The number of patent applications in the country has  risen from less than 13,000 in 2003-04 to about 29,000 in 2006-07.  Significantly, the grant of patents increased four-fold from 1,911 in 2004-05 to 7,539 in 2006-07. 

E-filing of patents and trademarks became operational in July 2007 and the country will soon have a National Institute of Intellectual Property Management (NIIPM), the foundation stone for which was laid for at Nagpur in August.

Incidentally, the Indian Patent Office has been recognised as an 'international searching authority' (ISA) and an international preliminary examining authority (IPEA) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), putting India in an exclusive group of 14 other countries recognised as world leaders in the field of IPRs.