Table of Contents
Patents of Invention
Legal Basis
– The Patents Act, 1970, as last amended by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, published on August 11, 2023.
– The Patents Rules, 2003, as last amended by the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024, effective from March 15, 2024.
Membership in International Conventions
– Paris Convention.
– Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
– Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification, as of July 7, 2026.
Filing Requirements
– Power of attorney (to be filed within three months);
– Specification in English and an abstract within 150 words;
– 1 set of informal drawings and 1 set of formal drawings on durable paper. In practice, submitting a copy on durable paper has been done away with, because the documents are now being scanned and digitized by the Patent Office;
– Priority document, if priority is to be claimed. Alternatively, access code of WIPO’s Digital Access Service (DAS) may be submitted;
– Details of all corresponding applications in other countries;
– Proof of the applicant’s right to make the application should be filed within six months from the filing of the application;
– Declaration as to inventorship, signed by the applicant or its authorized agent where priority has been claimed or where complete specification is filed after a provisional specification, can be filed within one month of filing of application or complete specification.
– Details of status of legal entity. The amended Rules 2014, 2016, 2020 and 2021 have endowed pecuniary benefits to “small entity”, “startup” and “educational institutes”. The official fee for a small entity, startup and educational institute is the same as that for individuals. The responsibility for selecting the correct category is cast upon the applicant.
Remarks
National Phase of PCT: under Chapter I: 31 months; under Chapter II: 31 months.
Duration: patent issued after formal and substantive examination – valid for 20 years.
Annuities: except in the case of a patent of addition for which no annuities are payable, annual renewal fees must be paid during the life of an Indian patent, the first of such fees falling due at the end of the second year of the life of patents granted. Renewal fees falling due during the pendency of the application are payable within a period of three months from the date the patent is taken on record in the Register of Patents or within the extended period not later than nine months from the date of recording.
Opposition: pre-grant opposition may be filed by any person at the appropriate Patent Office at any time after publication of the application or before the grant of the patent. After the grant of a patent, any person may oppose a granted patent at any time, but before the expiry of one year from the date of publication of grant of a patent, by giving a notice of opposition to the Controller.
Trade and Service Marks
Legal Basis
– The Trade Marks Act, 1999, in force since September 15, 2003, as last amended by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, published on August 11, 2023.
– The Trade Marks Rules, 2002, as last amended by the Trade Marks (Amendment) Rules, 2017, in force since March 6, 2017.
Membership in International Conventions
– Paris Convention.
– Madrid Protocol.
Filing Requirements
– Power of attorney (no notarization or legalization required);
– 6 prints (in case of marks in color); three different views for three-dimensional marks;
– Date of first use in India or whether the mark is intended to be used. An affidavit with evidence of use must be filed if use in India is claimed;
– In case priority is being claimed, a certified copy of the priority document along with its certified English translation (if the priority document is not in English).
Remarks
Duration – renewals: 10 years from the filing date; renewable for further periods of 10 years.
Obligation to use the registered mark: the registered mark must be used. The Register may be rectified (removal of a mark) in respect of a registered mark, and one of the grounds is that up to a date three months before the date of the application, a continuous period of five years from the date on which the trademark is actually entered in the Register or longer had elapsed during which the trademark was registered and during which there was no bona fide use thereof in relation to those goods or services by any proprietor thereof for the time being.
Opposition: applications which have been accepted are advertised in the Trade Marks Journal and opposition may be filed within four months from the date of advertisement; this is a non-extendible period.
Industrial Designs
Legal Basis
– The Designs Act, 2000, effective from May 11, 2001.
– The Designs Rules, 2001, as last amended by the Designs (Amendment) Rules, 2021, effective from January 25, 2021.
Membership in International Conventions
– Paris Convention.
– Locarno Agreement.
Filing Requirements
– Power of attorney (no notarization or legalization required);
– 4 copies of the representation of the design;
– Priority document, if priority is to be claimed. Alternatively, access code of WIPO’s Digital Access Service (DAS) may be submitted;
– Classification according to the Locarno system. The class and subclass in which the article is classified should be provided.
Remarks
Duration: 10 years from the filing date or priority date. This term can be extended only once for a further period of five years.
Cancellation: interested parties may submit a petition to the Controller demanding the cancellation of the registration of a design any time after the registration of the design.
Domain Names
Filing
ccTLD: .in
Internationalized domain name: .bharat (available to all applicants).
Applicant: individuals and legal entities.
Local presence: not required.
Remarks
Duration – renewals: one to ten years, renewable.
Uniform dispute resolution procedure: India follows .IN Dispute Resolution Policy (INDRP) and INDRP Rules of Procedure, which is akin to UDRP adopted by ICANN for resolution of disputes relating to top-level domain names.