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The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has taken over the IT department of the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks (CGPDTM) amid allegations of mismanagement. This follows a petition filed by the All India Patent Officers Welfare Association (AIPOWA) on May 24, 2024 in the High Court of Delhi, alleging “large-scale instances” of violation of Section 73(4) of the Patents Act, 1970, by the office of CGPDTM.
The Section 73(4) of the Patents Act, 1970 states that the controller, “without prejudice” may withdraw any matter pending before an officer and deal with such matter himself either from the beginning or from the stage it was withdrawn or transfer the same to another officer.
According to an official order dated August 27, 2024, Subhash Chandra Karol, Director of DPIIT, has been given the additional charge of the IT office of CGPDTM. However, DPIIT stated that the reason for the order was to upgrade the IT infrastructure of the Patent Office. “The IT infrastructure in the Patent Office was old, and a comprehensive upgrade was due. This has been undertaken to modernise the office and its IT infrastructure. The allegations made are baseless,” a DPIIT official said in response to a query emailed by The Indian Express.
An official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the IT upgrade proposal was sent by CGPDTM to DPIIT over 1.5 years ago.
In the petition filed in May, the association, comprising 600 officers working in Patent Offices in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai, alleged that the IT division of the Patent Office “arbitrarily reallocated” patent applications in violation of norms. “While the Patent Office claims to have developed an automated system for the allocation of patent applications to Assistant Controllers without any human intervention, the impartiality of the patenting regime has come under a cloud, and the confidence of stakeholders and patent officers stands shaken,” the officers alleged in the petition.
The officers sought an inquiry into the “unlawful reallocations, withdrawals, revivals, and other procedural irregularities” in dealing with patent applications. “It further seeks to fix accountability and take action against erring officials,” the petition read. “The nature of the unlawful acts, viz. reallocation, withdrawal, and revival of patent applications, etc., leaves scope for corruption and favouritism. This Court is requested to take serious note of tasks performed by the IT team in violation of applicable law and procedure,” the petition further stated.
The patent officers, in their petition, claimed that the IT team comprises “contractual employees” who should not be allowed to tamper with the process of granting or refusing patents with impunity.
The Indian Express had earlier reported that DPIIT has asked the Patent Office to terminate its Memorandum of Understanding with the Quality Council of India (QCI). Contractual employees were hired by the Patent Office from QCI which is an autonomous, not-for-profit body.
The Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, in her legal opinion sought by DPIIT, had suggested the annulment of all decisions made by the outsourced QCI employees hired by CGPDTM.
She had stated that quasi-judicial functions conducted by outsourced employees from any agency without the necessary statutory architectural powers would be “inherently flawed and legally unenforceable”.
