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Comrades Editorial · 26 Sep 2026 (PDF)

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In this edition

  1. Strengthening Intellectual Property Rights Ecosystem in India Science & Technology

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Science & Technology

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Strengthening Intellectual Property Rights Ecosystem in India

Source This editorial is based on “India should chase its own IP-led global standards” published in the Hindustan Times on 24/09/2026. The article highlights that India needs stronger indigenous innovation, global patent leadership and standards-setting capacity to leverage intellectual property as a strategic asset in emerging technologies. India’s rapidly growing digital economy is critically dependent on globally developed technical standards, highlighting an urgent need to shift from being a net technology importer to a pioneer in Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) and robust Intellectual Property (IP) frameworks. Despite high internet penetration and a digital economy projected to generate one-fifth of GDP, India’s contribution to global technology remains below 0.1%, while rising patent filings signal progress. Low commercialization, legal ambiguities and fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) disputes remain key challenges. How is Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Regulated in India?
  • Nodal Administrative Architecture and Regulatory Authorities:
    • Functioning under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, DPIIT is the apex policy-making body responsible for overall IPR regulation, legislative reforms, and international coordination with WIPO.
    • Operating under DPIIT and headquartered in New Delhi, Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) directly oversees the administration of four key IP pillars through regional offices (Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai):
      • The Patent Office (Patents Act, 1970)
      • The Trade Marks Registry (Trade Marks Act, 1999)
      • The Designs Office (Designs Act, 2000)
      • The Geographical Indications Registry (Geographical Indications of Goods Act, 1999; located in Chennai)
  • Specialized Sectoral Agencies:
    • Copyright Office: Administers the Copyright Act, 1957, overseeing registration and statutory copyright societies (e.g., Indian Performing Right Society - IPRS under Section 33).
    • Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPV&FRA): Operates under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to administer the PPV&FR Act, 2001.
    • Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Registry (SICLDR): Enforces the SICLD Act, 2000 under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
  • Judicial Restructuring:
    • To prevent judicial congestion, major High Courts (led by the Delhi High Court and Madras High Court) established dedicated Intellectual Property Divisions (IPDs) backed by specialized procedural frameworks like the Delhi High Court IPD Rules, 2022.
    • Civil IP infringement cases at the trial level are designated as “Commercial Disputes” under Commercial Courts Act, 2015, enforcing strict timelines for summary judgments, case management hearings, and trial completions.
  • Inter-Regulatory Primacy:
    • In the CCI v. Ericsson & Monsanto, the Supreme Court of India upheld that the Patents Act, 1970 is a specialized self-contained code that prevails over competition law regarding patentee rights and licensing terms.
    • The ruling affirmed that issues of alleged patent abuse, unreasonable royalty demands, or refusal to license fall strictly under internal statutory remedies (such as Compulsory Licensing) rather than antitrust investigations by the CCI.
  • Statutory Safeguards against Market Monopoly:
    • Sections 84 of the Patents Act, 1970 act as vital regulatory valves under which, a third party can apply for a compulsory licensing (CL) after 3 years from grant if:
      • The reasonable requirements of the public have not been satisfied.
      • The patented invention is not available to the public at a reasonably affordable price.
      • The patent is not being “worked” (manufactured/commercialized) in the territory of India.
  • Digital Copyright Regulation and Dynamic Injunctions: To combat rapid digital piracy, mirror domains, and “rogue websites” that continuously alter URL addresses, Indian High Courts issue Dynamic Injunctions (pioneered in UTV Software Communication Ltd. v. 1337X.to Case, 2019).
How is India Strengthening its Intellectual Property Ecosystem?
  • Rising Intellectual Property Filings and Innovation Activity:
    • According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the Indian ecosystem has experienced a breakout phase, with total IP filings surging by 44% over 5 years, rising from 4.77 lakh applications in 2020–21 to nearly 6.90 lakh applications in 2024–25.
    • Geographical Indications (GI) displayed the highest percentage growth (380% over five years), peaking at 275 filings in 2024–25 due to hyper-localized commercialization strategies.
  • Strengthening of Patent Ecosystem:
    • In 2024–25, domestic patent applications rose to 68,201, accounting for 61.79% of the total filing pool, a structural departure from previous decades.
    • PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) international applications filed by Indian entities more than doubled, increasing from 964 in 2020–21 to 2,600 in 2024–25, indicating that Indian inventors are increasingly commercializing assets in global markets.
  • Expansion of Trademark and Brand Protection Ecosystem:
    • Trademark protection has evolved beyond traditional goods into digital and non-conventional domains, shielded aggressively by both the registry and the judiciary.
    • The processing of trademark applications was drastically simplified by replacing 74 disparate forms with just 8 consolidated forms. New, express provisions for filing non-conventional marks (such as Sound Marks) have been successfully codified.
  • Geographical Indications (GI) and Protection of Traditional Knowledge:
    • India has weaponized GI to protect indigenous heritage, rural artisans, and farmers from multinational biopiracy and unauthorized global capitalization.
    • India currently boasts over 800 registered GIs. Recent high-profile inclusions like Assam’s Majuli Mask, Kaji Nemu, and Banaras Zardozi illustrate the shift toward premium branding of local heritage.
    • The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) remains a global benchmark, actively cited during international patent examinations (like at the USPTO and EPO) to prevent Western corporations from patenting centuries-old Indian medicinal formulations (e.g., turmeric or neem derivatives).
  • Digital Transformation of IP Administration:
    • The DPIIT has aggressively modernized the administrative machinery to reduce bureaucratic friction and increase global competitiveness.
    • The government introduced a 10% official fee reduction for advance patent renewals (for at least 4 years) paid via electronic modes to push a 100% digital ecosystem.
    • The continued implementation of the Intellectual Property Automation System (IPAS) and the use of AI for prior-art searches and automated trademark examination have dramatically cut down pendency times.
  • Growing Role of Startups and MSMEs in IP Creation:
    • Smaller innovators are no longer priced out of the IP ecosystem, thanks to aggressive state-sponsored safety nets.
    • The Start-Ups Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP) Scheme—which reimburses professional facilitator fees (e.g., ₹10,000 for filing, ₹15,000 for disposal with opposition), has radically lowered the barrier to entry.
    • Indian startups filed over 4,480 patent applications in FY 2025–26 alone, bringing the total startup patent footprint to over 19,400 filings since the initiative’s scale-up.
  • Role of Universities and Research Institutions:
    • The traditional “publish or perish” academic model in India has definitively shifted to a “patent, publish, and commercialize” culture.
    • In 2024–25, educational institutions accounted for an astonishing 38% of the country’s total patent filings, submitting 45,776 applications.
    • Initiatives like the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), which links university funding and prestige directly to patent metrics, alongside the establishment of Kalam Program for IP Literacy and Awareness (KAPILA), have driven universities to institutionalize internal IP cells.
  • Integration with Strategic Sectors and Emerging Technologies:
    • While the highest volumes of filings are clustered in Computer Science, Electronics, and Mechanical Engineering, specialized niches are booming.
    • The surge is heavily correlated with state missions like the National Semiconductor Mission and the IndiaAI Mission. Startups in Electric Vehicles (EV), battery chemistry, and IoT networks form the bulk of new engineering patents.
    • India continues to lead in pharmaceutical innovation while utilizing Section 3(d) of the Patents Act, 1970 to prohibit “evergreening,” ensuring a balanced IP ecosystem that rewards genuine innovation while protecting its affordable generic drug industry.
  • Legal and Institutional Framework:
    • Under the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024, the deadline to file a Request for Examination (RFE) in India has been reduced from 48 months to 31 months and and diluted the grueling requirement of filing Form 27 (Statement of Commercial Working) from an annual chore to once every three years.
    • To prevent anti-competitive bullying, the amended rules now require a prima facie case to be established before a pre-grant opposition can proceed, effectively curbing frivolous challenges designed to stall legitimate patents.
What are the Key Concerns Associated with Intellectual Property Rights in India?
  • Academic “Filing Bubble” vs. Commercialization Deficit:
    • Despite a surge in institutional patent filings, India faces a severe research-to-market translation failure. Out of the roughly 2,30,480 patents in force in India, only 1.59% have actually been commercialized. Even when broader utilization disclosures submitted under Form 27 are included, the utilization rate increases to only 6.39%.
    • Prolific university filers register massive application volumes, yet record a grant conversion rate as low as 0% to 3%. This indicates widespread frivolous filing devoid of industrial applicability or technical novelty.
  • Global Trade Pressure & USTR Priority Watch List Friction:
    • The United States Trade Representative (USTR) continuously retains India on its “Priority Watch List,” classifying it as one of the world’s most challenging major economies for foreign IP enforcement.
    • Global trade partners frequently flag India’s elevated customs duties on IP-intensive products—such as Information and Communications Technology (ICT) hardware, medical diagnostics, and solar energy equipment—as anti-competitive barriers.
  • Widespread Physical/Digital Counterfeiting and Industry Revenue Drain:
    • Counterfeiting, illicit trade, and trademark infringement inflict severe structural damage on domestic industries.
    • According to market studies by FICCI CASCADE, illicit trade causes an annual sales loss of over ₹1,05,000 crore to legitimate industry and deprives the government of over ₹39,000 crore in lost tax revenue.
    • Enforcement agencies frequently cite India as a major global origin point for seized unlicensed and counterfeit pharmaceutical products intercepted at international customs borders.
  • Statutory Ambiguity in Emerging Technologies:
    • Under Section 3(k) of the Patents Act, 1970, “computer programs per se or algorithms” are not inventions and cannot be patented in India.
    • This statutory language creates acute ambiguity for DeepTech, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and SaaS startups. Patent examiners apply varying thresholds on what constitutes a patentable “technical effect” versus a non-patentable algorithm, discouraging AI architecture innovation.
    • The absence of statutory clarity around synthetic content ownership was highlighted when the Copyright Office initially granted and subsequently re-examined co-authorship registration to an AI tool (RAGHAV AI Paint), revealing deep uncertainty over human-authorship thresholds.
  • Examination Quality Discrepancies and Pre-Grant Opposition Misuse:
    • Rapid clearance quotas assigned to patent examiners have raised fears of “rubber-stamped” grants, where overly broad or weak patents are issued without deep prior-art searches, triggering downstream invalidation lawsuits.
    • Competing corporate entities frequently exploit Section 25(1) of the Patents Act by filing serial, frivolous Pre-Grant Oppositions right before an application reaches grant status. This strategy delays legitimate competitor product launches by 3 to 5 years, operating as a legal tactic of attrition.
  • Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) & High Litigation Friction for Local Manufacturers:
    • India’s smartphone, automotive, and smart-meter manufacturing sectors face protracted legal battles over Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) governed by Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) licensing terms.
    • Global Non-Practicing Entities (NPEs) and patent pools frequently subject domestic Indian original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to Anti-Suit Injunctions (ASIs) and Anti-Anti-Suit Injunctions (AASIs) across international courts (e.g., in the UK, US, or China) to force global royalty settlements.
What Measures are Needed to Strengthen Intellectual Property Rights Ecosystem in India?
  • Enactment of a Public-Funded R&D Act & Institutional Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs):
    • India must enact a statutory framework equivalent to the US Bayh-Dole Act, 1980. This would allow higher education institutions (IITs, CSIR labs, central universities) to retain IP ownership generated from government grants, forcing the conversion of academic papers into commercial patents.
    • Universities must build specialized, external Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) staffed by patent strategists and licensing experts rather than academic faculty.
  • Statutory Reforms for DeepTech, and AI-Generated Output:
    • DPIIT and the Patent Office must issue explicit guidelines defining “technical contribution” and “technical effect” under Section 3(k) of the Patents Act, 1970.
    • Amend the Copyright Act, 1957 to establish explicit Text and Data Mining (TDM) fair-use exemptions for non-commercial AI model training, preventing global AI developers from facing perpetual infringement risk.
  • Codification of a National Standard Essential Patent (SEP) & FRAND Policy:
    • Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and DPIIT must codify a national policy framework for Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) in high-growth connectivity sectors (5G/6G, IoT, smart meters, electric vehicles).
    • Establish clear guidelines for Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) terms, enforcing a “top-down” valuation approach to prevent foreign patent pools from demanding cumulative royalties that exceed the total margin of domestic hardware original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
  • Custom-Police-Industry Tripartite Enforcement:
    • Form state-level specialized police task forces trained in digital forensics, dark-web monitoring, and brand protection to dismantle sophisticated cross-border counterfeiting and digital piracy networks.
    • Upgrade the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) e-Customs IPR Recordation System with computer-vision AI to automatically detect counterfeit goods, illicit pharmaceuticals, and pirated electronics at ports of entry.
    • Institutionalize real-time Dynamic Injunction mechanisms allowing rights holders to block automated mirror domains and stream-ripping operations within 24 hours of unauthorized broadcast or distribution.
  • Proactive TKDL Monetization & Indigenous Bio-Resource Partnerships:
    • Transition the TKDL from a purely defensive tool (used to block foreign biopiracy) into a proactive commercial licensing engine.
    • Form Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) that allow Indian nutraceutical, cosmetic, and botanical drug startups to license verified traditional formulations from the TKDL database for global commercial launch.
    • Standardize access and benefit-sharing (ABS) agreements under the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), ensuring local indigenous communities automatically receive royalties without complex administrative delays.
  • Strengthen Enforcement and Alternative Dispute Resolution:
    • A strong IP ecosystem requires quick and affordable enforcement.
    • Strengthen Commercial Courts, judicial and enforcement capacity, and develop fast-track IP dispute mechanisms.
    • Promote mediation and arbitration to address counterfeiting, online piracy, digital copyright violations and trade secret theft.
Conclusion
  • India’s IPR ecosystem stands at a critical juncture, balancing rapid filing growth with deep structural bottlenecks. Transitioning from a net technology importer to a global innovation pioneer requires bridging the gap between patent filings and actual commercialization. Enacting a public-funded R&D framework, clarifying Section 3(k) for deeptech, and codifying a balanced Standard Essential Patent (SEP) policy will be pivotal. Strengthening judicial enforcement and alternative dispute resolution will ultimately safeguard indigenous intellectual capital while attracting global high-value investments.