innovators to address important technological problems, Ramamritham said.