WHEREAS certain draft rules were published in exercise of the powers conferred by section 159 of the Patents Act, 1970 (39 of 1970) vide notification of the Government of India in Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion) vide Number S.O. 1018(E) dated the 20th September, 2002, in Part II, Section 3, sub-section (ii) of the Gazette of India, (Extraordinary) dated 20th September, 2002 for inviting objections and suggestions from persons likely to be affected thereby before expiry of a period of thirty days from the date on which copies of the Gazette containing the Notification were made available to the public;
AND WHEREAS the copies of the Gazette containing the said Notification were made available to the public on 3rd October, 2002.
AND WHEREAS objections and suggestions received from the public on the said draft rules have been considered by the Central Government;
Now, THEREFORE, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 159 of the Patents Act, 1970 (39 of 1970) and in supersession of the Patents Rules, 1972 published in the Gazette of India, vide S.O. 301(E) dated 20th April, 1972 in Part II, Section 3, sub- section (ii), except as respect things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, Central Government hereby makes the following rules, namely:— Page 3 of 66
CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY
1. Short title and commencement.—(1) These rules may be called the Patents Rules, 2003.
(2) They shall come into force on the date on which the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2002 comes into force.
2. Definitions. — In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) "Act" means the Patents Act, 1970 (39 of 1970);
(b) "appropriate office" means the appropriate office of the patent office as specified in rule 4;
(c)"article" includes any substance or material, and any plant, machinery or apparatus, whether affixed to land or not;
(d)"Form" means a Form specified in the Second Schedule;
(da) "Person other than a natural person" shall include a "small entity";
(db) "Request for examination"‖ means a request for examination, including expedited examination, made under section 11B in respect of rule 24B or rule 24C;
(e) "Schedule" means Schedule to these rules;
(f) "section" means a section of the Act;
(fa) ”small entity” means, —
(i) in case of an enterprise engaged in the manufacture or production of goods, an enterprise where the investment in plant and machinery does not exceed the limit specified for a medium enterprise under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 7 of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (27 of 2006); and
(ii) in case of an enterprise engaged in providing or rendering of services, an enterprise where the investment in equipment is not more than the limit specified for medium enterprises under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 7 of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (27 of 2006).
Explanation 1. — For the purpose of this clause, "enterprise" means an industrial undertaking or a business concern or any other establishment, by whatever name called, engaged in the manufacture or production of goods, in any manner, pertaining to any industry specified in the First Schedule to the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 (65 of 1951) or engaged in providing or rendering of any service or services in such and industry.
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Explanation 2. — In calculating the investment in plant and machinery, the cost of pollution control, research and development, industrial safety devices and such other things as may be specified by notification under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (27 of 2006), shall be excluded.
Explanation 3. —The reference rates of foreign currency of the Reserve Bank of India shall prevail.
(fb) “Startup”‖ means an entity, where-
(i) more than five years have not lapsed from the date of its incorporation or registration;
(ii) the turnover for any of the financial years, out of the aforementioned five years, did not exceed rupees twenty-five crores; and
(iii) it is working towards innovation, development, deployment or commercialisation of new products, processes or services driven by technology or intellectual property:
Provided that any such entity formed by splitting up or reconstruction of a business already in existence shall not be considered as a startup.
Provided further that the mere act of developing—
(a) products or services or processes which do not have potential for commercialisation, or
(b) undifferentiated products or services or processes, or
(c) products or services or processes with no or limited incremental value for customers or workflow, would not be covered under this definition.
Explanation 1. — An entity shall cease to be a startup on completion of five years from the date of its incorporation/ or registration or if its turnover for any previous year exceeds rupees twenty-five crores.
Explanation 2. — Entity means a private limited company (as defined in the Companies Act, 2013), or a registered partnership firm registered under section 59 of the Partnership Act, 1932 or a limited liability partnership under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2002.
Explanation 3. — The term “Turnover”‖ shall have the same meaning as defined in the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013).
Explanation 4.- An entity is considered to be working towards innovation, development, deployment or commercialisation of new products, processes or services driven by technology or intellectual property if it aims to develop and commercialise a new product or service or process, or a significantly improved existing product or service or process that will create or add value for customers or workflow.
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Explanation 5. — The reference rates of foreign currency of the Reserve Bank of India shall prevail.
(g) Words and expressions used, but not defined in these rules, shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Act.
3. Prescribed particulars .—Save as otherwise provided in these rules, the particulars contained in a Form are hereby prescribed as the particulars, if any, required under the relevant provision or provisions of the Act.
4. Appropriate office.—(1) The appropriate office of the patent office shall—
(i) for all the proceedings under the Act, be the head office of the patent office or the branch office, as the case may be, within whose territorial limits—
(a) the applicant or first mentioned applicant in case of joint applicants for a patent, normally resides or has his domicile or has a place of business or the place from where the invention actually originated; or
(b) the applicant for a patent or party in a proceeding if he has no place of business or domicile in India, the address for service in India given by such applicant or party is situated; and
(ii) [Omitted by Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2006]
(2)The appropriate office once decided in respect of any proceedings under the Act shall not ordinarily be changed.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (2), the Controller may transfer an application for patent so filed, to head office or, as the case may be, branch office of the Patent Office.
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (1), further application referred to in section 16 of the Act, shall be filed at the appropriate office of the first mentioned application only.
(5) All further applications referred to section 16 of the Act filed in an office other than the appropriate office of the first mentioned application, before the commencement of the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2013, shall be transferred to the appropriate office of the first mentioned application.
5. Every person, concerned in any proceedings to which the Act or these rules relate and every patentee, shall furnish to the Controller an address for service, including a postal address in India and an e-mail address, and such address for service shall be treated for all purposes connected with such proceedings or patent as the address of the person concerned in the proceedings or of the patentee. Unless such an address for service is given, the Controller shall be under no obligation either to proceed or deal with any proceeding, or patent or to send any notice that may be required to be given under the Act or these rules and the Controller may take suo motu decision in the matter:
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Provided that a patent agent shall also be required to furnish to the Controller a mobile number registered in India.
6. Leaving and serving documents.—(1) Any application, notice or other document authorised or required to be filed, left, made or given at the patent office, or to the Controller or to any other person under the Act or these rules, may be tendered by hand or sent by a letter addressed to the Controller at the appropriate office or to that person through post or registered post or speed post or by electronic transmission duly authenticated. If it is sent by post or registered post or speed post or by electronic transmission duly authenticated, it shall be deemed to have been filed, left, made or given at the time when the mail containing the same would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post or registered post or speed post, or by electronic transmission duly authenticated, as the case may be. In proving such sending, it shall be sufficient to show that the mail was properly addressed and transmitted:
(1A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (1), a patent agent shall file, leave, make or give all documents only by electronic transmission duly authenticated, including scanned copies of documents that are required to be submitted in original:
Provided that the original documents that are required to be submitted in original, shall be submitted within a period of fifteen days, failing which such documents shall be deemed not to have been filed.
(2) Any written communication addressed to a patentee at his postal address or e-mail address, as it appears on the register of patents or at his address for service given under rule 5, or to any applicant or opponent in any proceedings under the Act or these rules, at the postal address or e-mail address, appearing on the application or notice of opposition, or given for service, shall be deemed to be properly addressed.
(3)All notices and all written communications addressed to a patentee, or to any applicant or opponent in any proceedings under the Act or these rules, and all documents forwarded to the patentee or to the said applicant or opponent, shall, except when they are sent by special messenger, be sent by registered post or speed post or by electronic transmission duly authenticated.
(4)The date of a notice or a written communication addressed to a patentee or to any applicant or opponent in any proceedings under the Act and these rules shall be the date of dispatch of the said notice or written communication, by registered post or speed post or fax or electronic transmission duly authenticated, as the case may be, unless otherwise specified under the Act or these rules.
(5) In case of delay in receipt of a document or a communication sent by the patent office to a party to any proceedings under the Act or these rules, the delay in transmitting or resubmitting a document to the patent office or doing any act by the party may be condoned by the Controller if a petition for such condonation of Page 7 of 66 delay is made by the party to the Controller immediately after the receipt of the document or a communication along with a statement regarding the circumstances of the fact and evidence in support of the statement:
Provided that the delay condoned by the Controller shall not exceed the period between the date on which the party was supposed to have received the document or communication by ordinary course of mail or electronic transmission and the actual date of receipt of the same.
(6) Without prejudice to sub-rule (5) and notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule
(2) of rule 138, the Controller may condone the delay in transmitting or resubmitting a document to the patent office or performing any act by a party, if a petition for such condonation of delay is made by the party to the Controller along with a statement regarding the circumstances of the fact and evidence in support of the statement, to the satisfaction of the Controller, that the delay was due to war, revolution, civil disorder, strike, natural calamity, a general unavailability of electronic communication services or other like reason in the locality where the party resides or has place of business, and that such situation was of such severity that it disrupted the normal communication in that area and that the relevant action was taken as soon as reasonably possible not later than one month from the date when such situation had ceased to exist:
Provided that the delay condoned by the Controller shall not exceed the period for which the national emergency was in force, or six months from the expiry of the prescribed period, whichever is earlier.
(7) Any liability or burden of proof regarding the authenticity of any document filed, left, made or given under these rules, including electronically transmitted documents, shall lie only with the party filing, leaving, making or giving the document.
7.Fees.—(1)The fees payable under section 142 in respect of the grant of patents and applications therefor, and in respect of other matters for which fees are required to be payable under the Act shall be as specified in the First Schedule. Provided that ten per cent additional fee shall be payable when the applications for patent and other documents are filed through physical mode, namely, in hard copy format:
Provided further that in the case of a small entity, every document, for which a fee has been specified, shall be accompanied by Form-28.
(2) (a) The fees payable under the Act or these rules may be paid at the appropriate office either in cash or through electronic means or may be sent by bank draft or banker‘s cheque payable to the Controller of Patents and drawn on a scheduled bank at the place where the appropriate office is situated and if the draft or banker‘s cheque is sent by post, the fees shall be deemed to have been paid on the date on which the draft or banker‘s cheque has actually reached the Controller.
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(b) omitted
(c) Where a fee is payable in respect of a document, the entire fee shall accompany the document.
(3) In case an application processed by a natural person is fully or partly transferred to a person other than a natural person, the difference, if any, in the scale of fee(s) between the fee(s) charged from a natural person and the fee(s) chargeable from the person other than the natural person in the same matter shall be paid by the new applicant with the request for transfer.
(3A) In case an application processed by a small entity is fully or partly transferred to a person other than a natural person (except a small entity), the difference, if any, in the scale of fee(s) between the fee(s) charged from a small entity and the fee(s) chargeable from the person other than a natural person (except a small entity) in the same matter shall be paid by the new applicant with the request for transfer.;
(3B) In case an application processed by a startup is fully or partly transferred to any person other than a natural person or a startup, the difference, if any, in the scale of fees between the fees charged from a startup and such person to whom the application is transferred, shall be paid by the new applicant along with the request for transfer:
Explanation.— Where the startup ceases to be a startup after having filed an application for patent due to lapse of more than five years from the date of its incorporation or registration or the turnover subsequently crosses the financial threshold limit as defined, no such difference in the scale of fees shall be payable.‖
(4) Fees once paid in respect of any proceeding shall not ordinarily be refunded irrespective of whether the proceeding has taken place or not:
Provided that, if the Controller is satisfied that during the online filing process, the fee was paid more than once for the same proceeding, the excess fee shall be refunded.‖ (4A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (4), upon the withdrawal of an application in respect of which a request for examination has been filed, but before issuance of first statement of objection, the fee may be refunded to the extent prescribed in the First Schedule on a request made by the applicant in Form 29.
(5) (i) Subject to the approval of the Controller, any person may deposit money in advance and request the Controller to realise any fee payable by him from the said deposit and in such case the date of the receipt of the request to realise the fee or the date on which the request to realise the fee is deemed to have been received, whichever is earlier, shall be taken as the date of payment of the fee:
Provided that the requisite amount of money is available at the credit of the person making such request.
(ii) Subject to the approval of the Controller, any person may discontinue the deposit of money in advance and in such case the balance, if any, shall be refunded.
8. Forms.—(1) The Forms set forth in the Second Schedule with such variations as the Page 9 of 66 circumstances of each case may require shall be used for the purposes mentioned therein.
(2) Where no Form is so specified for any purpose, the applicant may use Form 30 specified in the Second Schedule.
9. Filing of documents and copies, etc. — (1) All documents and copies of the documents, except affidavits and drawings, filed with patent office, shall -
(a) be typewritten or printed in Hindi or English (unless otherwise directed or allowed by the Controller) in large and legible characters not less than 0.28 centimetre high with deep indelible ink with lines widely spaced not less than one and half spaced only upon one side of the paper;
(b) be on such paper which is flexible, strong, white, smooth, non-shiny, and durable of size A4 of approximately 29.7 centimetre by 21 centimetre with a margin of at least 4 centimetre on the top and left hand part, and 3 centimetre on the bottom and right hand part thereof;
(c) be numbered in consecutive Arabic numerals in the centre of the bottom of the sheet; and
(d) contain the numbering to every fifth line of each page of the description and each page of the claims at right half of the left margin.
(2) Any signature which is not legible or which is written in a script other than English or Hindi shall be accompanied by a transcription of the name either in Hindi or English in capital letters.
(3) In case, the application for patent discloses sequence listing of nucleotides or amino acid sequences, the sequence listing of nucleotides or amino acid sequences shall be filed in computer readable text format along with the application, and no print form of the sequence listing of nucleotides or amino acid sequences is required to be given.
(4) Additional copies of all documents shall be filed at the appropriate office as may be required by the Controller.
(5) Names and addresses of applicant and other persons shall be given in full together with their nationality and such other particulars, if any, as are necessary for their identification.
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CHAPTER II APPLICATION FOR PATENTS
10. Period within which proof of the right under section 7(2) to make the application shall be furnished.— Where, in an application for a patent made by virtue of an assignment of the right to apply for the patent for the invention, if the proof of the right to make the application is not furnished with the application, the applicant shall within a period of six months after the filing of such application furnish such proof.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this rule, the six months period in case of an application corresponding to an international application in which India is designated shall be reckoned from the actual date on which the corresponding application is filed in India.
11. Order of recording applications.—The applications filed in a year shall constitute a series identified by the year of such filing. In case of an application filed corresponding to an international application in which India is designated, such application shall constitute a series distinct from the rest of the applications identified by the year of filing of corresponding applications in India.
12. Statement and undertaking regarding foreign applications.—(1) The statement and undertaking required to be filed by an applicant for a patent under subsection (1) of section 8 shall be made in Form 3.
(1A) The period within which the applicant shall file the statement and undertaking under sub-section (1) of section 8 shall be six months from the date of filing the application.
Explanation.—For the purpose of this rule, the period of six months in case of an application corresponding to an international application in which India is designated shall be reckoned from the actual date on which the corresponding application is filed in India.
(2) The time within which the applicant for a patent shall keep the Controller informed of the details in respect of other applications filed in any country in the undertaking to be given by him under clause (b) of sub-section
(1) of section 8 shall be six months from the date of such filing.
(3) When so required by the Controller under sub-section (2) of section 8, the applicant shall furnish information relating to objections, if any, in respect of novelty and patentability of the invention and any other particulars as the Controller may require which may include claims of application allowed within six months from the date of such communication by the Controller.
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13. Specifications.—(1) Every specification, whether provisional or complete, shall be made in Form 2.
(2) A specification in respect of a divisional application under section 16 shall contain specific reference to the number of the original application from which the divisional application is made.
(3) A specification in respect of a patent of addition under section 54 shall contain a specific reference to the number of the main patent, or the application for the main patent, as the case may be, and a definite statement that the invention comprises an improvement in, or a modification of, the invention claimed in the specification of the main patent granted or applied for.
(4) Where the invention requires explanation through drawings, such drawings shall be prepared in accordance with the provisions of rule 15 and shall be supplied with, and referred to in detail, in the specification, including the claims where the features illustrated in the drawings shall be followed by their respective reference signs in parentheses:
Provided that in case of a complete specification, if the applicant desires to adopt the drawings filed with the provisional specification as the drawings or part of the drawings for the complete specification, it shall be sufficient to refer to them in the complete specification as those left or filed with the provisional specification.
(5) Irrelevant or other matter, not necessary, in the opinion of the Controller, for elucidation of the invention, shall be excluded from the title, description, claims and drawings.
(6) Except in the case of an application (other than a convention application or an application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty designating India) which is accompanied by a complete specification, a declaration as to the inventorship of the invention shall be filed in Form 5 with the complete specification or at any time before the expiration of one month from the date of filing of the complete specification, as the Controller may allow on an application made in Form 4.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this rule, the date of filing of the complete specification with respect to an application corresponding to an international application in which India is designated shall be reckoned from the actual date on which the corresponding application is filed in India.
(7) (a) The abstract as specified under clause (d) of sub-section (4) of section 10, accompanying the specification shall commence with the title of the invention. The title of the invention shall disclose the specific features of the invention normally in not more than fifteen words.
(b) The abstract shall contain a concise summary of the matter contained in the specification and the summary shall indicate clearly the technical field to which the invention belongs, technical Page 12 of 66 advancement of the invention as compared to the existing Knowledge and principal use of the invention excluding any speculative use and where necessary, the abstract shall contain the chemical formula, which characterises the invention.
(c) The abstract may not contain more than one hundred and fifty words.
(d) If the specification contains any drawing, the applicant shall indicate on the abstract the figure, or exceptionally, the figures of the drawings which may accompany the abstract when published. Each main feature mentioned in the abstract and illustrated by a drawing shall be followed by the reference sign used in that drawing.
(e) The abstract shall be so drafted that it constitutes an efficient instrument for the purposes of searching in the particular technical field, in particular by making it possible to assess whether there is a need to consult the specification itself.
(8) The period within which reference to the deposit shall be made in the specification under sub-clause (A) of clause (ii) of sub-section (4) of section 10 shall be three months from the date of filing of the application:
Provided that in case of a request for publication under rule 24A, such reference shall be made on or before the date of filing of such request.
14. Amendments to Specifications. — (1) When amendments are made to a provisional or complete specification or any drawing accompanying it, the pages incorporating such amendments shall be retyped and submitted to form a continuous document.
(2) A marked copy clearly identifying the amendments carried out and a statement clearly indicating the portion (page number and line number) of the specification or drawing being amended along with the reason shall also be filed.
(3) Amendments shall not be made by slips pasted on, or as footnotes or by writing in the margin of any of the said documents.
(4) When a retyped page or pages incorporating amendments are submitted, the corresponding earlier page shall be deemed to have been superseded and cancelled by the applicant.‖