Govt to encourage SMEs to go in for patents

The government, in collaboration with the UN-body World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), has commissioned a study to ascertain whether India's small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are prepared to adopt the global IPR regime.

The study, being undertaken by a retired Adviser in the Department of Science and Technology Raghvendra Saha, is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and the Geneva-based WIPO.

"... it is to look at IPR and its role in the SMEs in the context of economy, country's exports and their contribution in the gross domestic product," Saha said.

He said for the SMEs, filing applications for patents is a tedious and cumbersome job. "Neither they have time, nor funds for the same," he said.

Besides, they are not sure whether their applications for the grant of patents would be accepted or not.

He said the patent model for the SMEs in other countries would be studied as well.

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) contribute eight per cent in the country's GDP, 40 per cent of exports and 45 per cent of manufacturing output.

The study will also suggest ways to synchronise the existing government schemes for the SME sector to go in for patents.