Patents

Why in news?

• According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, filing of domestic patents in India has surpassed the number of international patent filings from January-March 2022 for the first time in 11 years.

More about the news

• From January-March 2022, a total of, 19796 patent applications were filed. Among them, Indian applicants filed, 10706 against 9090 by non-Indian applicants

What are Patents?

• A patent is a form of preservation of intellectual property.
• It is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that provides, in general, a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem.
• To get a patent, technical information about the invention must be disclosed to the public in a patent application.
• Patentability criteria for an invention:
  • It should be novel.
  • Must involve an inventive step (technical advancement)
  • Capable of industrial application

Term of Patent:

• The term of every patent in India is twenty years from the date of filing the patent application, irrespective of whether it is filed with provisional or complete specification.

About Patents Act, 1970:

• This principal law for patenting system in India came into force in 1972. It replaced the Indian Patents and Designs Act 1911.
• The Patents Act has been repeatedly amended in 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2006. These amendments were required to make the Patents Act TRIPS compliant.
• The major amendment in the Patent Act was in 2005, when product patents were extended to all fields of technology like food, drugs, chemicals and microorganisms.
• After the amendment, the provisions relating to Exclusive Marketing Rights (EMRs) have been repealed, and a provision for enabling grant of compulsory license has been introduced.
• The amendment intended to make Indian drug and pharmaceutical industries competitive at par with multinational companies.
• Despite initial reservations, Indian pharmaceutical companies manufacturing generic drugs have flourished in the last decade.

Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2021:

• It has reduced the fee for patent filing and prosecution for all educational institutions by 80%.
• This benefit was earlier available to all recognised educational institutions owned by the government.

Achievements made in India’s IP regime

• Filing of patents has increased by more than 50% in a span of 7 years (2014-15 to 2021-22).
• Reduction in Time of patent examination from 72 months in Dec 2016 to 5-23 months at present, for different technological areas.
• India’s ranking in Global Innovation Index has increased to 46th in 2021 (+35 ranks) as compared to 81st in 2015-16.

Steps taken by the Government to promote India’s patent regime:

• Fee Reduction:
  • 10% rebate on online filing. 80% fee concession for Startups, Small Entities and educational institutions, and provisions on expedited examination for Startups and MSMEs along with other categories.
• Digital Emphasis:
  • Every application is now processed online from start to finish, hearings are conducted on phones, and people don’t have to travel to patent offices now.
• Simplified Procedure:
  • Comprehensive e-Filing facility, Electronic processing of Patents & Trademarks applications.

PRACTICE QUESTION

Consider the following statements:

1. The term of every patent in India is sixty years from the date of filing the patent application

2. Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2021 abolished patent filing fee for educational institutions

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither

Answer