In a bid to nurture innovation and creativity, India is reducing their intellectual property rights (IPR) fees for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).
India’s Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal announced the fee changes as measures to enhance India’s IPR ecosystem saying “Nurturing innovation and creativity in a knowledge economy essential.”
In 2016 India adopted a new IPR regime that has seen the filing of IP applications saw an increase of 18 per cent in patents and 69 per cent in trademarks during 2013-14 and 2018-19 and the domestic filing for patents has increased from 22 per cent in 2013-14 to 34 per cent in 2018-19.
The new fees, which are subject to approval, are:
* Euro and dollar prices are for guidance only
** +10% for physical filing
According to the US Government website export.gov, India remains one of the world’s most challenging major economies with respect to protection and enforcement of IP. Despite positive statements and initiatives upon which the Modi Administration has embarked, the pace of reform has not matched high-level calls to foster innovation and promote creativity. India has yet to take steps to address longstanding IP issues that are affecting innovative industries.
