New techs to drive patent filings in India

Patent filings in India would be more and more driven by new technologies, which are either kept secret or patented. 

In line with this, there will be a big shift towards protection of innovation (intellectual property) rather than just granting the patents, said Chaitanya Prasad, Controller General of Patents, Design and Trade Marks, Indian Patent Office.

Citing the case of academic institutions, Prasad said the strategy should be towards protection of research findings rather than in producing plenty of research papers.

Speaking on the low patent turnout in the country at a CII-organised conference on intellectual property ecosystem here, he said "the problem here is predominantly due to the cultural ecosystem associated with innovation. The focus of academia on methods of rote learning has been denting new innovations. For a change, the educational system needs a major revamp."

In 2012, the country saw a 22 per cent rise in patents filed. Sectorally, electrical and mechanical, pharma and biotech saw the highest number of patent applications.

Last year, the office had granted around 5,000 patents. On the international patents filed by Indians abroad, he said it stood at 730 and added they were developing a URL for e-filing of designs from this year.

Interestingly, the office has a huge backlog of 130,000 patent applications. In order to dispose them of, it plans to recruit 500 professionals in the next 5-7 years. As part of this, it had recruited 150 patent examiners (Class-I) who will undergo a one-month advanced training in Nagpur starting July 29. An examiner is currently involved in clearing 10-16 applications each month.

Andhra working on forum to promote innovations

The state plans to initiate a forum bringing together the central research, educational institutions, industry and venture capital funds on a common platform to explore commercial aspects of innovation.

"The forum has a good backing from the state government," said Pradeep Chandra, state principal secretary, Department of Industries and Commerce.