Lok Sabha Question No. 2110 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-24
Subject: National IPR Policy
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: DODDAALAHALLI KEMPEGOWDA SURESH, NALIN KUMAR KATEEL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL POLICY & PROMOTION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2110.

TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, THE 24 TH  DECEMBER, 2018.

## NATIONAL IPR POLICY

## 2110.  SHRI D.K. SURESH: SHRI NALIN KUMAR KATEEL:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY be pleased to state:

## वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री

- (a) whether it is a fact that India witnessed significant changes in IPRs since the introduction of the National IPR Policy in 2016 and if so, the details thereof including various achievements made till date;
- (b) whether all universities in India to set up Intellectual Property (IP) Centres and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether it is also a fact that despite the policy push to have more IP in the country  do  not  have  enough  IP  professionals  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof along with the response of the Government in this regard; and
- (d) the steps taken by the Government to increase the number of IP professionals in the country?

## ANSWER

वाणिज् य एवं उद्योग मंत्रालय में राज् यमंत्री (श्री सी.आर. चौधरी) THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI C.R. CHAUDHARY)

- (a): The  National  Intellectual  Property  Rights  (IPR)  Policy  2016  was adopted on 12.5.2016 as a vision document to guide future development of IPRs in the country. This has, inter-alia, led to the following achievements:-
- i. Strengthening of Institutional Mechanism
-  The administration of Copyright Act, 1957 and Semiconductor Integrated Circuits  Layout-Design Act, 2000 has been transferred to Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. This has enabled an integrated approach and synergy between different IP offices and Acts.
-  Under the Finance Act 2017, the Copyright Board has also been merged with the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB).

## ii.  Clearing Backlog/ Reducing Pendency

-  Various steps undertaken by the Government, including augmentation of technical manpower, have resulted in drastic reduction in pendency in IP applications. The  patent applications pending for examination have reduced from 1,97,934 as on 31.3.2016 to 1,39,274 as on 31.10.2018. As regards trademarks, the number has come down from 2,59,668 to 32,619 in the same period.
-  Automatic  issuance  of  electronically  generated  patent  and  trademark certificates has been introduced.

## iii. Increase in Filings

-  Patent filings have increased by nearly 7% in the first 8 months of 2018-19 vis-à-vis the corresponding period of 2017-18.
-  Trademark filings have increased by nearly 28% in this duration.

## iv. IP Process Re-engineering

-  Patent Rules, 2003 has been amended to streamline processes and make them more user friendly.
-  Expedited Examination of patents is now permitted on certain grounds. In fact,  the  shortest  time  taken  to  grant  a  patent  recently  has  been  just  81 days from the filing of the request for examination.
-  Totally  revamped  Trade  Marks  Rules,  2017  have  been  notified  on  6th March, 2017.
-  Nearly  200  international  MoUs  received  from  various  Central  Ministries/ Departments/  organizations  have  been  vetted  from  IPR  angle  in  time bound manner in the past 1 year.
-  India  has  acceded  to  the  WIPO  Copyright  Treaty  (WCT)  and  WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT), which extend coverage of copyright to the internet and digital environment.

## v. Creating IPR Awareness

-  IPR  Awareness  programs  have  been  conducted  in  over  200  academic institutions,  including  rural  schools  through  satellite  communication,  and for industry, police, customs and judiciary.

## vi. IPRs in School Syllabus

-  Content on IPRs has been  included in the NCERT  curriculum  of Commerce stream.

## vii. Technology and Innovation Support Centres (TISCs)

-  In  conjunction  with  WIPO,  6  TISCs  have  been  established  in  various institutions across different states.

## viii. Global Innovation Index (GII)

-  India's rank in the GII Report issued by WIPO has improved from 81 st in 2015 to 57 th place in 2018.

## ix.      IPR Enforcement Toolkit for Police

-  A IPR Enforcement Toolkit have been prepared to  assist police officials in dealing with IP crimes, in particular, Trademark  counterfeiting and Copyright piracy.
- (b): While there is no specific scheme to establish IP Centres in all universities in India, State Governments have been approached to establish IPR Cells in  various  academic  institutions;  IPR  Cells  have  been  established  in  41 universities  across  different  States.  In  addition,  'Institution  Innovation Councils'  (IICs)  have  been  set  up  in  more  than  1000  Higher  Education Institutions (HEIs) through the Innovation Cell at AICTE under the Ministry of HRD.
- (c) & (d) :   Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) are private rights which are applied for, and enforced, by the owner of the concerned IP. IP professionals from the relevant fields, including legal field, assist them in this regard. In particular, 2240  Patent  agents  and  702  Trademark  agents  have  been  registered under the relevant provisions of the Patents Act, 1970 and Trade Marks Act, 1999 respectively by the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks. Further, an advocate registered under the Advocates Act can directly  work  as  Trademarks  Attorney  for  filing/processing  of  trademarks applications.

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