Virtual Research & Development
Research capability without the research department. We investigate, document and position your innovation — structured around Intellectual Property from the first day.
What Virtual R&D means?
Most organisations with a good idea do not have a research department. Building one is expensive and slow, and for a single problem it rarely makes sense. Virtual R&D gives you that capability on demand — you bring the problem, we bring the researchers, the patent databases and the technical literature.
What makes it different from generic consulting is the lens. Every study is run with patentability in mind, so what you get back is not just knowledge but knowledge positioned for protection — and, where it makes sense, for commercialization through IPBANK INDIA.
Problems it solves
- "Has someone already done this?" — prior art and patent landscape studies before you invest in development.
- "Is this technically feasible?" — structured feasibility research instead of expensive trial and error.
- "Where is our field heading?" — technology landscape mapping showing who is filing what, and where the white space is.
- "We have research but no IP." — identifying what in your existing work is protectable before it is published away.
- "We cannot justify a full R&D team." — project-scoped capability with no permanent headcount.
Services & capabilities
How the process works
Confidential briefing
We sign a confidentiality agreement, then understand the problem, your constraints and what a useful answer would look like.
Scope & proposal
A written scope with defined deliverables, timeline and cost — before any work begins.
Landscape research
Patent databases and technical literature are searched systematically to establish what already exists.
Technical investigation
Feasible directions are explored and assessed against your practical constraints.
IP assessment
Findings are reviewed for what is protectable — and what must not be disclosed publicly before filing.
Documented handover
You receive the full findings with references and recommendations. The work and any IP arising are yours.
Protection & next steps
Where something protectable emerged, we can move directly into drafting and filing — or into commercialization.
Key benefits
- No permanent overhead — capability scoped per project, not per year.
- Fail cheaply, early — discovering a blocked direction in week three beats discovering it in year two.
- Protection-aware from day one — research conducted so that findings stay patentable.
- You own everything — ownership defined in writing before work starts.
- A route to market — protectable output can go straight to IPBANK INDIA for licensing or transfer.
Who can use this
Relevant experience
Research that reached industry
Through our institutional IP Cell work, research-stage innovations have been protected and then transferred into industry — including healthcare technology and engineering designs now commercialised through IPBANK INDIA.
See commercialization stories →
PLACEHOLDER — add a specific Virtual R&D case study here once one is cleared for publication.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly is Virtual R&D?
How is this different from just hiring a consultant?
Who owns the IP created during a Virtual R&D engagement?
Is my information kept confidential?
How long does a typical engagement take?
Can startups afford this?
What if the research shows my idea is not viable?
Do you work with institutions as well as companies?
Related services
What do you need to find out
Tell us the problem. We will tell you honestly whether research can answer it, what it would take, and what it would cost.