April-Dec 2017 sees 40% rise in granting of patents

Indian Patent office has granted 8,940 patents during April-December 2017, an increase of 40 per cent over the same period previous year, which experts say reflects growing innovation and economic activities in the country.
As per a data of the commerce and industry ministry, the patent office has also granted trademarks and designs to 2,18,383 and 7,406 applicants, respectively during the period as compared to 1,60,363 and 5,421 during April-December 2016.
Registration of copyrights too jumped multifold to 14,217 as against 2,141 during the same period previous year, the data said.
According to experts, growth in patent and design registration is a good news for India if domestic players are getting those, as it reflects increase in innovation and economic activities.

"On an average, domestic players get only 17-18 per cent of patent registration annually, while the remaining goes to foreign players. We need to encourage more local individuals and entities to file more and more patent applications," National Intellectual Property Organisation (NIPO) President T C James said.
However, he said the rise in the number of trademarks reflects increasing commercial activity in the country.

According to Economic Survey 2018, much of India's low patent output could be due to its lower middle-income status.
"Unless there is a greater focus on R&D, rising income alone will not allow India to catch up in the near future," it has said.

The government is taking measures to simplify procedures and fast-track examinations of intellectual property applications.
Further, the data said filing of patents and design applications rose 6 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively during April-December 2017.
The Indian Patent Office has received 35,511 patent applications during the period, while 8,521 design proposals.
Filing of trademark applications however dipped 7 per cent to 1,95,705 during the said period.
The Survey has said if journal publications reflect a countrys prowess in science, patents reflect its standing in technology.
According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), India is the seventh largest patent filing office in the world.

In 2015, India registered 45,658 patents in comparison to China (1,101,864), the US (589,410) and Japan (318,721). However, India produces fewer patents per capita.