Supply information on time, don't seek repeated adjournments: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday asked applicants of intellectual property rights to suggest their lawyers to submit all the information on time and not create unnecessary hurdles in granting IPRs.

Intellectual property rights (IPRs) are exclusive legal rights provided under a law to a creator or inventor of a unique product to protect that invention for a specified period of time. These rights include patents, trademarks and geographical indications (GIs).

"Please ask your lawyers not to seek adjournments. We are shortly going to change that rule to make it onerous for those who are asking for adjournments repeatedly or are not submitting the data in time. Somebody not submitting the data in a reasonable time, we can even reject the application and send it back Please supply the information in a timely manner," Goyal said.

He was addressing participants of the National IP conference and awards function, organised by the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT).

The minister said that there is a need to find ways to penalise people who repeatedly raise objections without any substantive reasons.

"Its high time to stop such practices," he said, adding, "it is very easy to object and to create problems for somebody getting an IP. But I would urge all those who are associated with the legal aspect of the subject to also have a streak of sensitivity in your work," he said.

If somebody has really done some good research work which deserves recognition or deserves to be granted a patent, let's not become a part of the ecosystem which is always out to disrupt anything good that is happening in the country, the minister added.

"I am told that objections are raised when patents have to be issued right until the day when the patent is being issued, possibly very often just to delay the issuance of a patent. Very often adjournments are sought from hearings only to delay the entire process," he said.

The minister urged the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks (CGPDTM) to look into the issue.

"We are already in the process of redrafting the law and please send your suggestions because we are finalising our changes," he said.

Further, he also announced an award of Rs 11 lakh for creation of softwares to streamline the process of GIs and designs.