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!
Those familiar with the Indian IP administration will know that an inadequate workforce is a systematic challenge that has plagued the functioning of the IPO 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:-
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). The notification is available on the website of the QCI here. It is really strange that the CGPDTM seemingly has no say in the recruitment process and it is indeed astonishing to see that this notification for recruitment is not even available on the CGPDTM website!
The latest Annual Report (2021-22) states that currently against the sanctioned strength of 673, 603 Examiners are working in the Patent Office. 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.