India

The Patents (Amendment) Act – 2005 and The Patents (Amendment) Rules – 2016 deal with the mechanism of Patent protection in India.

Process Patent and Product Patent are the two types of Patent protection in India.

In India, any invention which satisfies the conditions of originality, novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability, subjects to Patentability.

The following are the types of Patent Applications in India: Non-Convention Application Convention Application PCT National Phase Application Divisional Application Patent of Addition

No, Utility Model Patent is not available in India.

PCT National Phase has to be filed within 31 months.

The Patent of invention lasts for 20 years in India.

The following information and documents are required to file the Patent application in India:

1. Power of Attorney.

2. Priority Document with required translation

3. The applicant’s name and address and nationality Provisional specification or complete specification with description, claims, abstract and drawings.

4. International Search Report(ISR), in case of PCT International Preliminary Examination Report(IPER), in case of PCT.

The time frame for examination is 1 month approximately from the Publication Date or 1 month from the Date of Request for examination, whichever is later.

The time frame for publication is 18 months approximately from the Date of Filing or Date of Priority, whichever is earlier.

In India, an opposition against a Patent application can be raised both at the pre-grant and post-grant stage. At the pre-grant stage, any third party may raise an opposition after the patent is published but before it is granted, which is usually within 6 months of publication. And for the post-grant scenario, an opposition can be raised within 12 months from the date of publication of grant.

The following are the permissible amendments: Clarifying the invention without resulting in varying the scope of invention. Substantial amendments to claims. Substantial amendments to descriptions.

The time frame for payment of Annuities before the due date is 3 months.

In India, The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908(Act No, 5) corresponds to the applicability of enforcement for a Patent.

The documents required are as follows:

1. CHANGE OF NAME/LEGAL FORM/ADDRESS Certified copy of extract from the Registrar of Companies with required translation.

2. Power of Attorney.

3. ASSIGNMENT: Deed of Assignment Power of Attorney.

3. MERGER: Deed of Merger Power of Attorney.

4. LICENSE: License Agreement Power of Attorney.

In India, it takes around 3-4 years approximately for a Patent to be granted.