New Move For an Indian Patent Database

Two years after India’s implementation of international trade rules on intellectual property rights, a lawyers group is rekindling a decade-old push to organize India’s patent applications into an electronic database.

IP law blog ("blawg") Spicy IP has sent a petition to the India Patent Office (IPO). Citing India’s status as an information technology leader and its emerging role as a patent “trendsetter” for the developing world, the petition calls on the IPO to “create a comprehensive database” of patents, including full specifications and claims. It also asked that the IPO to “upload patent office decisions,” which are currently confidential, in order to foster transparency and public accountability.