By IANS
New Delhi : With global brands flooding the Indian market, it is time the country became a creator of intellectual property rather than merely using it, said Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath.
"India should not only be an intellectual property user but an intellectual property creator," Kamal Nath said while launching a portal for filling patent and trademark applications online here Friday.
Applicants will now be able to file the patents through the Internet and they can now also make payments through a payment gateway of authorised bankers.
"Time has come when Indian brands would be recognised world over. E-filing is a major step towards modernising our intellectual property structure having complete transparency," the minister said.
"India is also at an advanced stage of joining the Madrid Protocol on trademarks. The bill for making the changes necessary in the trademark law would be introduced in the forthcoming session of parliament," he added.
"India's membership in the Madrid Protocol would help Indian companies to register their trademarks in the member countries of the protocol through a single application."
Currently, about a dozen or so countries such as the US, EU, Japan, South Korea and China have e-filing facilities.