India Registers Surge in Patent Grants

After India adopted the product patent regime in January 1, 2005, the Indian Patent Office granted a record number of 15,262 patents in financial year 2007-08. This is more than double the number of patents granted (7539) during the previous year 2006-07 and almost eight times the number of patents granted just three years ago in 2004-05. The patent filings also crossed the 35,000 mark during 2007-08. The surge in the number of patents is due to the new product patent regime, modernization of the patent and other intellectual property offices, computerization, and enhancement of  human resources. The Indian Patent Office has also introduced the facility for e-filing of applications from 20 July, 2007.

The Office has  been recognized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as an International Searching Authority (ISA) and an International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in October 2007. In order to meet the growing need for expertise in intellectual property rights (IPRs), the Government of India is setting up a National Institute of Intellectual Property Management (NIIPM) at Nagpur, Maharastra, which would cater to training, education, research and think tank functions in  IPRs. These steps are expected to give a big boost to the development of an innovative culture in India.

For more information,  visit: http://www.pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=37065  or  http://www.patentoffice.nic.in/.%20email%20information  Email Bhagirath Choudary for biotech developments in India at b.choudhary@isaaa.org