The Indian patent system and indigenous R&D

This paper examines some of the theoretical assumptions governing a model patent system and highlights the features of the new Indian Patent Act compared to these assumptions. An attempt has also been made to analyze and project data on foreign patent registrations in India both prior to and after the passing of the new Act. A tentative inference is that the new Act has not significantly affected the number of foreign patents seeking protection in India. A case has also been made out justifying the use of patent statistics in R & D programme formulation both at the macro- and micro-levels.