The Commerce Ministry has said that it has proposed to reduce fees of various intellectual property rights (IPR), patents, and designs for small enterprises and startups to promote innovation. While applying for intellectual property, an individual, group, or industry has to pay fees at different levels of intellectual property rights (IPR) application fillings. The new proposal aims at reducing the fees for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and startups. The filing of patent applications will be reduced to Rs 1,600 or Rs 1,750 from Rs 4,000 or Rs 4,400 for expedited examination, it will be reduced to Rs 8,000 from Rs 25,000 currently. The proposal also expects to reduce the fees for the renewal of patents.

Government to reduce IPR fees for MSMEs

The Government has decided to reduce the fees for design applications filing. The fees for MSMEs and startups will be reduced to Rs 1,000 from Rs 2,000, the Ministry said. It also said that domestic filing for patents had increased from 22 per cent in 2013-14 to 34 per cent in 2018-19. “Awareness programmes for IP are being conducted at schools, colleges, universities, R&D institutes, and industry clusters,” it said. The Ministry also proposed to cut the fee for filing of the applications, issuance of certificate, and renewal of GI (Geographical indications) from the current Rs 500, Rs 100 and Rs 1,000, respectively, to nil. The multipronged strategies have been used to address the issue of pendency in IP applications, including manifold augmentation of manpower and streamlining of procedures, it added.    

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Why are Intellectual rights important for MSMEs

Intellectual Property Rights are legal rights, which result from intellectual activity in industrial, scientific, literary, and artistic fields. These rights safeguard the creators and other producers of intellectual goods and services by granting them certain time-limited rights to control their use. Protected IP rights like other property can be a matter of trade, which can be owned, sold, or bought. These are intangible and non-exhausted consumption. The IP rights protect the MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) to establish enterprise/business identity through branding strategy. It helps protect innovation through patents, utility models, and trade secrets of the MSMEs. It protects creativity by designs and authors rights. IP protection prevents competitors from imitating products or services.

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