The Hindu : Business : India gets ISA status

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 19, 2007
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Business

India gets ISA status

Staff Reporter

WIPO’s recognition puts the country in a coveted league

Retains second place in A.T. Kearney’s FDI Confidence Index
Kamal Nath asks entrepreneurs to focus on brand building

PHOTO: V. SUDERSHAN

PATENT RECOGNITION: Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath (right) with Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Ashwini Kumar addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: Union Commerce and Industry Minister on Tuesday said the 170-plus member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have endorsed India’s recognition as an International Searching Authority (ISA) and an International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA). He also informed that India had retained the second place in A.T. Kearney’s 2007 Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index.

Stating that this has been possible due to the Centre’s efforts in modernising India’s intellectual property systems as well as infusing transparency and openness in the system, Mr. Kamal Nath told reporters: “The recognition of India as an ISA and IPEA puts India in a coveted league of only 15 nations and organisations which are currently recognised at a global level.”The status of ISA and IPEA would be beneficial for India in several ways. Apart from the international recognition , it would generate revenues in the form of fees that would be provided for functioning as an ISA and IPEA. Being the only English-speaking nation in the Asian region to be recognised as an ISA and IPEA would mean that several international applications received by WIPO under the Patents Cooperation Treaty would be sent to the Indian Patent Offices for search and preliminary examination purposes, he informed.

Meanwhile, addressing an export awards function, organised by the Sports Goods Export Promotion Council (SGEPC), here, Mr. Kamal Nath called on the entrepreneurs in the sports goods export industry to focus on brand building, as this is an area which is an important ingredient in the value of the product.

He also urged the industry leaders to achieve maximum mileage from the Commonwealth Games-2010 and work hard for cultivating global standards.

“The government on its part will ensure full support for the facilitation of further growth and development of this sector,” he said.

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