The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the continuation of the Plan scheme to modernise and strength Intellectual Property (IP) offices during the 12th Plan period. The overall project cost would be Rs.309.6 crore, of which Rs.258 crore will be spent during 12th Plan and Rs.51.6 crore in the 13th Plan.

The implementation of the scheme will strengthen the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) and address the increase in the number of fillings of IP applications. It will also address the growing international commitments due to the operationalisation of the Madrid Protocol and status of International Search Authority (ISA) / International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA).

In the 12th Plan the focus would be on enhancement of human resources, upgradation of IT and database, construction of buildings, improvement in library facilities and sensitization and awareness creation on Intellectual Property Right matters.

The main achievements in the 11th Plan period includes the construction of new complex for IP archives and TM registry at Ahmedabad, construction of an International Search Authority/International Preliminary Examining Authority (ISA/IPEA) building at New Delhi, creation of state of the art Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure such as Data centre, high end servers, digitization of IP records, comprehensive e-filing facility for Patents and Trademarks, subscription to Paten and non Patent database, filling up of new posts created under the plan training of personnel and conduct of awareness programmes.

The growing importance of intellectual property in a globalized economic environment has placed greater demand on the IP institutional structure, India’s accession to the Madrid Protocol on 8th April, 2013 and its coming into effect from 8th July, 2013 as also the operationalization of the Office of CGPDTM as International Search Authority / International Preliminary Examining Authority (ISA/IPEA) under the Patent Cooperation, Treaty from 15th October, 2013 will further impact the workload of the Office of CGPDTM.

Modernization of intellectual property offices approved to strengthen capacity and implement Madrid Protocol and ISA/IPEA obligations. Continuation of a Plan scheme to modernise and strengthen intellectual property offices was approved for the 12th Plan, allocating project funding across Plan periods to bolster institutional capacity in response to rising application filings and expanded international obligations. The scheme aims to enhance administrative and operational capacity of the national IP office to address increased workloads from accession to the Madrid Protocol and operationalisation as an International Search Authority/International Preliminary Examining Authority (ISA/IPEA), with priorities on human resources, IT and database upgrades, construction, library improvements, and awareness initiatives.