Global patent filings on the rise

Hyderabad: Filing of patents by researchers across the global has increased.

“Last year, they have grown by 7.2 per cent, largely driven by innovations in hi-tech and healthcare sectors,” Deepesh Gupta, Manager (Intellectual Property Rights) of Aranca (an IP consultancy firm), said.

Addressing a conference on IPR organised by Assocham recently, he said India lagged China with only 40,000 filings as against about 7 lakh by the latter.

“Indian firms should invest more on building IP. They should have a three-pronged approach wherein they can build, buy or licence IP in order to differentiate themselves with others,” he said.

The Assocham has released the report ‘IP management — priorities and challenges for IP managers in India’, along with Aranca, to mark the third edition of the conference. From a mere 17,500 patent filings, the number rose to 39,000 in 2011. The number of patents granted went up to 7,500 patents from 1,900 during the period.