83,686 Patent applications for examination are pending as on 8th March, 2011. This pendency is due to substantial increase in filing requests for examination and shortage of examiners of Patent and Designs.

200 posts of Patent Examiners were created under the XI Five Year Plan. As part of the recruitment process, and examination to recruit 257 patent examiners (which includes the new posts created) was conducted on 2nd January, 2011. There is no proposal to establish more branches of patent offices. However, a list of Product Patents in Pharmaceuticals granted by the Indian Patent Office between 2005-06 to 2009-10 has been placed in the IPO website www.ipindia.nic.in.

This information was given by Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

Patent examination backlog persists; recruitment of examiners underway, no new office branches proposed, list of grants published. A significant patent examination backlog exists due to increased examination requests and examiner shortages; 200 examiner posts were created and a recruitment exam for 257 examiners was held, there is no proposal to open additional patent office branches, and a list of pharmaceutical product patents granted between 2005-06 and 2009-10 has been published on the Indian Patent Office website.