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The ministry of industry and commerce has proposed reducing fees for intellectual property rights such as patents and designs for micro, small and medium enterprises and startups to promote innovation.
In a media statement, the ministry suggested that fees for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and startups for filing of patent applications will be reduced 60% from INR 4000 (for MSMEs) and INR 4400 (for startups) to INR 1,600 and INR 1,750.Further, for expedited examination, it will be reduced 68% to INR 8,000 from INR 25,000 currently. Similarly, for the renewal of patents, the fees will be reduced by 60%.
In the case of design applications filing, fees for MSMEs and startups will be reduced to INR 1,000 from INR 2,000. For geographical indications (GI), fees have been proposed to cut to nil for filing of an application, issuance of certificates and renewal of GI from the current INR 500, INR 100 and INR 1,000, respectively.
The government has proposed to reduce fees for various intellectual property rights (IPRs) like patents and designs for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and startups to promote innovation, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. "Awareness programmes for IP are being conducted at schools, colleges, universities, R&D institutes and industry clusters," it said.
The multi-pronged strategies have been used to address the issue of pendency in IP applications, including manifold augmentation of manpower and streamlining of procedures, it added. Domestic filing for patents has increased from 22% in 2013-14 to 34% in 2018-19.
For geographical indications: The Ministry has proposed removing the current fees for registration (?500), issuance of registration certificate (?100), and renewal (?1,000) altogether.
The Ministry also said that between 2013-14 and 2018-19:
Number of patent applications rose by 18%
Number of trademark applications rose by 69%
Share of domestic filing for patents rose from 22% to 34%
Number of patent applications disposed rose by 353%
Number of trademark applications disposed rose by 395%
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