The recent floods have destroyed some key trademark and patent files at the Trade Marks Registry, Intellectual Property Office in Guindy.
Though water has been pumped out, some crucial files are damaged. An official at the Trademarks Registry Office, said, “Each trademark file runs into several pages containing unique details. We are working on restoring it. In some cases, we have e-filing facility so those details are safe. But, not everything was made available online,” he said. It is learnt that the retrieved files and papers are kept on the Guindy premises to dry.
This also means that those who have applied for trademarks would now have to wait. Some registration process would also slow down. But the official said that work is on in full swing to restore the documents.
The Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association office at Guindy has also lost important files.
Past records of firms, Provident Fund details which were kept in steel cupboards were damaged. An official there said, “We don’t have backup for some of the files which are more than 5 to 10 years old.”
A proprietor of a MSME unit at the Guindy industrial estate said that though the State government has been talking about e-governance, digitisation and bringing all documents online, nothing has really worked with the MSME units.
Even today if one wants to get details of any firm which is more than five years old, the data is not available in the systems.
“Many of the offices here still rely on physical files,” he said.
