Expressing satisfaction over the reforms introduced in examining and granting of patents, designs, copyrights and trademarks, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday said that the 'ease of doing business' will go a long way in catapulting India as an innovation hub.
His remarks came at a meeting held to review the functioning of the Office of Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks in Mumbai last evening and deliberated on ways to build a robust Intellectual Property Rights infrastructure.
Goyal reiterated the Government's commitment to bolster the ecosystem of patents, design, trademarks, GI (Geographical Indication) systems; to encourage innovation, research and development in the country and bring newer inventions and knowledge from India's heritage systems to a global platform.
He emphasised that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been closely monitoring developments in this field since 2014 itself.
Goyal while speaking about the CGPDT's speedy disposal of applications informed, "The pendency in the IPR department has come down drastically. It has also been decided that any pending application should be completed within days and not months."
Goyal also mentioned the reduction in fees allowed by the department in order to help and support startups and women entrepreneurs in the country. Filing fees for Startups, MSMEs, women entrepreneurs has been reduced by 80 per cent.
The Minister added that emphasis has been laid on using Digital means. Every application is now processed online from start to finish, hearings are conducted on phones, people do not have to travel to patent offices now.
Goyal also made a few suggestions to make the whole process more user friendly. He called for more efforts to increase awareness about the GI tag and its significance. He also asked to consider instituting scholarships for students studying Intellectual Property law as well as engage faculty from renowned institutions on a part-time basis to help in the patent examination process.As per a statement issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, officials of CGPDT briefed how the IP process has been simplified and streamlined than before and also about the re-engineering of the whole process including new timelines for disposal and shift to digital mode to promote ease of filing and obtaining services. For example, under Trade Mark Rules 74 Forms have been replaced by 8 Consolidated Forms.
They also mentioned that special care is being given to expedite examination of patents filed especially for applications filed by Startups, women entrepreneurs etc. While assessing impact of measures taken, it is noted that E-filing has increased from 30 per cent to more than 95 per cent, said the ministry.
It stated that India has also seen a rapid increase in grants of patents, copyrights in the last 5-6 years. The number of patents granted has gone up from 6,326 in 2015-16 to 28,391 in 2020-21, while Trade Marks registration has shot up from 65,045 in 2015-16 to 2,55,993 in 2020-21. Similarly, while 4,505 Copyrights were granted in 2015-16, a total of 16,402 were granted last fiscal, said the ministry.
It said that these developments have reflected positively in the improvement of India's ranking in the Global Innovation Index. India has climbed 33 notches from 81st position in 2015-16 to 48th in 2020.
( With inputs from ANI )
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