New Delhi, Jan 1 (KNN) Out of 37,660 applications filed, India has granted 17,148 patents till November 30, said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

''Infrastructure upgradation, manpower augmentation, regulatory reforms and IT enablement have resulted in speedy disposal of intellectual property application,'' the Ministry added.

According to the data, 1, 35,289 trademark registrations have been given during April-November 2020-21. A total of 2, 78,023 applications were filed.

Similarly, 9,221 copyrights were granted out of 13,861 applications filed during the period.

''Electronic filing systems are in place for filing of applications for Patents, Trademarks, Designs and Geographical Indications. The Copyright Office, also has advanced facilities for online filing for registration of copyrights. Real time dissemination of information, in respect of IP applications, positions India’s IP Offices at par with its peers globally,'' it said.

It added that the scheme for facilitating start-ups' intellectual property protection, launched for encouraging innovation and creativity of start-ups, has now been extended up to March 2023.

Till November this fiscal, nine patents were granted to start-ups out of 1,262 applications. In 2019-20, 106 patents were granted.

The Ministry further highlighting the major achievements of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said, ''In order to simplify the process and reduce compliance burden, amendments have been made through Patent Amendment Rules 2020, related to the working of Patented Invention in India as required under section 8 in Form 27. Additionally, filing of a statement on the commercial working of a patent within 6 months instead of 3 months as prescribed earlier and only one form may be filled in respect of multiple related patents assigned to common patentee.''

In a bid to boost the registration of Authorised users of a Geographical Indications product, Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) (Amendment) Rules, 2020 were notified in the Gazette on August 26, 2020.

''The amendment has reduced the fees to be paid for the GI registration process and eased the procedure for registration of an authorized user of a registered GI,'' it added.

''Scheme for facilitating Startups Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP) launched for encouraging innovation and creativity of startups has now been extended up to March 31st, 2023,'' the Ministry avowed.