Starting the day with some good news, the office of Controller General of Patent Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) has issued a notification for recruiting 553 Patent and Designs Examiners! However, it will be done via the Quality Council of India – more details on that later below.
Those familiar with the Indian IP administration will know that an inadequate workforce is a systematic challenge that has plagued the functioning of the Indian patent office and the office of CGPDTM, generally, for ages. The topic has been the focal point of some extensive discussions on the blog (instinctively see here, here and here) and has caused the government to receive substantial heat from the judiciary too (Nitto Denko v. Union of India, where the court had directed to expedite in getting more Examiners on board see here and here for detailed discussions on the case). In fact, the recommendation to increase the workforce of the office has been one of the most consistent recommendations in the relevant reports filed by the government-appointed committees and other public offices. For eg. see:-
- The first recommendation of the Justice Allah Raham Committee Report on Recruitment Policy and Structure of Examiners, 2008 (Page 34);
- Para 7.7-7.8 of the 2021 Standing Committee Report, titled “Review of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Regime in India.”;
- Discussion on “Manpower Shortage” in the 2022 Report of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister titled “Why India Needs to Urgently Invest in its Patent Ecosystem?” (Pg. 9).
In light of this, the news of inducting 553 Examiners surely seems like a big step towards an improved, efficient patent office.
It is interesting to see that the process for recruitment will be conducted by the Quality Council of India (QCI), “an independent autonomous organization with the support of the Government of India and the Indian Industry represented by the three premier industry associations, (i) Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), (ii) Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and (iii) Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)” and all decisions related to the recruitment shall be made and enforced by it (pg. 16 of the notification).
It is really strange that the CGPDTM seemingly has no strong say in the recruitment process and in fact, the notice is not even available on the CGPDTM website. Presumably, this will change soon. Candidates should also note that the examination itself does not appear to be the only qualifying criteria. As stated on page 15 of the notification,- “Success in the examination confers no right of appointment unless QCI is satisfied after such enquiry as may be considered necessary that the candidate is suitable in all respects for appointment to the service/ post.”
The latest Annual Report (2021-22) states that there are currently 603 Examiners in the patent office against the sanctioned strength of 673. The report, however, isn’t clear on the number of Examiners who are currently working on a contractual basis and the present recruitment notification does not explain if the sanctioned strength has been increased by 553 Examiners, making it to 1226. In case any reader has clarity on this, I’d request them to drop a comment below.
Coming back to the notification, the applicants will have to apply through the QCI’s website www.qcin.org and the online application process commences on July 14, 2023. The last date for applying is August 4, 2023.
[Edit: The recruitment notification has been uploaded on the CGPDTM’s website and can be accessed here.]
In 2006, the Indian Patent Office recruited a considerable number of Examiner of Patents on contractual basis. This recruitement procees was initiated and interview was conducted by CSIR. Later, in the year 2009, all the temporarily appointed Examiners of Patents were regularized. This regularization was possible only by the consent given by the UPSC who are empowered to recruit such ‘A’ grade officers post. UPSC gave the consent to absorb such Examiner of Patent only because that their interview was conducted by a scientific body.