Intellectual Property Strategist
Pratap Devarapalli
Pratap Devarapalli
Dr. Pratap is an internationally renowned Intellectual Property Strategist and Patent researcher with expertise in dealing with Intellectual Property issues in relation to emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Biotechnology and Synthetic biology. He is a Research Academic at the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Queensland, Australia, and an affiliate fellow at several prestigious Australian Research Council (ARC) Centres, such as ARC Centre of Excellence in Quantum Biotechnology, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Centre and Centre for Policy Futures.
Pratap earned his PhD from the Centre for Law and Genetics at University of Tasmania, Australia. He holds a Master of Law (LLM) in Intellectual Property from Queensland University of Technology where he was a recipient of the prestigious International Fellowship offered by United Nations World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). His academic journey also includes a Master’s degree in Genomics and a Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology.
Throughout his career, Pratap has played a crucial role in shaping global intellectual property discourse. He has held visiting research fellowships at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in Germany and has been a guest faculty member at the WIPO Academy in Switzerland. He was also invited by the Government of Japan to assist the Japanese Patent Office in harmonizing Japanese Patent Law concerning AI innovations. Pratap has an extensive publication record, with over 30 journal articles, four book chapters, a book and a policy report. One of his recent books titled “Bioinked Boundaries” was published with Springer Nature publishers.
Pratap continues to contribute to the global conversation on IP and emerging technologies through research, policy advisory roles, and academic engagements. His interdisciplinary expertise and commitment to innovation make him a leader in the field of intellectual property law and technology.
Invited Fellow
Max Planck Institute of Innovation and Competition, Munich
2023, 2025
International Fellowship under Indo-Denmark Flagship project, Demark
FEBRUARY 2013
ACHIEVEMENTS
Invited Researcher
Institute of Intellectual property, Japanese Patent Office
2018
Pratap's Latest Research
Abstract
Machine learning is a major class of artificial intelligence that enables machines to learn from their experiences without being explicitly programmed. The programs and machines that are equipped with this path-breaking technology have been producing creative works that have given rise to one of the major research questions of this article: “Who owns the rights over intelligent machine-created works?” This article has tried to answer this question by interpreting the copyright laws of different jurisdictions from an authorship and ownership perspective. Secondly, it provides an analysis of the case law of different jurisdictions that have defined copyright ownership and authorship with respect to machine-generated works. Additionally, this article sheds some light on different arguments and expert opinions in relation to the authorship and ownership aspects of works generated by artificial intelligence systems. Finally, this article provides the author’s opinions and recommendations in relation to the issue and proposes a future model for the protection of creative works generated by intelligent machines.
Abstract
Patenting bioinformatic inventions has become a ride on the rail to the scientists and inventors. Specifically
in bioinformatics, drafting an invention in bounds of patentability criteria is one the most critical task for an
inventor to protect his invention. As bioinformatics is a budding field of science, patentable subject matter in bioinformatics was not specifically defined by most of the patent offices in the world. In this regard, we have tried to explain the patentable subject matter in bioinformatics by classifying bioinformatics into different subject fields. Additionally, we have tried to trace out the patentable subject matter for bioinformatic inventions based on country specific patentability standards and granted bioinformatic patents of US, Europe, India, Canada and Australia.
Abstract
Patenting medical therapeutic methods has become one of the toughest tasks for inventors and scientists in some jurisdictions where these methods are excluded from patentable subject matter. There are recent amendments by different countries in relation to patentability aspects of Therapeutic methods. In this scenario, analysis of these recent amendments would provide a path for researchers in the field to identify whether their inventions are considered as patentable subject matter. Our analysis sheds some light on different statutes and regulations of major jurisdictions on the patentable subject matter and patentability aspects of therapeutic methods. Furthermore, we have identified that most of the jurisdictions restrict inventors in patenting therapeutic methods. However, some countries such as United States and Australia allow patents related to therapeutic methods. We think adapting different strategies that are provided in this article would help researchers, inventors and patent attorneys in patenting the inventions related to therapeutic methods. Moreover, while applying the provided strategies, it is suggested that inventors should draft the patent claims by keeping a note of different statutes and regulations of countries in which they are interested to file the patent applications.
Bioethanol is considered as one of the best alternatives to fossil fuels as unwanted biomass is converted into fuel ethanol. As there is increasing demand for fuel ethanol, researchers have started looking for some better ways to produce ethanol. In light of the present scenario, we have attempted to develop a global patent landscape view of xylose utilization in ethanol production. Our country-specific patent analysis has revealed that most of the research on xylose-utilizing ethanol production is carried out in the USA followed by China and Sweden. Moreover, it has been found that more patent applications/grants have been claimed for processes, followed by recombinant strains. Patent publication trends for genes and enzymes have shown that most of the research is focused on the xylA gene and xylulokinase. Assignee patenting trends suggest that Du Pont is the major player in xylose-utilizing ethanol production research. Additionally, analysis based on micro-organisms used in xylose-utilizing ethanol production revealed that most of the research has been performed using Saccharomyces cerevisiae to enhance the ethanol yields.
Turritopsis nutricula (T. nutricula) is the one of the known reported organisms that can revert its life cycle to the polyp stage even after becoming sexually mature, defining itself as the only immortal organism in the animal kingdom. Therefore, the animal is having prime importance in basic biological, aging, and biomedical researches. However, till date, the genome of this organism has not been sequenced and even there is no molecular phylogenetic study to reveal its close relatives. Here, using phylogenetic analysis based on available 16s rRNA gene and protein sequences of Cytochrome oxidase subunit-I (COI or COX1) of T. nutricula, we have predicted the closest relatives of the organism. While we found Nemopsis bachei could be closest organism based on COX1 gene sequence; T. dohrnii may be designated as the closest taxon to T.nutricula based on rRNA. Moreover, we have figured out four species that showed similar root distance based on COX1 protein sequence.
