India announces 3-Year Fee Waiver for Sports-Related IP Registrations

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has announced that all intellectual property (IP) registrations related to sports—including trademarks, copyrights, patents, designs, traditional knowledge, and geographical indications—will be exempt from fees for a period of three years, effective immediately.

The waiver, announced as a special drive to promote innovation in the sports ecosystem, will apply across all categories of IP. The Minister also directed that a notification be issued with immediate effect and highlighted that, in addition to the fee exemption, the government will extend facilitation support under existing schemes to assist innovators, students, artisans, and stakeholders in filing and securing IP rights, thereby easing their journey into the IP ecosystem.