SIP-EIT Scheme

The Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeiTY) has launched a scheme entitled “Support for International Patent Protection in E&IT (SIP-EIT)” to provide financial support to MSMEs and Technology Start-Up units for international patent filing. SIP-EIT Scheme captures the growth opportunities in the area of information technology and electronics. This scheme encourages indigenous innovation and also recognise the value and capabilities of global IP. In this article, we look at the SIP-EIT Scheme in detail.

Benefits of the Scheme

Some of the salient features and benefits of the SIP-EIT scheme are as follows:

Financial support is provided for international filing in Information Communication Technologies and Electronics sector.
The Reimbursement limit has been set to the maximum of Rs. 15 Lakhs per invention or 50% of the total charges incurred in filing and processing of a patent application, whichever is lesser.
This support scheme can be applied at any stage of international patent filing by the applicant. However, the reimbursement will only be applicable to expenditures incurred from the date of acceptance of a complete application by DeiTY subject to the approval of the competent authority.

Eligibility Criteria

In general, to qualify for the SIP-EIT scheme, the companies should fall under any of the following criteria:

The company must be registered with the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006 of Government of India.
The applicant must be a registered company following the Companies Act of Government of India and must fulfill the investment limits in plant and machinery or equipment as defined in the MSMED Act 2006 as amended from time to time
A company to be a registered Software Technology Park unit and its amount of investments in PME must be lower than the limits specified under the MSMED Act, 2006.
A company must be a technology incubation startup or an enterprise or located in an incubation centre/park and registered as a company. A startup must also have a certification from the incubation centre/park in case it is located on such premises. These companies, too, have to meet the investment limits for PME defined under the MSMED Act, 2006.

Documents Required

The applicants must furnish the following documents along with the Application Form to apply for the SIP-EIT Scheme.

Type of Units	Documents to be Uploaded
In case of MSME unit under the MSME Development Act 2006, Company under Companies Act and a registered STPI unit	Scanned copy of Registration Certificate
For a Technology Incubation Enterprise/Start-Up and registered as a company	Copy of Registration Certificate provided by a competent authority Upload a copy of last audited Balance Sheet
If the Applicant is an employee or Member of Board of Directors	Copy of product brochure Copy of latest Annual Report Copy of official filing receipt (OFR) submitted with Indian Patent Office
If applied for PCT/ Paris Convention or Direct International Filing	Copy of proof of the same Copy of technical write-up of invention Upload the patent search report Copy of Details for transfer of e-payments Copy of Declaration form duly signed and sealed by the concerned
Auditor’s statement that they satisfy the criteria of investment in plant and machinery (as the case may be)	Upload the documents related to the investment in capital equipment.

Financial support

The reimbursement of expenses incurred in International Patent Protection will be in instalments and will be disbursed as tabulated below:

S.No.	Filed Applications	Financial support
1	For applications filed directly in a foreign country after meeting the requirements of Section 39	25% of the charges acquired in Filing of patent application in respective foreign geography will be reimbursed.
		75% of the expenses acquired subsequent to filing up to grant will be refunded after the grant of the patent.
2	For applications filed in a foreign country within 12 months of filing a patent application in India (Convention application)	25% of the expenses acquired in Filing of patent application in respective foreign geography will be reimbursed.
		75% of the expenses acquired subsequent to filing up to grant will be reimbursed after the grant of the patent.
3	Applications filed through the PCT route	25% of the charges acquired in filing a PCT application will be reimbursed subject to ISR report. 25% of the expenses included in the examination will be paid if the examination report is positive.
		25% of the charges acquired in filing national phase application in a foreign country.
		75% of the expenses acquired subsequent to National filing up to grant will be refunded after the grant of the patent.

Application Procedure

The applicants can visit the DeiTY website or ICT-IPR portal to apply for the SIP-EIT Scheme. Then the applicant has to fill out the application form in a prescribed format online. After completing, upload all the specified records along with the application form. The recommended applications will then be processed finally at DeiTY for the approval.

Company Registration

OPC Registration