Chennai region has the highest number of patents filed in India and it accounts for 30 to 35 per cent of the total patents filed last year, according to Chaitanya Prasad, controller general of patents, designs, trademarks and registrar of geographical indications.
Pasad was talking to reporters after taking a seminar on ‘Public awareness building on the Madrid system for the international registration of trademarks’, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) here on Tuesday. He said that Chennai has been topping during the last two years when it comes to the number of patents filed.
He also said that the number of applications received by the Indian Intellectual Property Office for registration of trademarks has been increasing over the years. As per 2012 World Intellectual Property Indicators, it has been increasing by 12 per cent every year.
Quoting the report published by World Intellectual Property Organisation, he said that India’s filing volume surpassed that of Brazil in 2006, Japan’s and the republic of Korea in 2011. “In 2011, we received maximum number of trademark applications in Asia after china. We were ranked fifth among the intellectual property offices in the world when it came to trademark applications,” he added.
During 2012-13, the number of applications received for registration of trademarks was 1.94 lakh. A trademark is a mark adopted to distinguish goods or services of one person from those of the others. He said that although the registration of trademarks was not compulsory, it was advisable to register it for the purpose of its recognition and better protection like any other valuable property.
“Registration of trademarks establishes prima facie title over the trademark besides providing exclusive right over the trademark. It also provides the right to take infringement action in case of unauthorised use,” he added. He also said that the facility for online filing of applications for registration of trademarks has been provided. He highlighted government’s preparation for accession of Madrid Protocol by amending the Trade Marks Act 1999.
Talking about the technological aspects, he said that it has been contemplated that all the international applications originating from India, all international registrations designating India and all correspondences relating to India will be received by the registrar of trade marks only in electronic form.
The registrar of trademarks would also send all notifications and other correspondences to the international bureau in a similar fashion. He added that to achieve this, an application software was being developed by National Informatics Centre.
Naresh Prasad, executive director and chief of staff, office of the director general, World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Geneva, said that Indian industry and other stakeholders are unaware of the Madrid Protocol and there is a need to create awareness in smaller cities.