Govt has reduced filing and prosecution fees for small entities
Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh has stressed that the “StartUps Intellectual Property Rights Protection” (SIPP) is aimed at promoting innovation and entrepreneurship.
“The filing of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) including Patents and Trademark by StartUps, along with Industry linkages will encourage innovation and motivate enterprise in India,” he said at the ‘National Intellectual Property Festival’, organised by the CSIR at the National Physical Laboratory in New Delhi on 2 July 2023.
Dr Jitendra Singh pointed out that the Government came up with the IPR Act in 2016, the Trademark Registration process has come down to one month, which was more than one year earlier.
“Soon after this, ‘StartUps Intellectual Property Rights Protection’ scheme was brought in, which envisages 80% rebate in patent filing and 40%-50% rebate vis-à-vis the industry and the companies,” the Minister said.
According to Dr Jitendra Singh several schemes supplement each other to reinforce the StartUp ecosystem and their Capacity Building.
“You can couple the StartUps. For example, you have the Mudra scheme, which offers you a loan of Rs.10-20 lakhs without any gratuity, mortgage, almost interest free,” he said.
Under SIPP, startups are given an 80% rebate on Patent filing fees and a facility for expedited examination of patent applications. Under the new Trademark Rules, Startups have been given a 50% rebate in filing fees vis-à-vis other companies.
Even for promotion of registration of Industrial Designs by StartUps as per the new design amendment rules 2021, the Government has reduced filing and prosecution fees for small entities.
The Minister said that there is a huge round of encouragement and promotion both for StartUps in the terms of being innovative and entrepreneurs.
Dr Jitendra Singh called for combining the digital repository of traditional knowledge and heritage with the modern scientific innovation and by institutionalising this mechanism, we can gain cutting edge in sectors such as Khadi, Aroma Mission and Lavender cultivation.
“I am convinced this is one of the best times happening, optimum times happening, and if we are into this StartUp IPR protection, we have the advantage of supplementing our StartUp ventures with our traditional knowledge, which is not happening as frequently as it could happen here,” he said.
“And if we do that, we would actually have an edge over other countries,” he added.
“Today, we are equal partners with other nations in technology application. In Quantum Computing, for example, we are in the same league as the developed world,” he said. Fiinews.com
