Patent fees for educational institutions reduced by 80%

New Delhi, Sep 23: In a yet another significant push towards Mission  Aatmanirbhar Bharat,  benefits related to 80% reduced fee for patent filing and prosecution have been extended to educational institutions as well. Centre has notified the amendments to the Patents Rules in this regard. Recognizing the importance of nurturing innovation and creativity in a knowledge economy, India is taking great strides in strengthening its intellectual property ecosystem in recent years. In order to create a conducive environment for innovation, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has been working towards promoting greater collaboration between industry and academia. This can be achieved by facilitating commercialization of research undertaken in educational institutions. These institutions engage in many research activities, where professors/teachers and students generate several new technologies which need to be patented for facilitating commercialization of the same. High patenting fees present a restrictive element for getting these technologies patented and thus work as a disincentive for development of new technologies. At the time of applying for patents, the innovators have to apply these patents in the name of the institutions which have to pay fees for large applicants, which are very high and thus work as a disincentive. In this regard and to encourage greater participation of the educations institutions, who play a pivotal role in country’s innovation, official fees payable by them in respect of various acts under the Patents Rules, 2003, have been reduced by way of the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2021, which came into effect on 21st September, 2021. Moreover, Patents Rules have been amended in 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020 to achieve the objective of removing procedural inconsistencies and unnecessary steps in processing of applications thereby speedup grant/registration and final disposal.