Patent Revolution! Domestic Patents Beat International Patents, 1st Time Ever In India; 50% Rise In Patents

In an indication towards an increased awareness of intellectual property across all the spheres of society in the country, the number of domestic patent filing in the country for the Jan-Mar 2022 quarter has exceeded the number of international patent filing.

This has happened for the first time in 11 years in India, stated the Ministry of Commerce & Industry on Tuesday.

Domestic Patent Filing Surpasses International Count

For the first time in 11 years, more domestic players have filed for patents in the country, compared to international firms in the March 2022 quarter.

Piyush Goyal, the Minister of Commerce and Industry has appreciated the coordinated efforts made by the industry department, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), and the intellectual property or IP office, which has led to a rise in IP awareness.

He said, “These efforts have on the one hand led to an increase in the number of IPR filings, and on the other have reduced the pendency of patent application at IP offices”.

This takes India a step closer to its target of finding itself in the top 25 countries of Global Innovation Index.

Data and Figures

In the final quarter of FY22, of the total 19796 patent applications filed, 10706 were filed by Indian applicants, compared to 9090 applications by international applicants.

Some of the key initiatives taken by the Government over the years that has bolstered India’s IP regime includes fee concessions like 10% rebate on online filing, 80% fee concession for Start-ups, Small Entities and educational institutions, and provisions on expedited examination for Startups and MSMEs along with other categories, states a Ministry of Commerce & Industry filing.

• There has been an over 50% jump in the number of patent filings in the past 7 years, from 42,763 in 2014-15 to 66,440 in 2021-22.
• The grant of patents have shot up almost five times to 30,074 in FY22, compared to 5,978 in FY15.
• The time taken in patent examination has dropped from 72 months in Dec 2016 to 5-23 months, varying across different technological areas.
• The country’s ranking in Global Innovation Index has climbed to the 46th position in 2021 (+35 ranks) from the 81st in 2015-16.