According to news reports, the government has proposed to reduce fees for various intellectual property rights like patents and designs for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and startups to promote innovation.
As per reports, an individual, group or industry have to pay a fee for filling an application for intellectual property rights (IPR). As per the suggested proposal, the fees for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and startups for filing of patent applications will be reduced to ₹ 1,600 or ₹ 1,750 from ₹ 4,000 or ₹ 4,400.
It is reported that for expedited examination the fees will be reduced to ₹ 8,000 from ₹ 25,000. Similarly, for renewal of patents, the fees will be reduced too. Similarly, for design applications filing, fees for MSMEs and startups will be reduced to ₹ 1,000 from ₹ 2,000.
In fact, for Geographical Indications (GI), fees are proposed to cut to nil for filing of application, issuance of certificate and renewal of GI from the current ₹ 500, ₹ 100 and ₹ 1,000, respectively. It also reported that domestic filing for patents has increased from 22 per cent in 2013-14 to 34 per cent in 2018-19.