TRADE MARK (AMENDMENT) ACT
- Trade Mark (Amendment) Bill came into force since 2013.
- The necessary amendments in the Trade Marks Rules, 2002 have also been made.
- The amended Act and rules enabled India to accede to the Madrid Protocol which is a simple, facilitative and cost effective system for registration of international trade marks.
- India’s membership of the protocol will enable Indian companies to register their trade marks in Member Countries of the Protocol through filing a single application in one language and by paying one time fee in one currency.
- India acceded to the Protocol in April, 2013.
- The Madrid Protocol has come into force in India since July, 2013.
NATIONAL DESIGN POLICY
- The National Design Policy was announced in 2007. This Policy envisages a key role for design in enhancing the competitiveness of Indian industry.
- The focus is on spread of design education, branding of Indian designs and the establishment of a Design Council.
- This period witnessed both the expansion and upgradation of India’s premier design institution National Institute of Design (NID) with three campuses at Ahmedabad (main campus), Gandhinagar (PG Campus), and Bangalore (R&D Campus).
- India Design Council (IDC), a society under the aegis of DIPP was constituted in 2009 as a mandate of the policy.
- The National Institute Design Act, 2014 declaring NID, Ahmedabad as an Institution of National Importance was notified on 18th July, 2014.
- DIPP implemented a plan scheme for Modernization and Strengthening of Intellectual Property Offices.
- It also aimed to develop the modern infrastructure for the Indian Patent Offices to function as an International Search Authority and International Preliminary Examining Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, for which, the WIPO had recognised Indian Patent Office in October, 2007 to join an exclusive group of 17 countries / organizations.
- The scheme also aimed to enable the Trade Marks Registry to meet the requirements of Madrid Protocol for international registration of Trade Marks.
- Since commencement of the Plan Scheme in March, 2008, various actions in all components have been initiated and completed.
- The National Institute of Intellectual Property Management has been set up in 2012 at Nagpur as an institute of international importance which would provide training, education, research and function as a think tank on Intellectual Property Rights.
TRANSPORT SUBSIDY SCHEME (TSS) AND FREIGHT SUBSIDY SCHEME
- In order to facilitate the process of industrialization in hilly, remote and inaccessible areas, in terms of subsidizing industrial units for transportation of their finished product and raw material TSS was introduced in 1971.
- The scheme was applicable to all industrial units (barring plantation, refineries and power generating units both in public and private sectors irrespective of their size).
- The incentives under the scheme were available for all 8 states of North East, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, J&K, Darjeeling district of West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep Administration.
- For North Eastern states, J&K and Union Territories, the subsidy is 90%.
- For Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Darjeeling District of West Bengal it is 75% of transport cost.
- However, for the movement of goods within NER, the subsidy is 50% on finished goods and 90% on raw material.
- No subsidy is available for intra-state movement of goods.
- The benefits of subsidy is for five years from the date of commencement of commercial production by the units.
- The scheme has been extended from time to time, the last being in 2009.
- Erstwhile Transport Subsidy Scheme, 1971 has recently been modified as ‘Freight Subsidy Scheme, 2013′, which has been notified by Government of India in 2013.
