Technology Watch
National Metallurgical Laboratory (NML) here was on the threshold of acquiring its first ever international patent for a magnetic sensor technology developed by its scientists after five years of research, sources said.
NML has several national patents in its name. The technology enables detection of structural details and flaws inside materials and commodities.
Once approved, it would be marketed commercially in the US, Europe, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and Australia, the largest market in the world for this type of technology and process, sources added.
A senior NML scientist said that the institute has already received letters of clearance regarding its application for the patent from the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
It had prepared a background paper for circulation among countries where the new technology could be assessed and also find users.
The NML source said the international patent would help the lab to market its services in the international market.
The new technology was novel, non-obvious and has industrial applications, all of which made it eligible for a global patent.
If the NML patent application was accepted, the patent approval would come through in a couple of months with technology protection for 20 years.
For the first time in its 50 years of existence, NML had filed for seven patent cooperation treaty (PCT) application for international patents in March 2003.
A group of 16 scientists at NML have developed new technology in the areas of catalysts, sensors, waste utilisation and advanced materials over a period of five years.
WIPO has completed the review of the applications submitted, said the NML source. The lab
