Patent Act, 1970: A Foundation for Innovation in India

As per Patents Act, 1970, a patent is a legal right granted to inventors, giving them exclusive control over the use, production, and sale of their inventions for a specified period.

Objectives:

The Patent Act, 1970 was enacted with several key objectives-

Promote Intellectual Property: It ensures that inventions are legally protected, preventing unauthorized use and offering inventors a monopoly over their creations.
Promote Industrial and Technological Development: By incentivizing new inventions, the Act helps promote industrial growth and the development of new technologies. This leads to advancements in fields like pharmaceuticals, engineering, information technology, and biotechnology, driving economic development
Protect innovations: By granting exclusive rights to inventors, the Act promotes research and development, encouraging the individuals and organizations to innovate.

Applicability of law:

Patent law applies to those individuals or entities that create new inventions. Patent Act 1970, is applicable across India & governs the filing, grant, protection and enforcement of patents within the country. Patent law is territorial such that patent rights are granted only within the jurisdiction of the country where the patent was filed and granted. For international patent protection, inventors need to file separate applications in other countries or use international treaties like the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty).

Duration and renewal of patents under Act: timeliness and procedures

Duration: Originally, the patent term for inventions was 14 years. After the 2002 amendment, patents are granted for a term of 20 years from the date of filing the application.

Patent Renewal Process: After a patent is granted, it needs to be renewed annually from the third year onward till the end of 20 years. The renewal fee for the third year onwards must be paid before the expiration of the second year from the date of the patent. The Indian Patent Act allows a six-month grace period for paying the renewal fee with a late fee if the payment is missed on the original due date. If the renewal fee is not paid within the specified time (including the grace period), the patent will cease to have effect. The patent holder can no longer exercise exclusive rights over the invention, and anyone can use the patented invention without liability. If a patent lapses due to non-payment of renewal fees, the patentee may file an application in Form 15 for restoration within 18 months from the date of lapse. The applicant must provide valid reasons for missing the renewal, and if accepted by the Patent Office, the patent may be restored.

Expiry of patent: After this 20-year period, patent rights expire automatically, and the patented invention enters the public Patents cannot be renewed after the expiry of their 20-year term. The 20-year duration is set as a statutory limit to balance the rights of the inventor with the public’s interest. Once the patent expires, the invention becomes public property, and the original patent holder no longer has exclusive rights over it.

Penalties and Legal Consequences: Below are some of the key penalties-

Penalties for False Representation (Section 120): If any person falsely represents that an article sold by them is patented or is the subject of a pending patent application, they are liable to face penalties. He shall be liable to penalty which may extend to ten lakh rupees, and in case of the continuing claim, a further penalty of one thousand rupees for every day after the first during which such claim continues.
Refusal or failure to supply information (section 122):
1. If any person refuses or fails to furnish—
  1. to the Central Government any information which he is required to furnish under sub-section (5) of section 100;
  2. to the Controller any information or statement which he is required to furnish by or under section 146, he shall be liable to penalty which may extend to one lakh rupees, and in case of the continuing refusal or failure, a further penalty of one thousand rupees for every day after the first during which such refusal or failure continues.
2. If any person, being required to furnish any such information as is referred to in sub-section (1), furnishes information or statement which is false, and which he either knows or has reason to believe to be false or does not believe to be true, he shall be liable to penalty for a sum equal to one half per cent. of the total sale or turnover, as the case may be, of business or of the gross receipts in profession as computed in the audited accounts of such person, or a sum equal to five crore rupees, whichever is less

Provisional and complete specifications

A patent application in India (excluding convention applications or those under the Patent Cooperation Treaty designating India) accompanied by a provisional specification must file a complete specification within twelve months from the filing date. Failure to do so will result in the application being deemed abandoned.

If two or more applications by the same applicant are filed with provisional specifications for related inventions or modifications, and the Controller believes they form a single invention, one complete specification may be allowed for all such provisional specifications.

If a patent application (excluding convention applications or those under the Patent Cooperation Treaty designating India) is filed with a complete specification, the Controller may, upon the applicant’s request within twelve months of filing, treat the specification as a provisional specification and proceed accordingly.

Where a complete specification has been filed in pursuance of an application for a patent accompanied by a provisional specification or by a specification treated by virtue of a direction under sub-section (3) as a provisional specification, the Controller may, if the applicant so requests at any time before grant of patent, cancel the provisional specification and post-date the application to the date of filing of the complete specification.

Essential Patent Forms: A Comprehensive Guide

S.no.	Process title	Form No.
1.	Application for grant of patent	Form 01
2.	Provisional /complete specification	Form 02
3.	Statement and Undertaking Under Section 8	Form 03
4.	Request for extension of time	Form 04
5.	Declaration as to Inventor ship	Form 05
6.	Claim or Request Regarding any Change in Applicant for Patent	Form 06
7.	Notice of opposition	Form 07
8.	Representation for Opposition to Grant of Patent	Form 07(A)
9.	Claim or Request Regarding Mention of Inventor as Such in a Patent	Form 08
10.	Certificate of Inventor ship	Form 8(A)
11.	Request for publication	Form 09
12.	Application for Amendment of Patent	Form 10
13.	Application for Direction of The Controller	Form 11
14.	Request for Grant of Patent Under Section 26(1) and 52(2)	Form 12
15.	Application for Amendment of The Application for Patent/Complete Specification	Form 13
16.	Notice of Opposition to Amendment / Restoration / Surrender	Form 14
17.	Application for Restoration of Patent	Form 15
18.	Application for Restoration of Title/Interest	Form 16
19.	Application for Compulsory License	Form 17
20.	Request/Express Request for Examination of Application for Patent	Form 18
21.	Request For Expedited Examination Of Application For Patent	Form 18(A)
22.	Application for Revocation of a Patent for Non Working	Form 19
23.	Application for Revision of Terms And Conditions of License	Form 20
24.	Request for Termination of Compulsory License	Form 21
25.	Application Registration of Patent Agent	Form 22
26.	Application for The Restoration of Name in The Register of Patent agents	Form 23
27.	Application for Review/setting Aside Controller Decision/Order	Form 24
28.	Request for Permission for Making Patent Application Outside India	Form 25
29.	Authorization of a Patent Agent/Or any Person in a Matter or Proceeding Under The Act	Form 26
30.	Statement Regarding the Working of the Patented Invention on Commercial Scale in India	Form 27
31.	To Be Submitted By Small Entity / Startup	Form 28
32.	Request For Withdrawal Of The Application For Patent	Form 29
33.	To Be Used When No Other Form Is Prescribed	Form 30
34.	Grace Period	Form 31

Disclaimer: The information contained in this Article is intended solely for personal non-commercial use of the user who accepts full responsibility of its use. The information in the article is general in nature and should not be considered to be legal, tax, accounting, consulting or any other professional advice. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied regarding the accuracy, adequacy, reliability or completeness of any information on our page/article.

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Patent Act, 1970: A Foundation for Innovation in India

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