Skip to main content

Asia Business Law Journal compares patent regimes across Asia in this Head 2 Head. Pravin Anand and Nishchal Anand make the case for India.

In the year 2016, two major developments were set in motion by the Indian government- the National IPR Policy, approved on the 12th of May and the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2016, which came into effect on the 16th of May. While the former clarified India’s policy position on a number of substantive provisions relating to patent law, the latter sought to improve the procedural framework with respect to patent examination, grant and opposition. The notable aspects of each of these are analysed below.

The National IPR Policy 2016

The mission statement of this policy seems to envision a balance between fostering innovation and protecting public interest considerations such as access to healthcare, food security and environmental protection.

The policy also puts down seven objectives including: promoting IPR awareness; stimulating IPR generation; ensuring a strong legislative framework that balances the interests of the right owners with the larger public interest; modernizing and strengthening the IPR administration; encouraging the commercialization of IPR; and strengthening the adjudication and enforcement mechanisms against infringement and developing human resources, institutions and capacities within the IP field.

Read the full Head 2 Head on Asia Business Law Journal.

Most Recent

News & Insights

VIEW ALL
News & Updates
Dec 05, 2025

The High Court of Delhi in a significant interim ruling, “AB SKF vs M/S PARAMOUNT BEARING CO. & ORS.”, CS(COMM) 963/2025, dated 19/11/2025 has clarified

Distinction Between Order 38, Rule 5 and Order 39, Rules 1-2 CPC in the Context of “Maintenance of Status Quo”
News & Updates
Nov 26, 2025

Authored by Pravin Anand There are areas of intellectual property law where one can sense, quite literally, the convergence of disciplines that do not

When Art Meets Science in Trademark Law: Reflections on India’s First Smell Mark
Thought Leadership
Nov 25, 2025

First published on Lexology. Authored by Vaishali R Mittal In a landmark moment for Indian intellectual property law, the Trademarks Registry has accepted

Scenting the Future: How India’s First Smell Mark Application Aligns with Global Jurisprudence
Thought Leadership
Nov 21, 2025

We are proud to share that the Trade Marks Registry of India has, for the first time, accepted an olfactory (smell) mark for advertisement — “Floral

A Landmark First for Indian Trademark Law