India’s journey towards technological sovereignty is gaining momentum, with a strong focus on 6G and deep tech innovation. The country’s aspiration to become a deep-tech superpower is not just an ambition but a strategic necessity in the global tech landscape.
The foundation of modern infrastructure relies heavily on technical standards such as 5GWi-Fi and media codecs, which ensure interoperability among devices. The intellectual property (IP) that enables this interoperability is housed in Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) licensed under Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) terms within an international legal framework.
India’s Patent Boom and Commercialization Challenges
India has witnessed a dramatic increase in patent filings, with a remarkable 180% rise and over 100,000 granted patents last year. This surge is driven by higher domestic activity in deep-tech technologies. However, beneath this statistical momentum lies a significant challenge: the commercialization chasm. Despite ranking sixth globally in patent volume and surpassing China in digital services and ICT exports, India remains a net consumer and licensee of foreign technologies.
The disconnect between technical expertise, strategies for patent monetization, and legal architectures for licensing is a critical barrier. This results in an outflow of valuable funds as license fees and patent royalties. To address this, India needs to strengthen its in-house innovation capabilities and transition from a historically assembly- and manufacturing-heavy economy into an IP-led, innovation-driven economy.
The Financial and Institutional Barriers
Two major obstacles to the industrial deployment of Indian IP are financial starvation and institutional friction. India’s historically low expenditure on R&D, languishing at 0.5% of GDP, is a critical barrier. The public sector contributes 0.3% of GDP, while the private sector accounts for a mere 0.2%. This stark contrast to other economies, where private capital overwhelmingly finances frontier research, highlights the need for a shift.
Deep-tech ventures require long incubation periods and high upfront capital investment, making them poorly aligned with the risk profiles and time horizons of traditional venture capital networks. Compounding these constraints are severe regulatory and administrative bottlenecks. The average patent pendency period in India spans an onerous 40 to 50 months, a duration that can prove fatal in hyper-dynamic sectors where technology cycles go obsolete rapidly.
University IP Ownership Rules
Rigid university IP ownership rules often impede commercial progress with academic advancement. Several universities insist on retaining full patent ownership, disincentivizing faculty founders, researchers, and student inventors from pursuing commercial spin-offs independently or seeking external market capitalization. Universities must reorient some PhD programs to prioritize prototype development, while early-stage incubators must embed IP education and legal advisory support.
The Bharat 6G Alliance and Global Ambitions
Leadership in technology exports requires a shift from being a standard consumer to becoming an active contributor. The Bharat 6G Alliance is playing a pivotal role in this regard. The strategic objective is ambitious: capturing 10% of all global 6G SEPs. The broader economic incentives are clear, with Indian deep-tech enterprises successfully raising over USD 1 billion in equity funding in 2025, signaling a shift where international investors increasingly view patent portfolios as a prerequisite for capital allocation.
An intense debate has emerged regarding whether the state should actively regulate SEP licensing. Current international empirical evidence strongly suggests a strategy of cooperation over rigid state intervention. A highly prescriptive SEP regulation in the European Union was recently introduced but ultimately withdrawn following intense criticism for being arbitrary, disproportionate, lacking empirical evidence of market failure, and risking long-term harm to the open standards ecosystem.
The Role of the Indian Judiciary
The commercialization of 6G is dependent on a stable and predictable IP enforcement regime. For private enterprises to commit substantial capital for high-risk R&D, legal frameworks must ensure reliability in protection and valuation. The Indian judiciary has offered a principled framework for IP adjudication, but enhancements in judicial capacity would further bolster investor confidence. Conversely, prescriptive regulatory interventions risk imposing transaction costs and administrative burdens, potentially stifling the very incentives that drive technological advancement.
The India judiciary possesses a distinct institutional advantage. The Delhi High Court has demonstrated sophistication and jurisprudential agility in managing SEP disputes. By providing pragmatic guidance on pro tem orders, balanced royalty ranges, and the adjudication of FRAND terms, the judiciary has balanced enforceable rights with the broader public interest.
To become a sovereign deep-tech superpower, India must cultivate a modern, innovation-led licensing ecosystem. Over half of India’s deep-tech startups originate from universities, underscoring the value of knowledge transfer, joint IP exploration, and shared laboratories. India’s 6G destiny hinges on a decisive shift: prioritizing high-impact innovation over traditional approaches.
