Government Declared 80% Fee Cut for all Education Institutions Seeking Patent Registration

Intending to strengthen Intellectual Property rights laws in India or Abroad, Commerce and Industry Minister announced an 80% fee cut for all Recognized education institutions applying for patents. In this write-up, we will discuss, How Commerce and Industry Minister announced an 80% fee cut for all recognized education institutions applying for patents.

Key Highlights – Why Commerce and Industry Minister announced 80% fee cut for all recognized education institutions applying for patents.

• Commerce and Industry Minister announced that all recognized education institutions applying for patents would reduce by 80%.
• The objective was to strengthen new ideas and research in the country.
• The motive was to create a conducive environment for new ideas.
• The amendments done in the Patent Act came into effect on 21st September 2021.

Reasons- For 80% fee cut for all recognized education institutions applying for patents.

Patent filing and commercialization go hand in hand, and every innovation needs patent filing. But High patent fee acts as a hurdle, and hence, it acts as a discouragement for creating new technology. To encourage greater participation of the educations institutions, The commerce and Industry Minister have reduced the application fee by an 80% fee cut for all recognized education institutions applying for patent registration under the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2021, which came into effect on 21st September 2021.”

This initiative taken by the government is not for the first time. The patent rule has been amended several times in previous years. The objective behind the amendment was to remove the procedural irregularity. Also, the amendments were made to apply Patent Applications in a faster and user-friendly way.

The decision taken by the department for an 80% fee cut for all recognized education institutions applying for a patent was aimed to create a valuable environment for new ideas in academia and institutions in India and for that, The Patents (Amendment) Rules 2021^[1] have been notified.

Earlier, the innovators have to apply for patent in the name of the institution they represent, and these institutions have to pay the application fees for large number of applicants that resulted in financial burden.

Therefore, in order to increase the application in greater numbers, the decision was taken by the Commerce and Industry Minister to cut down the patent fees significantly. 

What steps other than reducing the 80 % fee cut for recognized education institutions applying for patents are taken by the department?

 The department has taken various other steps to make the process faster such as – 

• Making the entire process of applying Online.
• Promoting collaboration between various institutions and academia.
• Promoted Commercialization.
• Promoted Start-ups.
• Receiving patents online, 
• The Patent case hearing online,
• Redesigned Patent website, 
• Online feedback or suggestion system to make the process easy. 

Also, the time duration for examining patent application has been reduced and the patent was granted within 41 days of filing the request.

Impact of 80% fee cut for all recognized education institutions applying for patents

• Earlier, the facility was available to all recognized educational institutions owned by the government. But now, it is facilitated to all recognized educational institutions applying for Patents.
• Here, all recognized educational institutions include Universities, Colleges, and schools.
• Now, the total fee for filing publication and renewal for an institute has been reduced from approx. Rs 4,24,500 to Rs 85,000.
• After this amendment, more universities will participate.
• This will improvise India’s ranking in the Global Innovation Index from 48 to among the top 25.
• Duration of Patent application is now less as compared to earlier duration.

Conclusion

The initiative for 80% fee cut for all recognized education institution for patent application was taken by the Commerce and Industry Department to foster innovation in India. Also, the department was trying to build a favorable context for innovation. As per the ministry, the 80% fee cut for all recognized education institutions applying for patents would help in expanding the alliance between academia and the industry. It will also help the innovators in developing new technologies. The government interest on promoting new ideas and innovation has resulted in decision making of reducing patent fees.

Read our article:What factors are essential for making a patent application?