Mirroring global trends, in FY2023, India witnessed 83,000 patents being filed, marking an annual growth rate of 24.6%, the highest in the last two decades, as per Patenting Trends report released by Nasscom on Friday.
The number of patents granted also witnessed significant growth rising over 2X between FY2019-FY2023. This trend was expected to increase significantly with over 100,000 patents granted between 15th March 2023 to 14th March 2024, it said.
The study also found that over the past decade, the proportion of patents filed by residents (primary filers based in India) has doubled, climbing from 33.6% of total filings in fiscal year 2019 to more than 50% in fiscal year 2023. ‘‘This significant increase reflects a growing focus and heightened awareness of intellectual property rights in the country. Educational Institutes have been a key driver to this growth,’‘ the report said.
Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things and Neurotechnology are amongst the top technology patents filed by DeepTech Start-ups in India, reported Nasscom.
Amongst the top application areas, Healthcare related patents, primarily around medical imaging, diagnosing, report generation and testing saw the maximum applications, followed by Automation/Software Development and Retail/Ecommerce. Artificial Intelligence saw maximum patents filed in areas of image processing, Natural Language Processing, and Predictive modelling, while Gen AI, Medical Data Processing and Cognitive computing are the key emerging areas.
Debjani Ghosh, President, Nasscom said, ‘‘The surge in patent filings within the last few years is a clear indication of India’s growing innovation prowess, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence. To further enhance domestic patent activity, collaborations among key stakeholders are essential for fostering and increasing awareness of intellectual property rights.”
Over the last two years, the patent filing process in India has undergone significant improvement. Yet, the country’s share in patents filed globally was just above 2%, implying the need for more focused initiatives in this direction, she added.
