Highest Number Of Patents : Indian Patent Office
The Indian Patent Office (IPO) has granted the highest number of 41,010 patents till November 2023.
- In 2013-14 fiscal year, 4,227 patents were granted. According to a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) report, patent applications by Indians grew 31.6% in 2022, extending an 11-year run of growth unmatched by any other country among the top 10 filers.
- The surge in patent grants in India reflects the country’s progress in innovation, technology, and competitiveness.
- It also impacts the society, economy, and the youth by addressing challenges, creating opportunities, and nurturing talent.
Patent:
- A Patent is a statutory right for an invention granted for a limited period of time to the patentee by the Government, in exchange of full disclosure of his invention for excluding others, from making, using, selling, importing the patented product or process for producing that product for those purposes without his consent.
- The patent system in India is governed by the Patents Act, 1970 as amended by the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005 and the Patents Rules, 2003.
- The Patent Rules are regularly amended in consonance with the changing environment, most recent being Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2021.
- The term of every patent granted is 20 years from the date of filing of application.
- However, for applications filed under the national phase under Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the term of patent will be 20 years from the international filing date accorded under PCT.
- PCT is an international treaty with more than 150 Contracting States, making it possible to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in each of a large number of countries by filing an international patent application.
- Such an application may be filed by anyone who is a national or resident of a PCT Contracting State, and generally be filed with the national patent office of the Contracting State or at the applicant’s option, with the International Bureau of WIPO in Geneva.
- An invention is patentable subject matter if it meets the following criteria,
- It should be novel.
- It should have inventive steps or it must be non-obvious
- It should be capable of Industrial application.
- It should not attract the provisions of section 3 and 4 of the Patents Act 1970.
