Summary
This post analyses trademark and copyright statistics in India for the year 2018, comparing them with 2017 data. It details the number of applications filed, registered, and disposed of, as well as the volume of judicial orders issued under both legal regimes. The review highlights that literary and dramatic works led copyright filings, while trademark activity saw significant increases in new applications and show-cause hearing disposals. The data reflects stable growth in intellectual property filings and an active judicial landscape. The post offers a clear, factual overview of key trends shaping India’s IP environment in 2018.
In this post, we bring to you a recap of the Trademark and Copyright statistics from 2018 and a comparison of these numbers with the statistics of 2017.
COPYRIGHT YEAR IN REVIEW 2018
Copyright Applications Filed in 2018
|
Work |
No. of Applications in 2018 |
|
Literary/Dramatic |
9,652 |
|
Artistic |
4,698 |
|
Music |
323 |
|
Cinematograph |
306 |
|
Sound Recording |
710 |
|
Computer Software |
2,143 |
|
Total |
17,832 |
Copyright Applications Filed Monthly in 2018
|
Month |
Literary/Dramatic |
Artistic | Music |
Cinematograph |
Sound Recording | Computer Software |
|
January |
949 | 387 | 39 | 28 | 45 |
152 |
| February | 756 | 339 | 35 | 11 | 70 |
101 |
|
March |
898 | 346 | 31 | 51 | 42 |
153 |
|
April |
840 | 404 | 17 | 14 | 35 |
587 |
|
May |
778 |
390 | 31 | 27 | 142 |
157 |
|
June |
710 | 410 | 26 | 21 | 87 |
215 |
|
July |
837 | 305 | 28 | 43 | 60 |
124 |
|
August |
737 | 433 | 30 | 42 | 37 |
121 |
|
September |
770 | 410 | 23 | 42 | 52 |
90 |
|
October |
688 | 437 | 23 | 4 | 37 |
145 |
|
November |
864 | 406 | 20 | 14 | 67 |
153 |
|
December |
825 | 431 | 20 | 9 | 36 |
145 |
|
Total |
9,652 | 4,698 | 323 | 306 | 710 |
2,143 |
Total Registered Applications Between 2017 & 2018
|
Year (2017) |
Year (2018) | Change |
Percentage Change |
|
16,603 |
16,717 | 114 |
Increase of 0.7% |
Total Filed Applications Between 2017 & 2018
|
Year (2017) August – December |
Year (2018) August – December |
|
7951 |
7141 |
*Data Provided for 2017 is August 2017 onwards as information before then is not available.
Judicial Precedents Dealing with Copyright Law during the Year 2018
|
Court/Tribunal |
No. of Orders |
|
Supreme Court of India |
6 |
|
High Courts |
125 |
|
Tribunals |
2 |
|
Total |
133 |
More than 50% of the copyrights filing in 2018 were for Literary and Dramatic works. It is more than all the other types of works combined. The second most popular type of work filed were artistic works, followed by computer software. Music works have averaged 30 filings a month, cinematograph works about 26 filings a month, and sound recordings approximately 60 filing a month. These type of works traditionally have not shown dramatic increases in the number of filings. The 16,717 applications registered in 2018 as compared to 2017 has been consistent and only saw a marginal increase of 0.7% increase. There were a total of 133 copyright related orders issued this year through the various courts and tribunals. A majority or 125 of them were heard by the high courts.
TRADEMARK YEAR IN REVIEW 2018
Trademark Statistics – A comparison between 2017 and 2018
|
Particulars |
2017 | 2018 |
Percentage Change |
|
Total New Trademark Application Filed |
253,906 | 311,078 |
An increase of 23% |
|
Total Trademark Applications Examined by Trademark Office |
378,980 | 370,015 |
A decrease of 2% |
|
Total Applications Disposed through Show Cause Hearings |
69,468 | 279,103 |
An increase of 302% |
|
Total Applications Published in the Trademark Journal |
389,456 | 429,440 |
An increase of 10% |
|
Total Applications Under Opposition |
12,379 | 13,148 |
An increase of 6% |
|
Total Registrations Granted |
33,1837 | 348,556 |
An increase of 5% |
|
Total Hearing Notices Issued |
178,129 | 459,353 |
An increase of 158% |
|
Total Renewals Notices Issued |
135,189 | 95,860 |
A decrease of 29% |
Trademark Judicial Orders in 2018
|
Court/Tribunal |
No. of Orders |
|
Supreme Court |
5 |
|
High Court |
349 |
|
Tribunals |
31 |
|
Total |
385 |
Overall there were dramatic increases in all the activities undertaken by the Trademark Office in 2018 as compared to 2017. There was a 23% increase in the number of new applications filed but the number of applications examined did not see an increase and was consistent with 2017. In 2018, a concentrated push by the Trademark Office in the number of the applications disposed through show-cause hearings was witnessed. There were 459,353 hearing notices issued, an increase of 158% from the previous year, and 279,103 application were disposed through hearings, a dramatic increase of 302% from 2017. There were 385 total trademark related orders issued through the various courts and tribunal, majority of these or 349 were by the high courts.