By Suhani Trivedi
The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy (SHANTI) Act, 2025 consolidates India’s nuclear energy laws, replacing outdated 1962 and 2010 statutes, to promote private and foreign investment in nuclear power generation, strengthen regulatory oversight via AERB, and, under Section 14, recalibrate liability by placing residual exposure beyond the Second Schedule on the Union Government, thereby advancing India’s clean energy and net-zero objectives.
It is a major step forward in enhancing India’s nuclear energy ecosystem by fostering technological progress, research, and innovation while promoting safe and responsible use of nuclear technology. With India aiming to boost its clean energy generation and minimise fossil fuel reliance, the role of innovation in nuclear science becomes significant.
Intellectual property rights (IPRs) are therefore important in this context because they stimulate research, safeguard technological innovations, and encourage investment in public and private research and development. This framework is reflected in the Patents Act, 1970, which governs patent protection in India, and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), particularly Articles 27 to 34, which establish minimum international standards for patent protection.
The technological progress of the nuclear industry, meanwhile, brings its own set of concerns, such as national security, public safety and international non-proliferation requirements. The SHANTI Act aims to balance the interests of innovation and the interests of the public as a whole.
This article delves into the intellectual property protection as provided in SHANTI Act with a special focus on patent protection, technology transfer and innovation in nuclear energy. It examines legal and policy issues arising from the protection of nuclear IP rights, while keeping in mind national security considerations and public interest.
The Importance of Intellectual Property Rights in Nuclear Innovation
IPRs are important incentives to encourage innovation by safeguarding ideas and inventions of researchers, scientists and organizations. The legal basis for these protections is found in the Patents Act, 1970, which prescribes the criteria for patentability and identifies non-patentable inventions, while Article 27 of the TRIPS Agreement requires WTO Members to make patents available for inventions in all fields of technology, subject to specified conditions.
In an industry such as nuclear power, where new technology is being developed that needs a lot of investment, the years of research needed and advanced scientific knowledge involved make IP protection an incentive to further innovation by allowing the inventor to benefit from it. This legal measure helps build trust in safer and more efficient nuclear technologies among public institutions and private companies.
The SHANTI Act acknowledges the significance of technological progress towards long-term energy goals of India. Section 38 of the SHANTI Act, 2025 permits patents for inventions relating to peaceful uses of nuclear energy and radiation, fostering research and innovation while barring patents on strategically reserved activities.
Development of innovative technologies like advanced reactor design, radiation safety technology, nuclear waste management technology, and improvements in fuel-cycle technology can help advance science and bolster the nation’s clean energy infrastructure.
Patent Protection and Technology Transfer under the SHANTI Act
A major driver to foster innovation in the nuclear industry is patent protection. Section 38 of the SHANTI Act, 2025 provides patent protection for inventions relating to nuclear technology, including advanced reactor designs, radiation safety systems, fuel-cycle technologies, and waste management processes. Such protection is available only where the invention satisfies the requirements of novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability under Sections 2(1)(j) and 2(1)(ja) of the Patents Act, 1970.
The Act fosters research, public institutions and private enterprises to invest in technologies that enhance the efficiency, safety and sustainability of nuclear energy.
Along with patent protection, the SHANTI Act highlights how important technology transfer is in bringing scientific innovations out of the lab and into the real world. The technology transfer process allows knowledge, expertise and inventions to be transferred from research institutions to commercial enterprises via patenting, joint research, public-private partnerships and international institutions.
In the case of nuclear technology transfer, however, it is very different from transfer of ordinary commercial technologies. Nuclear technologies tend to be associated with strategic and security issues and the transfer should happen under a tightly managed legal environment, with the proper government control and respect for India’s international obligations.
The delicate balance between IP Rights, National Security and Public Interest
The need to strike a balance between the protection of IPR, national security and the public interest is one of the major issues under the SHANTI Act. While patents promote innovation through granting exclusive rights to inventors, the nuclear industry has a unique regulatory framework due to some of the strategic and security aspects of many nuclear technologies.
The Act encourages research and technological advancement, and acknowledges the requirement for protection of sensitive information. The patent system, in general, requires disclosure of technical details, but for some inventions involving nuclear technology, confidentiality may be necessary not to endanger national security, accordingly, Section 39 of the SHANTI Act overrides the RTI Act, 2005, allowing the government to declare such nuclear-related information “restricted” and exempt from disclosure.
This is based on the idea that intellectual property rights, as a legal right, can be justifiably subject to reasonable public interest regulation, reflected in Patents Act Sections 84–92, which allow compulsory licensing, and Section 100, which permits government use of patents with compensation, consistent with TRIPS Article 31’s allowance for authorized use without consent under defined conditions.
Problems in safeguarding nuclear IP
Legal, technical and policy issues arise when it comes to protecting IP in the nuclear energy industry. Nuclear technologies are particularly sensitive, as they contain a great deal of information which is relevant to national security, public safety and international relations. Therefore, a well-balanced legal regime is needed for effective IP protection and for ensuring that the strategic technologies are not used in an unethical manner.
One of the big problems is keeping information confidential while at the same time encouraging innovation. Normally, patenting an invention involves revealing the invention to the public, in return for which the patentee gets exclusive rights to it, but disclosure of some nuclear technologies could lead to security concerns or be inconsistent with India’s international commitments on non-proliferation. It is, therefore, up to policymakers to decide whether innovations are appropriate for patent protection or should be kept confidential.
The other challenge is to encourage technology transfer and avoid unauthorized access to sensitive technology. Research institutions, universities, government bodies and private firms must work together to make scientific advances possible. But low protection levels can lead to the risk of intellectual property theft, cyberattacks, or the misuse of confidential information. Enhanced cyber security, confidentiality and regulatory oversight are therefore critical.
—Suhani Trivedi is a second-year LL.B. student of Lloyd Law College, Greater Noida
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