[1][2] On 28 February 1856, the Government of India promulgated legislation to grant what was then termed as "exclusive privileges for the encouragement of inventions of new manufactures".

Further, fee reductions for small entity, and fast track examination for specific applicants including female were introduced in 2019.

[10] The CGPDTM reports to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and has five main administrative sections:[11] The patent office is headquartered at Kolkata with branches in Chennai, New Delhi and Mumbai, but the office of the CGPDTM is in Mumbai.

Senior Joint Controller Of Patents & Design ( equivalent to Additional Secretary to Government of India/ Payband Level 14) 3.

[20] However, the application should contain a statement which states the reason behind the failure in paying the renewal fees and evidence which can be in the form of a letter, copy of documents or a deed.

India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 has come into force with effect from 15 September 2003.

GIs have been defined under Article 22(1) of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement as: "Indications which identify a good as originating in the territory of a member, or a region or a locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographic origin.

"[21] The GI tag ensures that none other than those registered as authorised users (or at least those residing inside the geographic territory) are allowed to use the popular product name.

[44][45] The monthly target for examiners are 15 new cases(FERs) and 25 disposals which has led to officers working under tremendous pressure to show output thereby affecting the quality of grant of patents.

[49] The issue of attrition due to lack of promotion to examiners was acknowledged by the Minister of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman during IP day celebrations.

The IP Office in India has faced criticism for its lack of accessibility for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).

On 29 November 2021, Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala, a Patent & Trademark Attorney with blindness, filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court (W.P.

21978/2021) demanding that the Office of Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trademarks (O/o CGPDTM) make its systems and websites accessible for PwDs.

The petition highlighted the office's non-compliance with accessibility guidelines and requested accommodations such as OCR-readable documents and screen-reader compatibility.

[54] In response to the petition, the O/o CGPDTM issued the *Guidelines for Accessibility and Reasonable Accommodations for Persons with Disabilities* on 4 March 2022.

[55] These guidelines included the following measures: On 17 September 2024, the Karnataka High Court disposed of the writ petition after noting that the petitioner’s concerns had been “substantially complied with.” The court acknowledged the measures taken by the office but highlighted that the full implementation of website accessibility would depend on the completion of ongoing projects and approval processes.