Will Centre further cut time of patent filing approval? FM Sitharaman replies
1 min read . Updated: 19 Dec 2022, 06:50 AM IST
PremiumFinance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman participated in a slew of functions at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, which also included the inauguration of a National Centre for Precision Medicine in Cancer set up under the corporate social responsibility of Karkinos Healthcare.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said that the Central government is engaged in further reducing the time to clear applications filed for patents which were already cut to 12-14 months from the earlier 72 months, according to PTI reports.
Addressing an event here, she stated that the domestic filing of patents has been increasing. In 2021, a total of 58,502 patents were filed while 28,391 were cleared.
"In 2016 when the start-up policy was announced, lots of policies were brought in so that start-ups can get assistance in filing IPs. The number of days it took for patents to be cleared was 72 months in 2016. As of December 2020 which is the last data I have, it has come down to 12 months, in some cases 24 months. We are trying to further bring that down," Sitharaman said, as quoted by PTI.
The minister participated in a slew of functions at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, which also included the inauguration of a National Centre for Precision Medicine in Cancer set up under the corporate social responsibility of Karkinos Healthcare.
FM Sitharaman also inaugurated the CAMS IIT-M Fintech Innovation Lab established in partnership with Computer Age Management Services Ltd.
"Around 14.2 lakh trademark registrations were made between 2016 -2020. This number is astonishing for me because from 1940 to 2015, only 11 lakh trademarks were registered," she said.
According to her, startups are provided almost 80% rebate in the cost of filing patents and Prime Minister Narendra Modi often says he wants India to be an IP superpower, PTI reported.
India has always invested in knowledge and the government from 2014 has seen how the nation can become a knowledge-based society, she noted.
The National Centre for Precision Medicine in Cancer, inaugurated by Sitharaman, attracted ₹29.73 crore in funds from Karkinos Healthcare.
The CAMS IIT-M Fintech Innovation Lab also inaugurated by Sitharaman is aimed at establishing a world-class hub of research and applied technologies in financial technology and related applied technologies.
The multi-disciplinary lab would help promote education and research in financial technology and accelerate innovation in addressing industry challenges, IIT-Madras said.
(With PTI inputs)
