WANT A PATENT ? BE PATIENT !

Newspaper Pravasi ( 26 Feb 2012 ) gives following interesting – but far more distressing – info about working of India’s Patent Office in Mumbai :

• No of patent applications pending  ………………………………… 100,000

• Which will take to clear  …………………………………………………..  3  years

• No of requests being examined / year  ………………………….. 12,000

• Additional Patent Examiners being trained  ……………………..  250

• Which will help clear no of applications / year ………………… 40,000

• New requests being received / year  ………………………………… 25,000 +

• Annual growth-rate of requests  ……………………………………… ..   20 %

I would not be surprised if Indian scientists working in foreign labs are filing more patent applications abroad than the Indian scientists working in Indian labs !

Innovation will get a huge boost if Patents can be granted – or even rejected – in 6 months !

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH