Sources from the Patent office reveal that for the second consecutive year, applications for patent rights from Indian companies outnumber those made by foreign firms.

While precise figures are yet to be revealed, the number of companies in the pharma and engineering sector, filing for intellectual property rights (IPR), are definitely on the rise. Of the 1,160 applications during '02-03, 437 were from engineering companies, while 354 were from their pharma counterparts.

Applications made through the Patent Co-operative Treaty (PCT), which allows for patents in multiple countries, also recorded a 10% increase in '03 as compared to the previous year.

In the year '02, India recorded a 51.9 % increase, the highest among the developing nations, further testifying to the emerging trend among Indian companies towards a greater cognizance of intellectual property rights in the light of an emerging global business scenario.

Several foreign financial institutions are eagerly awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision as to whether the income tax department has the right to probe a corporate’s claim of Mauritius residentship.

This circular also leaves a lot of room for doubt, as the decision as to the location of effective management now rests with the assessing officer.