Hello Readers!! There has been a lot that has been brewing over the past few weeks with respect to Patents. We have decided to recapitulate the patent news which have recently hit the headlines in our segment, Weekly Trends. Let us take a quick look at what happened in the past weeks, with this weekly update.
Indian government wants the country to be an early adopter of the upcoming 5G technology
The Indian government wants the country to be an early user of the 5G technology which is expected to be rolled out on a commercial basis in the year 2020. As we know, 5G is the fifth generation of wireless network which will not only offer more speed but also possess the capacity to connect numerous devices to the internet in the near future. The research team commissioned by the government for this particular purpose has already filed 100 patents out of which 10 have been granted. Kiran Kuchi, a professor at the department of electrical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad and a part of the team of researchers has mentioned that they are going to file a lot more patents in the upcoming years.
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India holds its ground in the bilateral trade forum meeting with the U.S
Commerce and Industry minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has recently mentioned while addressing a press conference after attending the bilateral trade forum meeting with US Trade Representative Michael Froman that India is not ready to engage with anyone on ‘TRIPS plus’ issues which could lead to ever-greening of patents or blocking of compulsory licences . The US has been complaining for long that India’s IPR laws are not strong enough to give adequate protection to all patent holders. It is pertinent to note that India is a signatory to the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and changed its patents legislation in 2005 moving from a process patent regime to a product patent one. Additionally , India has also raised the issue regarding the steep increase in the Visa fees which had a major impact on the Indian IT Sector workers.
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India trails behind foreigners in terms of patents sealed and in force in India.
The Annual Reports of Controller General of Patents, Design and Trade Marks, DIPP, Ministry of Commerce & Industry shows that India is lagging behind foreigners regarding patents which are sealed and in force in India. This situation clearly reflects the need for taking steps to create a conducive atmosphere for encouraging innovation and creativity in the country.
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Authored By- Sudha Sameeskhya
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