Working to cut patent examination time to 18 months: Nirmala Sitharaman

NEW DELHI: The government is taking steps, including hiring more manpower, to reduce the patent application examination time to 18 months by March next year.

At present, it takes about 48 months for the first stage of examination of a patent application.

The ministry is continuously working on simplification of rules and reducing the patent examination time, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here.

"We will improve our performance to match international standards," she said, adding the time would be "reduced to 18 months by 2018".

About 2.5 lakh patent applications are pending at various stages of disposal in the country.

Sitharaman also said that India's intellectual property right (IPR) laws are in compliance with the global rules and any "suspicious narrative" about the credibility of domestic IPR norms "is just not warranted".

This statement assumes significance as pharmaceutical companies of developed countries, including the US, allege that Indian IPR laws discriminate foreign innovators.

"The dialogue always gets mired that India has issued a compulsory license (CL). It was only one long back. India has a robust mechanism and legislative framework to deal with IPR related matters," she added.

As per the WTO norms, a CL can be invoked by a government allowing a company to produce a patented product without the consent of the patent owner in public interest.

Further talking about enforcement of IP laws, the minister said the ministry has prepared a tool kit for police and is also conducting training programmes of police officers in states.

The exercise would help empower enforcement agencies to pursue cases much before it gets too delayed.

The minister also conferred national IP awards on the occasion of World Intellectual Property Day celebrations.

Crime Branch, Chandigarh received awards in the category of Best Police Unit (district/ zone in a commissionarate) for enforcement of IP in the country.