Fees associated with Indian PCT national phase entry as well as other patent fees are available in the fee calculator.
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Deadline for the PCT national phase entry in India
The time limit for the PCT national phase entry in India is 31 months from the date of priority. This term cannot be extended.
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Filing requirements in India
The official language of the PCT application in India is English and Hindi.
To obtain a filing date it is necessary to provide the Indian Patent Office with:
- complete specification including description, claims, abstract and drawings in English or Hindi;
- details of the applicant(s) and inventor(s), i.e. name, nationality and complete address(es);
- title of the invention;
- details of the priority claim: date, application number and country;
- payment of the prescribed filing fee.
The time limit for submission of the Priority Document is 31 months from the earliest priority date. For National Phase applications Form PCT/IB/304 issued by IB/WIPO constitutes confirmation of submission of the Priority document and is sufficient. However, if the priority document is not in English, the time limit for submission of the English translation of the priority document is likewise 31 months from the earliest priority date. Where the priority document (and its English translation, if applicable) is not submitted within the time limit of 31 months, the same should be submitted at the earliest and can also be submitted within three months from the date of invitation received from the Indian Patent Office.
A scanned copy of the Power of Attorney can be submitted within 3 months from the filing date, however, the original should be submitted within 15 days from receiving corresponding notification from the Office, if requested. Legalisation or notarization of the Power of Attorney is not required. It is recommended to always provide the original signed Power of Attorney for submission to the Indian Patent Office to complete the filing requirements.
If the applicant is not the inventor, a copy notarized in original of the Declaration of Inventorship (Assignment Deed) should be provided within six months from the date of filing a patent application in India.
Alternatively, an Application Form 1 having the Inventor’s signatures assigning the rights to the application can also be submitted and be provided within 6 months from the date of filing of a patent application in India. Only a simple execution by the Inventors in Form 1 what is required. The legalization and notarization of the Form 1 signed by the Inventors is not required.
The original of the above may be requested by the Office and which should be submitted within 15 days from the corresponding notification. It is recommended to always provide the original notarized copy of the Assignment Deed or the original signed copy of Application Form 1, which ever being provided for submission to the Indian Patent Office to complete the filing requirements.
Information about family patents (a set of patents taken in various countries to protect a single invention) such as application numbers and dates thereof, publication numbers and dates thereof, grant dates and patent numbers are required to be filed before the expiry of six months from the date of PCT national stage entry.
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Examination of a PCT national phase patent application in India
Patent applications in India undergo formal and substantive examinations. A request for the substantive examination of a patent application in India should be made within 48 months from the date of priority. It is possible to request an accelerated examination under PPH which is at present only available with Japanese Patent Office.
In India, the novelty grace period constitutes 12 months before the Indian filing date or before the priority date if the disclosure was made:
-by previous publication of complete specification when the matter was published without the consent of the true and first inventors or from any person having rights over the said complete specification;
-by previous communication to the Government to investigate the invention or its merits;
-by Public display of the invention at an Industrial or other exhibition notified by the Central Government of India in the Official Gazette;
-by Public working for the purposes of reasonable trial only.
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Grant, validity term and maintenance fees
Patents in India are valid for 20 years from the international date of filing. The official grant fee is not stipulated. Annual maintenance of an Indian patent in force for the first 3 years should be paid after completion of the patent registration procedure before the expiry of the 2nd year from the filing date. If the patent has been granted later than two years from the filing date, it is possible to pay the annuities in accumulated manner within three months of grant. It is also mandatory to file the Working Statement for all granted patents with the Indian Patent Office by September 30th each year providing information about the extent of the commercial working of the patent in the previous calendar year.
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Duration of registration procedure
It takes depending on case to case basis and subject to actions taken by IPO an average of 4 years from filing to granting of a patent in India.
It is currently not possible to obtain utility model protection in India.
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Representation by a patent attorney
The applicant is required to have an address for service in India. For foreign applicants, it is recommended to perform PCT national phase entry in India through an agent, a registered Indian patent attorney.
Online database for Indian Patents Search.
Brief summary is based on the information provided by Vutts & Associates on 11.04.2023
Please contact us if the above information is not in conformity with Indian IP Laws