The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), in association with the Union ministry of micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), is establishing a string of IP Facilitation Centers to assist MSMEs across India in protecting their IP. The IP Facilitation Centers will offer services covering all aspects of IP rights. In addition to providing general advice about patents, trademarks, designs, and copyrights, the Center’s technical and legal experts will offer patent searches, patent drafting, patent and trademark prosecution, and facilitation in commercialization of inventions. During its first phase, FICCI will open the IP Facilitation Center head office in Delhi. As work progresses, FICCI expects to link the head office to state offices in Kolkata, Jaipur, Mumbai, Ahmadabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bangalore. Foreign firms file 80% of India’s patent applications. Though the country’s small industries produce various innovations, they often fail to protect their IP due to lack of funding and lack of awareness about the need to protect their IP.
Source: PharmaBiz