Business   

Indian Patent Manual to be ready by September

BANGALORE: The Indian Patent Manual will be ready by September 30, said the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, P.H. Kurian, on Wednesday.

Participating in a panel discussion at a symposium on Intellectual Property (IP) organised by the GE-India Technology Centre, Mr. Kurian said, “The reorganisation of the Office and streamlining its functioning assumed greater importance than the preparation of the Manual.” The Manual would not only be a guide to patent examiners at the Office but would also set standards for performance, he said.

Referring to complaints of delay in processing of patent applications, Mr. Kurian said, “Applications are often incomplete and suffer from silly mistakes.” He said about 35-40 per cent of the applicants file their applications in the last week of the one-year period within which patent applications were supposed to be processed. “Both sides — the Patent Office as well as applicants — need to adhere to the timeframe for speedy processing of applications,” he said. Referring to lack of staff, Mr. Kurian said the organisation would induct 260 more employees by April 2011, taking the total staff strength to 400 by then. “This should suffice till about 2015,” he told The Hindu.

He said the induction of information technology, with help from the National Informatics Centre, had helped in making the Office more efficient. “Money has not been a constraint since the delegation of powers in February 2010,” he said.

“The lack of a good search engine and a database that would help us in evaluating whether patent applications are indeed original remain major drawbacks,” Mr. Kurian said. The Indian Patent Office was designing a search engine, in collaborating with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), which should be ready by 2011, he added.

Referring to the demand for compulsory licensing of patents applicable to drugs, Manoj Pillai, patent attorney, said the monopoly rights conferred on patent holders ought to be balanced with those of “public interest.” “After all, the Government has a duty to keep drug prices within reasonable limits,” he said. Carl Horton, GE's Chief IP Counsel, said his company was focussing on “monetising” its IP assets. Mr. Horton said the company now “treats patent offices as active partners with whom we engage in a continuous dialogue.”

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

CIL to kick-off search for anchor investors
U.S. Exim Bank clears loan for Reliance Power
Mandatory mileage norms from October 1: SIAM
ONGC examining legal implications of Vedanta deal
Maruti plans third unit at Manesar
Ford to launch 8 new models by 2015
NIIT, Tally form alliance
Indian Patent Manual to be ready by September
Comprehensive FTA with Australia can foster growth
Food inflation eases
Hyundai to raise car prices
Entrepreneurs welcome cut in rubber import duty
Growth in spices export
Essar Steel to expand retail network
Hong Kong offers huge scope for SMEs
Tata Motors to raise $1 b
Sensex recovers 47 points
D' Decor to expand presence
Exchange Rates
Bullion Rates

Copyright © 2010, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu