NEWS POST: India Is Limiting Its Own Innovation By Sitting On A Huge Pile Of Pending Patent Applications

Time's a-wasting. (Reuters/Amit Dave)

The Indian government is sitting on a growing pile of pending applications for patents and trademarks due to a staffing shortage.

According to data shared on Nov. 30 (SEE STORY 2), the Indian government currently has 246,495 pending applications for patents (up from 226,339 in July) and more than half a million pending applications for trademarks.

Most of the backlog comes down to insufficient staffing. The government is trying to fill 459 vacant posts for examiners of patents and designs, Indian commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament. As a short-term measure, the government has created 263 posts on a contractual basis and has also proposed amendments to patent and trademark rules to streamline the procedures for filing and processing applications, she said.

BetweenApril and October this year, the Indian government granted 3,581 patents and registered 37,799 trademarks. It rejected 605 patent applications and 6,543 trademark registrations during the same period. That activity did little to loosen the logjam, which has worsened in recent years given a surge in patent and trademark applications.

Despite being home to the research and development centers of several multinational companies, India didn’t even figure on Bloomberg’s 2014 ranking of the 50 most innovative countries, which is based in part on patent activity along with factors like R&D intensity, high-tech density, and manufacturing capability.

The US, which ranked fifthfor patent activity (and the third most innovative overall, after South Korea and Sweden), granted more than 326,000 patents last year, in comparison to just 4,227 granted by India.

2.46 Lakh Patent Applications Pending Due To Manpower Shortage — The Economic Times

About 2.46 lakh patent applications and 5.32 lakh trademark registrations are pending with the government due to shortage of manpower, Parliament was informed today.

"There is pendency in patent and trademark applications, which are disposed of with the available manpower and infrastructure. The pendency as on November 1, is 2,46,495 in patent applications and 5,32,682 in trademark applications.

"This pendency is primarily due to shortage of manpower. The government has taken measures to augment available manpower and other necessary infrastructure," Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitahraman said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

She said the government has sanctioned 373 additional posts in the patent wing, including 252 posts of examiners of patents and designs and 76 posts of controllers of patents and designs.

"Recruitment process to fill 459 vacant posts of examiners of patents and designs is underway. Besides, as a short-term measure, 263 contractual posts of examiners of patents and designs have also been created," she added.

She added amendments have been proposed in both the patent rules and trade mark rules to streamline procedures for filing and disposal of applications.

Further the minister said India has granted 3,581 patents and registered 37,799 trademarks during this financial year till October 31.

It has rejected 605 patent applications and 6,543 trademark registrations during that period. 

Originally published in STORY 1: Quartz Africa and STORY 2: The Economic Times