Norms for software patents to be finalised

The government will finalise detailed guidelines for patent examiners over the next one month specifying the conditions under which software, polymers and other chemicals can be patented.

"There is a general notion that software can be patented. That is not true. You cannot patent software. However software embedded in hardware can be patented. All such issues are sought to be clarified through these working guidelines for the patent examiners which will be put up on the web once they have been finalised," an official told Business Standard.

Officials said that the first draft had been prepared and was being discussed by the ministry officials with legal experts and industry representatives. The guidelines would be finalised in the next one month.

The government has already hired 175 patent examiners to deal with the load of patent applications. The modernisation of patent offices is underway and the new patent office in the capital will be inaugrated next month.

Along with patent, work on the other areas of intellectual property like Geographical indicators (GI) is also picking up pace. The government has granted GI on six products including chanderi sarees and Darjeeling tea and is considering proposal to grant GI on 30 other items, officials said.

Earlier today Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said that the new modernised product patent regime will help attract more foreign direct investment and make India a new destination for contract manufacturing and contract research.

"The modernised patent law is expected to provide a secure and conducive environment to investments. India could be new destination for contract manufacturing and contract research since India has cost and capabilities advantages," Nath said in his address to the National Seminar on Promotion, Protection and Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights organised by his ministry in association with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and Ficci.

The minister, whose speech was read out in his absence, said that the government had undertaken an ambitious programme to modernise the intellectual property rights administrative infrastructure with a view to making the system efficient, IT-enabled and more user-friendly.