Nine months after the Central government first notified the draft Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2018 on the 4th of December 2018, the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2019 have now come into effect through a notification by the Central Government on the 18th of September 2019 in its official gazette. In line with the draft rules, the new rules now primarily entitle the following categories of patent applicants to seek expedited examination of their patent applications:
Small entities / MSME’s;
…
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises contribute enormously to the socio-economic development of the country and this is not a hidden fact. MSMEs play a crucial role in providing large employment opportunities at comparatively lower capital cost than large industries. They also help in industrialization of rural & backward areas, thereby, reducing regional imbalances and assuring more equitable distribution of national income and wealth.
According to the SME chamber of India, the MSME sector consists of 36 million units which…