The number of patent applications filed in FY23 increased by 28.4% over that of FY22, indicating that micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India are becoming more aware of the importance of intellectual property rights (IPR).
According to information provided in the Lok Sabha Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, Minister of State in charge of the MSME Ministry, MSMEs filed 1,758 patent applications in FY23 as opposed to 1,369 in FY22. There were 756 applications as of July 24, 2023 (in the current financial year).
“The Indian government has taken several measures to create awareness across MSMEs in the country about intellectual property rights. Over 54 awareness programmes have been held by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) over the past three years.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has conducted 84 awareness seminars/programmes, including two international workshops, according to the Minister. Furthermore, the Ministry of MSME has also conducted 40 awareness programmes, one National Level Workshop, 10 IP Yatra, and 13 programmes (on World IP Day) under the IPR component of the MSME Innovative Scheme
The ministry last year introduced the MSME Innovative Scheme, which combined the sub-schemes for MSMEs’ incubation, design, and intellectual property rights (IPR). The scheme aims to promote innovation along the entire value chain, from idea creation to the realisation of innovative applications, by facilitating incubation and design interventions, which are the three components of incubation, design, and IPR.
The IPR component offers legal and intellectual property filing support, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, designs, geographical indications, and other intellectual property types.
According to the specifications of the programme, it also offers IP advisory, counselling, searches for patentability, technological gap analysis, and IP commercialisation through the development of Intellectual Property Facilitation Centres (IPFCs) across the country.
Moreover, according to an article by the Financial Express from February of this year, India was ranked 42nd out of 55 nations in the US Chamber of Commerce’s International IP Index study.
The Index measures the extent to which IP rights are protected in 55 of the world’s most developed economies, which collectively account for around 90% of global GDP. It examines everything from copyright and patent laws to the capacity to monetize IP assets and the ratification of international agreements.
