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Indian IP Official Nabbed For Bribery
05-16-2008 | Source: Managing Intellectual Property - Click here to take out a FREE Trial
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Anti-corruption officials in India have arrested the deputy registrar of the Trade Mark Registry in Chennai on suspicion of accepting a bribe of Rs10,000 ($235)
In a statement, the anti-corruption wing of the government watchdog, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), said that it arrested M C Gupta on Monday May 5 after he was reported to have demanded and accepted a bribe from IP practitioner C Daniel.
The statement said that Daniel had lodged a complaint with the CBI after being asked for a bribe by M C Gupta. It added that Daniel had complained that the official had threatened that unless the money was paid he would pass adverse orders against him.
The CBI said that its officials searched the residence and office of the deputy registrar following his arrest and found
Rs300,000 ($7,000) in cash.
According to the statement, the Principal Special Judge for CBI cases in Chennai has sent M C Gupta to jail.
Naresh Prasad, joint secretary in the Department of Industrial Property and Promotion – which overseas the work of India’s regional IP offices – told Managing IP in an emailed statement that "corruption is not rampant in the patents and trade marks offices in India".
He added: "There have been no complaints about the patent offices though once in a while we do get complaints about the trade mark office. This happens to be one such stray case."
But lawyers who spoke to Managing IP on condition of anonymity said that they believed that corruption is still widespread among lower and middle level officials at the country’s patent and trade mark offices.
Another lawyer, Akash Chittranshi, partner of aca-law, said that trade mark lawyers need to take some responsibility to help eradicate the problem: "You cannot clap with one hand – it is up
to the registries and law firms to work together to limit this problem."
A partner at another Indian IP law firm agreed, stating that "practitioners and lawyers need to be patient with the process, which has been and is continuously changing for the better".
Prasad said that improving technology systems in the offices should help reduce the problem: "Our efforts at implementing the total IT solution in the patent and trade mark offices are primarily aimed at eliminating the possibilities of corruption that may be part of the system."
The April cover story of Managing IP looks how India’s government and businesses are reforming the country’s IP system.
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