India Sees Rising Patent and Trademark Filings Amid Operational Reforms, Yet Trails Global Leaders

Data released by the Indian government demonstrates a notable increase in the number of patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property (IP) applications filed in India over recent years. Alongside this growth, the data also indicates improvements in the speed of application disposal. However, India continues to lag behind global leaders such as China and the United States in terms of absolute filing numbers.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) World Intellectual Property Indicators 2020 report, China led the world in patent filings in 2019, followed by the United States. China also topped the list for trademark filings, submitting more than half of the world’s trademark applications that year. India ranked 10th globally for patent filings and 8th for trademarks, with filing volumes significantly lower than those of China and the US.

Intellectual property rights, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights, serve not only to protect the creativity and inventions of individuals and entities but also provide economic advantages. In an increasingly globalized economy, IP filings are considered indicators of a country’s innovation capacity and contribute to technological progress and international competitiveness.

India’s patent system is governed by the Patents Act of 1970 and the Patent Rules of 2003. Several amendments, including the Patent (Amendment) Act of 2005 and rule changes in 2016, 2017, and 2019, have been implemented to enhance procedural efficiency in patent application, examination, and disposal processes.

The Intellectual Property India (IPI) summary highlights modernization efforts such as the adoption of IT-enabled processes, including e-filing and paperless workflows across IP offices nationwide. Manpower has also been significantly increased: patent examiners grew from 183 in 2014-15 to 610 by May 2020, and patent controllers increased from 89 to 245 in the same period. These expansions aim to reduce backlogs and expedite patent examinations.

This enhanced capacity is reflected in patent filing and processing trends. Patent applications filed rose from approximately 42,700 in 2014-15 to 56,200 in 2019-20. More strikingly, the number of patents examined surged from 22,600 in 2014-15 to over 80,000 in 2019-20, although this was slightly lower than the 85,400 examined in 2018-19. Patents granted increased nearly fourfold, from 5,900 in 2014-15 to 24,900 in 2019-20. Total patent applications disposed of also rose sharply, from 14,300 in 2014-15 to 55,900 in 2019-20, indicating improved operational efficiency.

Similar progress is evident in trademark processing. The IPI consolidated 74 trademark application forms into 8, and further into a single form for all trademark types, simplifying the filing process. Manpower enhancements included an increase in examiners and senior examiners from 64 in 2014-15 to 181 in 2019-20, and registrars from 13 to 22, although only 22 of 54 sanctioned registrar posts were filled.

These reforms reduced the trademark application processing period from 13 months to under 30 days, and registration timelines from 3-5 years to within 6 months. In 2016-17, approximately 532,000 trademark applications were examined—nearly double the previous year—helping to reduce backlogs. Disposals increased to around 290,000 from 116,000 in 2015-16, resulting in 250,000 trademark registrations in 2016-17 compared to 65,000 the prior year. Registration numbers have averaged around 300,000 annually from 2017-18 through 2019-20, though a slight decline was noted in 2019-20.

Industrial design applications have also seen increased examination volumes, rising from about 7,500 in 2015-16 to 11,800 in 2016-17, continuing an upward trend.

While India’s IP filing and processing landscape has improved markedly due to legislative reforms, technological modernization, and manpower augmentation, the country still faces challenges in matching the scale of filings seen in China and other leading nations. Continued efforts will be necessary to further enhance India’s position in the global intellectual property ecosystem.