Domestic Patent Filings Surpass International Ones After 11 Years.

Why in news?

• For the first time in the last 11 years, the number of domestic patent filing surpassed the number of international patent filing at Indian patent office.
• Overall, in the last 7 years the total filings of patents have increased by more than 50%.
• India’s ranking in Global Innovation Index (GII) has increased to 46th in 2021 as compared to 81st in 2015-16.
• Intellectual Property refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. E.g. patents, copyright and trademarks.

Factors behind increasing domestic patents

• National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy (2016) for a Creative India; Innovative India.
• Consistent efforts from Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), as a nodal point on policy implementation, towards strengthening of the IPR regime.
• Scheme for IPR Awareness
  • Reduction in time of patent examination from 72 months in Dec 2016 to 5-23 months at present, for different technological areas.
  • Fee concessions like 10% rebate on online filing, 80% fee concession for Start-ups, Small Entities and educational institutions.
  • Expedited examination for Startups and MSMEs along with other categories.
  • India Innovation Index (I3) by NITI Aayog to promote innovation etc.
• GII, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) along with Cornell University and INSEAD, takes the pulse of these innovations and ranks the innovation ecosystem performance of different countries on 81 different indicators.