MEASURES TO ENHANCE IPR ECOSYSTEM THROUGH LOWER FEES
17, Sep 2019
Prelims level : Economics- Industries
Mains level : GS-III- Issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights; changes in Industrial Policy and their effects on Industrial Growth.
Why in News?
- The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has proposed to reduce the fees for various IPRs (Intellectual Property Rights).
Highlights:
- The fee structure reduced is for both e-filing and physical filing.
- The reduction in fees ranges from a 50% decrease to a 100% reduction (waiver of fees) for different sectors.
- Geographical Indications have been given a 100% reduction in the fees.
- Domestic filing for patents has increased from 22% in 2013-14 to 34% in 2018-19.
- Awareness programmes for IP are being conducted at schools, colleges, universities, R&D institutes and industry clusters.
- To address the issue of pendency in IP applications, the government has streamlined the process, and also increased manpower in this field.
