The Indian Cellular Association (ICA) has welcomed the withdrawal of the contentious 2015 Order related to Computer Related Inventions (CRI 2015) and issuance of fresh CRI Guidelines (CRI 2016) by the Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks in India.
ICA has stated that the 2016 CRI Guidelines are much clearer and provide clear cut procedures and examples that deny patentability to Computer Related Inventions.
“These guidelines ensure that India’s position is now similar to the stand taken by United States and EU while determining patentability for computer related inventions,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, National President, ICA.
The CRI 2016 Guidelines resets the clock to the position prior to 2015 added Mohindroo.
On behalf of ICA, Mohindroo has thanked Nirmala Sitharaman for ensuring the withdrawal of earlier contentious CRI order and coming out with progressive CRI guidelines in sync with the best global norms.
“We sincerely thank you for this excellent Office Order, which will put at rest major apprehensions of our industry in the wake of uncertainty which arose because of the earlier Office Order No. 70 of 2015,” Mohindrro stated in a letter addressed to the Honorable Minister.
ICA believes that the new order if implemented with rigor and in spirit will help in uplifting the gloom which had descended over the Indian Mobile phone manufacturing and design sector and at the same time would enable start-ups to innovate freely without worrying about patent litigation and infringement notices.
