| |
- There must be an educational section for public awareness on IP (including the current status of IP law on various topics) made available in the public domain in all official languages of the country
- The patent granting procedure must involve adequate web based notification of an application with complete details to give sufficient opportunity for any pre grant objections to be filed. It is particularly essential to provide e-access in real time to all steps of a patent application, from the detailed patent description, examination reports at each stage and all amendments introduced at various points, in order to maintain complete transparency.
- There is urgent need to develop a comprehensive patent database that provides the latest information on patents, including patent applications and decisions of patent offices. At the same time, the patent offices must have access to relevant international databases and search engines, including databases with prior art literature
- To achieve the best global standards in quality and access, the IP offices should aim to become International Search Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examination Authority (IPEA) under the PCT and to this end, aim to conform to the PCT standards in respect of possession or access to minimum documentation, number of administrative and technically qualified staff and IT support systems
- Efforts should also be made to develop quantifiable indices for measuring, monitoring and managing quality and efficiency
- To ensure that the services of the IP offices reach the common people engaged in rural technologies, artisanry, crafts and traditional knowledge, there should be special schemes and establishments in the patent offices to deal with claims involving the creation and protection of traditional knowledge in its various forms. Since ensuring effective and competent legal representation is a critical problem for such groups, mechanisms should be evolved that incentivise such representation by the best patent lawyers in the country
- For each sector of highly technical patents, it may be necessary to constitute specific empowered committees of experts as part of the patent evaluation process in the patent office to decide on the suitability of granting a patent, in accordance with the provisions of the law. These committees must adhere to strict time bound procedures of examination and sufficient safeguards must also be maintained to ensure confidentiality and prevent any subversion of the process
2.0 Incentive mechanisms to attract and retain quality talent
2.1 An incentive driven system of human resources management, including fast track career structures for deserving staff should be developed within the IP offices to attract and retain competent personnel. As the IP Offices will be competing with the private industry to attract qualified scientists and engineers, they will need to reach out proactively to institutions of eminence. Candidates applying for the post of a patent examiner must be tested on a combination of skills, such as scientific/technical knowledge, practical experience of such knowledge, critical analysis, written and oral communication skills and problem solving. Further, to ensure the availability of trained personnel in all technology sectors, the appointment of such personnel should be done periodically in a manner that ensures adequate proportional representation of each sector, by considering as an illustrative benchmark, the volume of applications and grants in the sector.
|
