India

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

In India, Process Patent and Product Patent are the two types of Patent Protection.

The following are the types of Patent Applications:

• Non-Convention Application
• Convention Application
• PCT National Phase Application
• Divisional Application
• Patent of Addition

The Patent of invention lasts for 20 years in India.

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, and 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 stage, which is usually within 6 months of Patent Publication, and at the post-grant stage, which is within 12 months from the Date of Publication of grant.