INDIAN PATENT OFFICE
STREAMLINING PATENT-RELATED PROCEDURES
Existing processes have been tweaked and new processes initiated for effi cient fi ling and prosecution of patents through to grant. Mahua Roy Chowdhury and Gopalakrishnan Ramakrishnan report.
I
ndia is racing ahead to make it to the crest of the emerging economies wave and is consequently pulling along various sectors
of the economy that contribute to economic development. Infrastructure, fi nance, science and technology, IP and human resources are some of the most important sectors that contribute to economic development. IP has taken a position of particular
signifi cance in India’s economy,
especially aſt er India became a signatory to the WTO’s Trade-Related Aspects of IP Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
T e entire world is observing developments and milestones on the journey of the Indian IP sector through a magnifying glass. Judgments from the Indian courts are also creating butterfl y eff ects in other major economies. While the judgment in Novartis v Union of India incensed big pharma, many other developing economies are looking at taking a leaf out of the Indian Patents Act and especially Section 3(d) to incorporate it into their respective patent acts for understandable benefi ts.
Issuances of compulsory licences are also oſt en in the news in India, while patent litigation is gaining momentum, with the number of patent lawsuits fi led increasing steadily. On the other hand, more and more multinational corporations are setting up research and development centres in India, thus increasing the technological output of India and the need to protect it. With this feverish technology and patent activity, India is moving towards becoming an increasingly
sought-aſt er destination for patent fi lings. With the increased demand for fi ling, creating a conducive environment is the responsibility of the Indian Patent Offi ce (IPO).
T e discussions below are excerpts from a meeting held between Chaitanya Prasad, the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, and the team at Solomon & Roy.
T e IPO has streamlined many processes and initiated new processes for the effi cient fi ling and prosecution through to grant. E-fi ling, which was initiated some time ago, has been given a faceliſt and the IPO is directing more applicants to this facility by levying a surcharge of 10 percent on conventional paper-based fi ling. Moreover,
“WITH ALL THESE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE EFFICIENT FUNCTIONING OF THE IPO, IT IS APPARENT THAT IT IS GEARING UP ON ALL FRONTS TO MEET THE INCREASED INFLOW OF PATENT FILINGS.”
100 World Intellectual Property Review Annual 2014
e-fi ling processes have been streamlined since its inception to improve the effi ciency of e-fi lings, proving to be advantageous for applicants and the examiners at the IPO.
T e IPO has also increased the transparency of its processes. T e Dynamic Patent Utilities facility available on the IPO website provides a sneak peek at the various quantitative and qualitative aspects of patent prosecution happening at
all
four branches of the IPO, in Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata.
T e facility provides the following valuable information:
a) A list of expired and non-renewed patents across all technological arts over a specifi c time period;
b) T e number and details of disposed applications for any particular month across all four branches of the IPO;
c) T e year and month of examination requests for which First Examination Reports (FERs) are being currently issued (patent applicants can easily assess when their applications will probably be examined);
d) T e number of FERs issued in the major technical arts of electrical/electronic engineering, biotechnology, chemistry and mechanical engineering across all four branches of the IPO (this facility
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