'Will encourage innovation, creativity': Centre notifies amended patent rules
Noting that educational institutes play a pivotal role in country's innovation, the Centre said in a release that amended patent rules will lead to reduction in fees by 80 per cent.
The Centre on Thursday notified the amendments to Patents Rules, 2003, which extends the benefits of reduced fee for patent filing and prosecution to educational institutions. The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2021 came into effect from September 21.
Noting that educational institutes play a pivotal role in country's innovation, the Centre said in a release that the fees has been reduced by 80 per cent. This will create a conducive environment for innovation, it added.
"At the time of applying for patents, the innovators have to apply these patents in the name of the institutions which have to pay fees for large applicants, which are very high and thus work as a disincentive," the government release said.
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has been working towards promoting greater collaboration between industry and academia, the release said, adding that this can be achieved by facilitating commercialisation of research undertaken in educational institutions.
"These institutions engage in many research activities, where professors/teachers and students generate several new technologies which need to be patented for facilitating commercialization of the same. High patenting fees present a restrictive element for getting these technologies patented and thus work as a disincentive for development of new technologies," the release said.
It further explained the initiatives taken by the Department: Augmentation of manpower by recruiting new examiners, making process of applying and granting patents completely online, hearing of cases in patents through video-conferencing for speedy and contact-less proceedings, dynamic redesigning of website and real-time based hassle free dissemination of IP information to stakeholders, encouraging the digital process for applying and granting patents, and a scheme for facilitating startups.
The amendments in the rules will make the procedures more compact, time-bound, user-friendly and compatible for e-transactions.
The government also announced setting up of complaints in respect of issues related to functioning of the intellectual property offices.
The government said that as a result of these efforts, the time taken for examination of patents have come down from average 72 months in 2015 to 12-30 months at present, depending upon technology fields.
