The end of the year 2014 and the beginning of the year 2015 have seen a series of welcoming developments undertaken by the Controller General of Patents Design & Trademarks with an aim to improve the working of the Patent Office.
Electronic Mail Intimation of the Patent Examination Reports
The Controller General (CG) of the Indian Patent Office launched the service of electronic mail intimation of the issued Patent Examination Reports on real time basis. The CG suggested that the applicants/authorized agents update their email IDs against the respective applications in case they had not been already provided.
Explore IPINDIA
The Controller General launched an umbrella service that is a one stop information portal for data related to the Intellectual Property Office in India. Data related to patents, designs, trademarks and geographical indications can be accessed from a single page at http://www.ipindia.gov.in/explore_ipindia_f.htm. Data that was spread across the Patent Office website has now been consolidated under one head that also includes the Controller's decisions. Information also includes particulars regarding working of the Patent Office as the International Search Agency (ISA) and International Preliminary Examination Agency (PEA) and the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Intellectual Property Management (RGNIIPM). It is hoped that this will give a boost to the transparency drive undertaken by the IPO in India.
The portal is comprehensive and useful that contains all the information that is needed by an IP practitioner.
Cause List for Patent hearings
Hearing appointments at the Delhi Patent Office will now be notified in a Cause List on the IPO website and can be accessed at http://ipindiaservices.gov.in/rqstatus/Cause_list.ASPX .
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