Patent Administration in India

The administration of patent related matters in India is looked after by Patents and Trademarks Office. This office comes under the purview of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, which falls under the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India. The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks is responsible for administrative processes related to Intellectual Property Rights including Patents. There are four patent offices located at four different places in India to facilitate filing of patent applications among Indian researchers and scientists. The head office of Patents is located at Kolkata whereas Brand offices are located at Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.

These four offices have jurisdiction over different states of the country. The hierarchy of Patent office includes Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks who is supported by Senior Joint Controller of patents and Designs. Joint Controller of Patents and Designs reports to Senior Joint Controller. Joint controller monitors the functions of Deputy Controllers who monitors Assistant controller of Patents, Designs and Trademarks.

The examination of patent applications is carried out by Patent Examiners. The government of India has set up a Patent Information System (PIS) at Nagpur that provides services for patents and patent search. PIS provides information to researchers and scientists. Intellectual Property Training Institute (IPTI) was established in 2002. IPTI imparts training to personnel engaged in the field of Intellectual Property and also conducts awareness programmes for attorney and researchers.

Patent Office conducts Patent Agent examination twice a year. A successful candidate then can work as an approved Patent agent. The examination is conducted at Head Office and Three regional office.

Source by Manthan Janodia