Several measures have been taken to ensure continuous and unending improvement of the Indian IP ecosystem in the country. To this effect, Department of Industrial Policy and Planning (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, has formulated a multipronged strategy to develop an Intellectual Property regime in the country to promote creativity and to develop the culture of respect for innovations and creativity.
During the year, the Intellectual Property Office has been radically transformed through numerous initiatives that have contributed tremendously to easing of access to the IP system, efficiency in processing of IP applications, uniformity and consistency in the examination of applications, transparency and dissemination of IP information, bilateral cooperation at the international level, and raising the awareness level of the public.
Several measures have been taken to create a strong and vibrant IP regime in India. These are:
1. Modernization of administration: Creation of a highly transparent, e-enabled, efficient and accessible IP ecosystem in India that provides legal certainty to the industry.
A. Human Resources: An additional 1033 plan posts have been created, including 666 posts for Patents & Designs and 367 posts for Trademarks and GI at various levels. Already, recruitment is underway. Patent and Trademarks examiners are also being taken on contract to deal with the backlog.
B. Ease of access: The IP system embarked on its e-journey by introducing the complete electronic processing of Patents and Trademarks applications through specialized modules. To cater to the immense flow of the papers filed, a single central server at IPO Delhi is in place. Since India has a unique intellectual property office wherein there are 4 patent offices and 5 trademark offices, there is need for strong intra-office connectivity. The system is unique in itself since there is automatic generation of application numbers as also automatic allotment of the request for examination which is sequential and thus transparent and user-friendly.
a) Online e-filing facilities- Comprehensive online e-filing facilities for patent and trademark application were introduced in 2013-15 which provided the stakeholder 2 major advantages. First, an applicant can file an application virtually 24x7 and secondly, applications can be filed from the comfort of their workplace/ homes.
b) Comprehensive payment gateway- The IPO allowed the e-filers the facility of using debit cards, credit cards and internet banking. This year, e-filers were given the facility of using debit cards, credit cards and internet banking of over 70 banks for making payment of fees for all forms.
c) 10% rebate on online filing- To encourage online filing of the applications, a 10% rebate on online filing of applications and documents has been introduced; online filing has jumped from under 30% to over 80% in just a year.
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