IPO to start accepting applications under PPH Pilot Program from 7th December 2020
Intellepedia Publication Date: 30th November 2020
As per the latest public notice issued by the Indian Patent Office (IPO), the IPO will start accepting applications under Chapter 5 of the PPH Guidelines, the for 2nd year term, from 7th December 2020. The acceptance of these applications is in furtherance to the Bilateral Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program that is in effect between the Indian Patent Office (IPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO). The number of applications will be limited to 100 requests. Further, the number of PPH requests for an applicant or joint applicant will be limited to 10 requests per year.
You may click here for more information.
RGNIIPM to host webinar on IPR for one week
Intellepedia Publication Date: 16th November 2020
RGNIIPM will be hosting a series of online webinars on IPR for a period of one week from 14th December 2020. The webinars cover a wide range of topics like – Patent filing process and PCT, Patent Search, Filing and processing of Trademark & GI applications, Filing and processing of Copyright and Designs. As per the public notice issued on 12th November 2020, all participants will be awarded a certificate.
You may click here for more information on the webinars.
Patent Rules amended second time this year, major changes in fee structure for small enterprises
Intellepedia Publication Date: 9th November 2020
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in a major move towards incentivizing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has decided to entirely do away with the slab of fees that were earlier applicable to MSMEs. According to the official notification dated 4th November 2020 published by the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks on the 6th of November 2020, Small entities will now have to pay the same costs that were earlier applicable only to individuals (Natural persons) and Start-ups.
Based on the notification, MSMEs are now eligible for a 90% fee reduction as opposed to the 50% fee reduction that was available to them earlier. This implies that, where a small entity earlier paid 4000 INR as the basic patent filing fee will now have to pay only 1600 INR as basic patent filing fee.
The full notification may be viewed and accessed here.
Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2020 come into force from 20th October 2020
Intellepedia Publication Date: 26th October 2020
Last year, in the month of May, the Indian Patent Office published the draft Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2019. The Office had invited objections and suggestions from all persons with regard to the proposed amendments. On 22nd October 2020, after taking into account the suggestions from the public into consideration, the Central Government has published the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2020, containing the revised rules through Official Gazette notification dated 20th October 2020.
You may click here to access the official notification.
IPO to accept 5 more PPH requests for 2020
Intellepedia Publication Date: 19th October 2020
The Indian Patent Office published a notice on the 17th of October 2020 informing patent applicants that it would start accepting Form 5-1 requests under Chapter 5 of the PPH Guidelines from 2nd November, 2020. According to the IPO notification, filing of Form 5-1 under Chapter 5 of the PPH Guidelines commenced from 5th December 2019 as notified on 4th December 2019. After scrutiny of 100 requests received, 56 requests were accepted by IPO and the applicants were allowed to file request for expedited examination on Form 18A.
Thereafter the IPO notified the acceptance of Form 5-1 under Chapter 5 of the PPH Guidelines on two occasions, i.e., on 9th March 2020 and 10th August, for the remaining slots. After scrutiny of requests received in response, 39 requests were accepted by IPO as per the Guidelines and the applicants were allowed to file request for expedited examination on Form 18A.
Since 5 requests slots would be still available as per the PPH Guidelines, the IPO would start accepting Form 5-1 under Chapter 5 of the PPH Guidelines from 2nd November, 2020 for these slots.
Indian Patent Office issues list of withdrawn patent applications
Intellepedia Publication Date: 19th October 2020
The Indian Patent Office published a notice consisting of patent applications that have been withdrawn through Form 29 between the 1st April 2020 and 30th September 2020. According to the document published on 14th October 2020, over 240 applications have been withdrawn in the aforementioned period. You may click here to access the official notice.
RGNIIPM issues updated notice on Online Joint IPR Workshops
Intellepedia Publication Date: 12th October 2020
RGNIIPM is conducting a number of online training workshops on IPR based on requests received from interested participants and organizations. The Institute has proposed to conduct the following types of online workshops –
- Online workshops on IPR – Patents (Duration – 1 hour, fee’s will not be charged)
- Online joint webinar/workshop on various topics of IPR (Duration – around half a day, INR 10,000/- for a minimum of 25 participants)
- Online joint webinars on various topics of IPR (Duration – 1 day, INR 25,000/- for a minimum of 25 participants)
You may click here for more information.
5th Korea International Youth Olympiad (KIYO) 4I 2020 – Register now
Intellepedia Publication Date: 21st September 2020
The World Women Inventors and Entrepreneurs Association in association with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO), Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and other organizations is organizing the 5th Korea International Youth Olympiad 2020. The event is aimed at fostering global leaders through creativity, moral courage, and teamwork. The last date to register for the event expires on the 25th of September 2020. Detailed information about the event may be viewed here and here.
RGNIIPM to conduct Online Joint IPR Workshops on request
Intellepedia Publication Date: 24th August 2020
RGNIIPM, a Central Government Institute engaged in conducting training programs with regard to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) will be conducting various online training workshops on IPR based to requests received from interested participants.
RGNIIPM is offering three variants of the online workshops, namely –
- Online workshops on IPR – Patents (Duration – 1 hour)
- Online joint webinar/workshop on various topics of IPR (Duration – around half a day)
- Online joint webinars various topics of IPR (Duration – 1 day)
You may click here for more information on the fee structure and the method of applying for the workshop.
IPO to re-open acceptance of requests under Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Project
Intellepedia Publication Date: 4th August 2020
According to the latest public notice issued on 27th July 2020, the Indian Patent Office (IPO) will re-open the line of accepting requests under the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program from 10th August 2020 onwards. The notice explains that on scrutinizing the 44 requests that the office had received in the second round of PPH applications, 35 requests were accepted and the applicants were allowed to file request for expedited examination through Form 18A. As 9 requests were found to be not eligible as per the PPH Guidelines, the office will be re-opening accepting Form 5-1 under Chapter 5 of the PPH Guidelines from 10th August 2020. The number of requests will be limited to 9.
You may click here to access the official public notice and here to access the PPH Guidelines.
NAIMCC acquires status of International Depositary Authority under the Budapest Treaty
Intellepedia Publication Date: 27th July 2020
According to a public notice issued by the Indian Patent Office (IPO) and the World Intellectual property Office (WIPO), the National Agriculturally Important Microbial Culture Collection (NAIMCC) will acquire the status of the International Depositary Authority (IDA) under the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure on 28th July, 2020.
India currently has two IDA’s namely – Microbial Culture Collection (MCC), located in Pune, Maharashtra and Microbial Type Culture Collection and Gene Bank (MTCC), located in Chandigarh.
You may click here to access the official notice.
Public notice issued by IPO on 18th May 2020 stands withdrawn
Intellepedia Publication Date: 22nd June 2020
The High Court of Delhi issued an order on 17th June 2020 stating that the public notice issued by Indian Patent Office (IPO) on 18th May 2020 stands withdrawn. According to the latest public notice issued by the IPO, all timelines for the completion of various acts or proceedings, filing of any reply or document, payment of fees, etc. falling after 15.03.2020, shall be the date as decided by the Hon’ble Court.
You may click here to access the Order issued by the High Court of Delhi and here to access the latest IPO notification.
IP-India welcomes RGNIIPM to the Twitter world
Intellepedia Publication Date:15th June 2020
The Indian Patent Office (IPO) recently welcomed Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Intellectual Property Management (RGNIIPM), a Central Government Institute on IPR under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, to the Twitter world. Interested persons may follow the RGNIIPM_Nagpur twitter handle for updates on IP training and other important information.
IPO creates new provision through the e-filing system for filing a Petition to Condone delay under sub-rule (6) of Rule 6
Intellepedia Publication Date: 1st June 2020
The Indian Patent Office (IPO) has created a new provision on the patent e-filing portal to enable applicants to directly file a Petition to Condone delay under sub-rule (6) of Rule 6. According to the public notice issued on 20th May 2020, all stakeholders can file a petition to condone delay or request for an extension of time to file responses, documents relating to various proceedings under the Patents Act and corresponding rules through the new provision on the patent e-filing. The Petition under sub-rule (6) of Rule 6 can be filed under Form 30, without fee. The notice also explains that the Petition must be filed within one month from the date on which the national lockdown ceases to exist.
You may click here to access the notice.
IPO adjourns all show cause hearings via public notice
Intellepedia Publication Date: 1st June 2020
As per a public notice issued by the Indian Patent Office on 22nd May 2020, all show-cause hearings scheduled until 31st May 2020 have been adjourned till further notice.
You may click here to access the notice.
Patent Agent Examination 2020 postponed until further notice
Intellepedia Publication Date: 25th May 2020
The Office of the CGPDTM has announced the postponement of the Patent Agent Examination (PAE) 2020 until further notice. The exam which was scheduled to be held on the 26th of June 2020 appears to have been postponed in view of the COVID situation and may be held only later during the year.
Patent office extends all deadlines to 1st June 2020
Intellepedia Publication Date: 25th May 2020
The Indian Patent Office (IPO) on the 18th of May issued a public notification notifying that for all due dates falling between 15-03-2020 and 17-05-2020, the new deadline shall be 01-06-2020. According to the notification, the due dates, with respect to the timelines/periods prescribed under the IP Acts and Rules administered by Office of the CGPDTM towards completion of various acts/proceedings, filing of any reply/document, payment of fees, etc. in the matters of any IP applications filed with the offices under the administrative control of O/o CGPDTM, falling due from 15-03-2020 to 17-05-2020, shall be 01-06-2020. Click here to view the notification.
The notice has been issued in furtherance of the decision of the Delhi High Court, passed on the 11th of May 2020 in the case of IPAA & Anr., vs. CGPDTM & Anr stating that “no Court, Tribunal or any authority can act contrary to the order of the Supreme Court dated 23-03-2020 passed in exercise of its powers under Article 141 and Article 142 of the Constitution; and under Article 144 of the Constitution, all authorities whether civil or judicial, located in the territory of India are required to act in aid of the orders passed by the Supreme Court.” Further, the Hon’ble High Court suspended the operation of IPO’s public notice dated 04-05-2020 and ordered that the respondents (i.e. the CGPDTM & Anr.) to act in accordance with the order of the Supreme Court dated 23-03-2020.
Click here to view the Supreme Court’s order dated 23-03-2020 (Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No(s). 3/2020)
Patent office extends all deadlines to 18th May 2020
Intellepedia Publication Date: 11th May 2020
The Indian Patent Office (IPO) by virtue of public notification dated 4th May has extended all deadlines falling between 25th March 2020 and 3rd May 2020 to 18th May 2020. As per the notice, the extension comes in the light of the national lock down period being extended by the Ministry of Home Affairs to 17th May 2020. The notice also explains that the CGPDTM has considered the fact that all the four IP Office are located in the Red Zones (Hotspots). Therefore, all Intellectual Property application deadlines falling between the above-mentioned time period have been extended to 18th May 2020.
You may click here to access the official notice.
Office of CGPDTM extends SIPP Scheme for a period of three years
Intellepedia Publication Date: 4th May 2020
As per the recent public notice issued by the Office of CGPDTM, the Scheme for Facilitating Startups Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP) has been extended for a period of three years. The SIPP Scheme will now remain in effect till 31st March 2023.
You may click here to access the official notification and here for more information on SIPP.
IPO postpones WIPO-Indian Summer School until further notice
Intellepedia Publication Date: 28th April 2020
In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian Patent Office has indefinitely postponed the WIPO-India Summer School that was previously scheduled to be held between 1st June and 12th June 2020. The official notice also states that new dates will be intimated once they have been finalized.
You may click here to access the official notice.
IPO postpones IP Innovation Gallery at RGNIIPM
Intellepedia Publication Date: 28th April 2020
According to a public notice issued on 20th April 2020, the Indian Patent Office has indefinitely postponed the establishment of the IP Innovation Gallery at RGNIIPM, Nagpur.
You may click here to access the official notification.
IPO issues notice containing list of withdrawn patent applications
Intellepedia Publication Date: 28th April 2020
The Indian Patent Office has published a notice consisting of all patent applications that have been withdrawn through Form 29 between the period of January and March 2020. According to the document published on 21st April 2020, 736 applications have been withdrawn in the aforementioned period. You may click here to access the complete list.
Office of CGPDTM updates public notice, cancels all hearing till 3rd May 2020
Intellepedia Publication Date: 21st April 2020
In view of the recent extension of the nation-wide lockdown by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, the Office of CGPDTM issued a new public notice further to the previous notice issued on 25th March 2020. The latest notice issued on 15th April 2020 states that all offices under the administrative control of the CGPDTM shall not be physically accessible to the general public till 3rd May 2020. The notice also states that all hearings previously scheduled in this time period stand adjourned. The office will issue fresh dates at a later time. Further, CGPDTM has said that all e-filing services will remain open.
You may click here to access the public notice.
IPO extends deadline to register for Patent Agent Examination 2020
Intellepedia Publication Date: 21st April 2020
A recent update by the Indian Patent Office indicates that the last date to register for the Patent Agent Examination 2020 has been extended to 4th May 2020. According to the notice, the extension of the date comes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the nation-wide lockdown that is to remain in effect until 3rd May 2020.
You may click here to access the update on the official website.
IPO updates public notice, cancels all VC hearings between 23rd March 2020 and 14th April 2020
Intellepedia Publication Date: 31st March 2020
According to an updated public notice issued by the Indian Patent Office (IPO) on 25th March 2020, all hearings via Video Conferencing (VC) previously scheduled between 23rd March 2020 and 14th April 2020 stand cancelled. The cancellation of the hearings come in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the nation-wide lockdown effective till 14th April 2020.
You may click here to access the updated public notice.
CGPDTM extends deadline to register for Patent Agent Examination 2020
Intellepedia Publication Date: 31st March 2020
In view of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) has issued a public notice indicating that the last day to register for the Patent Agent Examination 2020 has been extended to 14th April 2020.
You may click here to access the official announcement.
All offices under the control of the CGPDTM to remain closed for 21 days with effect from 25th March 2020
Intellepedia Publication Date: 31st March 2020
In reference to an Order issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India on 24th March 2020, all offices under the administrative control of the CGPDTM will remain closed for 21 days with effect from 25th March 2020. Further, the notice also states that all deadlines that fall in the referenced time period will be considered to be due on the next day on which the offices re-open according to Section 10 of the General Clauses Act, 1987.
You may click here to access the public notice.
IPO adjourns hearing of Design applications scheduled on 27th March 2020
Intellepedia Publication Date: 23rd March 2020
The Indian Patent Office issued a public notice on 17th March 2020 indicating that the office has adjourned the hearing of Design applications that was previously scheduled on 27th March 2020 before Dr. S. K. Barik, Asst. Controller of Patents & Designs. According to the notice, the adjournment comes in the light of the recent advisory issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India regarding the COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, all hearings that were previously scheduled on 27th Mach 2020 have been adjourned to 22nd April 2020.
You may click here to access the complete list of applications that have been adjourned.
IPO adjourns hearing of all Design applications scheduled between 18th March 2020 and 3rd April 2020
Intellepedia Publication Date: 23rd March 2020
In another public notice issued by theIndian Patent Office with regard to Design Applications, the office has adjourned the hearing of all Design applications that was previously scheduled between 18th March 2020 and 3rd April 2020 before Shri. Arup Garu, Asst. Controller of Patents & Designs.
You may click here to access the complete list of applications that have been adjourned.
CGPDTM issues public notice regarding hearings and submission of documents under the Patents Act, 1970
Intellepedia Publication Date: 23rd March 2020
The Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trademarks issued a notice on 19th March 2020 stating that the all in-person hearings that were scheduled to be held on or before 15th April 2020, at the four patent offices, will be changed to a Video Conferencing (VC) hearing. With respect to cases where the Applicants are not able to attend the VC hearing, the office will adjourn the hearing to a date later than 15th April 2020.
Additionally, with regard to applications requesting Condonation of Delay or Extension of timelines to file Responses or submit documents, under sub-rule (6) of Rule 6 of the Patents Rules, 2019, the notice indicates that the Controller will condone the delay or extend the timeline if a Petition for the same has been filed not later than one month from the date on which the COVID-19 outbreak ceases to exist.
You may click here to access the official public notice.
WIPO Academy, RGNIIPM and NLU Nagpur to host WIPO-India Summer School
Intellepedia Publication Date: 10th March 2020
According to a public notice issued on 5th March 2020, WIPO Academy, Rajiv Gandhi National Institute for Intellectual Property Management (RGNIIPM) and the National Law University (NLU), Nagpur will jointly host the WIPO – India Summer School in June, this year. As per the notice, this training program offers an opportunity to students and young professionals to delve deeper into the aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. The Summer School will be held between 1st and 12th of June 2020 and will be open to a maximum number of 50 participants only. All the participants will be awarded a joint certificate from WIPO, RGNIIPM and NLU. For more information on eligibility and registration procedure, please click here.
IPO to re-open acceptance of requests under Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Project
According to a public notice issued on 25th February 2020, the Indian Patent Office (IPO) will re-open the line of accepting requests under the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program from 9th March 2020 onwards. The IPO notice explains that on scrutinizing the 100 requests that the office had previously received, only 56 requests were accepted whereby the applicants were allowed to file request for expedited examination through Form 18A. As 44 requests were not found to be eligible as per the PPH Guidelines, the office will re-open accepting Form 5-1 under Chapter 5 of the PPH Guidelines from 9thMarch 2020. The number of requests will be limited to 44.
You may click here to access the official public notice and here to access the PPH Guidelines.
Office of CGPDTM invites applications for Patent Agent Examination 2020
On 24th February 2020, the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) published a notice on their official website inviting applications from eligible candidates for the Patent Agent Examination of 2020. According to the notice, the examination is likely to be conducted on 28th June 2020. Online registrations for candidates will be begin from 25th February 2020 and will remain open until 25th March 2020. The notice also states that the examination will be conducted in two sessions. Paper-I will primarily consist of Objective type questions and will be held for a period of 2 hours. Paper-II, bearing Descriptive type questions, will be held for a period of 3 hours. You may click here to access the official notice.
Office of CGPDTM publishes list of new facilitators under SIPP Scheme
Intellepedia Publication Date: 24th February 2020
On 19th February 2020, the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) published three separate lists containing the names of the Facilitators for Patents, Designs and Trade Marks under the SIPP scheme. The lists essentially contain the names of all the Facilitators that were added on 18th February 2020 along with the names of the existing Facilitators. As per Annexure 1, the list that contains the names of the Facilitators for Patents and Designs, 289 Facilitators have been added to the existing list. With respect to the Facilitators exclusively for Designs, 10 names have been added to the list this year.
You may click here to access the official public notice titled “New facilitators under SIPP scheme added on 18.02.2020 to the existing list: Patents, Designs, and Trademarks.”
Last date for submission of applications for National IP Awards – 2020 extended
According to a public notice issued by the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) on 6th February 2020, the last date to submit applications for the National IP Awards – 2020 has been extended to the 17th of February 2020. You may click here to access the official notice.
RGNIIPM to open IP Innovation Gallery
With the objective to create IP awareness, the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Intellectual Property Management (RGNIIPM), a Central Government Institute functioning under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has launched an IP Innovation Gallery in Nagpur. According to the official notice, the establishment of the IP Innovation Gallery aims to motivate its visitors by displaying patent models and prototypes. While the notice does not mention the last date for submitting the models, it does state that applications will be accepted solely on a first come first serve basis and as per availability of space. Further, the participants are not required to pay any fee in order to have their inventions exhibited; however they must meet the eligibility criteria as laid out in the official notice. A Certificate will be awarded by RGNIIPM to all the participants. You may click here to access the official notice as issued on the IP India website.
Indian Patent Agent Examination 2020 likely to be held in June this year
Intellepedia Publication Date: 3rd February 2020
The Indian Patent Office issued a public notice on 31st January 2020 indicating the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) is likely to conduct the Patent Agent Examination in June 2020.The notice also reads that further information will be made available on finalizing the schedule and certain other requirements.
You may click here to access the official public notice titled “Patent Agent Examination- 2020.”
Indian Patent Office invites Applications for National IP Awards 2020
Intellepedia Publication Date: 13th January 2020
The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) has invited the submission of Applications for its annual National IP Awards ceremony to be held later this year. The awards will be presented to top achievers comprising of individual persons, institutions, organizations and enterprises for their contributions in the field of Patents, Designs, Trademarks and Geographical Indications, Startups, MSME’s and Enforcement of IPR’s. In addition to this, three WIPO Awards will be presented by the Organization under the WIPO Awards Program, on the same day. The National IP Awards ceremony will be held in New Delhi, on the occasion of World IP Day, on 26th April 2020.
The ten categories under which the awards shall be presented include:
- Top Individual for Patents & Commercialization
- Top Indian Academic institution for Patents & Commercialization
- Top R & D institution/organization for Patents & Commercialization
- Top Public Limited Company / Private Limited Company for Patents & Commercialization in India
- Top Indian Private Company (MSME) for Patents & Commercialization
- Top Start-up for IP and Commercialization
- Top Indian Company /Organization for Designs
- Top Indian Company for creating Brand in India and abroad
- Top Individual / organization for Best facilitation of Registration of GI and Promotion of Registered GI in India
- Best Police Unit (District / zone in a Commissionarate) for enforcement of IP in the Country
The last date for submitting the applications falls on 7th February 2020. You may click here to access the official notice published on 8th January 2020 titled “Invitation for submission of Applications for National IP Awards-2020.”
IPO issues notice containing list of withdrawn patent applications
Intellepedia Publication Date: 6th January 2020
The Indian Patent Office has published a notice consisting of all patent applications that have been withdrawn through Form 29 between the period of October and December 2019. According to the document published on 3rd January 2020, over 950 applications have been withdrawn in the aforementioned period. You may click here to access the official notice titled “Withdrawal of Patent Applications (Form 29) and fees refunded during October, 2019 to December, 2019”
