Domestic patent filings surpass international ones after 11 years

Total of 19,796 patent applications filed, 10,706 54% were filed by Indian applicants as compared to 9,090 by non-Indian applicants

The number of domestic patent filing has surpassed the number of international patent filing during January-March 2022 for the first time in 11 years, the commerce and industry ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

This means that of the total 19,796 patent applications filed, 10,706 (54 per cent) were filed by Indian applicants as compared to 9,090 by non-Indian applicants.

Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal said that the coordinated effort by the industry department and intellectual property (IP) office has led to increased IP awareness among all strata of society. “These efforts have on the one hand led to an increase in the number of IPR filings, and on the other have reduced the pendency of patent application at IP offices,” he said, adding that this will take India a step closer to its ambition of being in the top 25 nations of Global Innovation Index.

According to official data, over the last seven years, the number of patent filing increased from 42,763 in 2014-15 to 66,440 in 2021-22, indicating a 50 per cent rise. There has also been a nearly five-fold jump in grant of patents in 2021-22 to 30,074 as compared to 2014-15.

Similarly, patent examination time has reduced to 5-23 months now from 72 months in December 2016.

The government said some of its key initiatives over the years have bolstered India's IP regime. For instance, patent filing fee has been reduced by 80 per cent for eligible educational institutions; and there is a 10 per cent rebate in fees for online filing vis-à-vis physical filing of trade mark applications.

A Parliamentary Standing Committee on commerce had earlier flagged concerns that 64 per cent of the patents filed in India were by non-resident or foreign entities. It had also pointed to the lack of awareness about IPRs amongst Indians, resulting in a low share of patents filed by domestic entities vis-à-vis foreign players.

“As a result, the innovators and creators in the country are being denied the benefits of IPRs including the generation of revenues and gains from the creation of their products. The Committee recommends that a holistic approach should be taken by the Department for disseminating awareness amongst MSMEs, small businessmen, traditional artisans and craftsmen located in remote areas and providing them insights about creation, ownership and protection of their IPRs,” it had said.

The industry department has been conducting awareness programmes in schools, colleges and universities across India, including through Atal Tinkering Labs, to foster IP awareness and generation.