India publishes draft patent reforms
India has published a draft version of the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2018, which would make it easier to get a patent more quickly.
The proposals, published on December 5 by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, included measures to reform the process of applying for a patent.
Eligibility for the expedited examination provision, whereby the Indian Patent Office will accelerate a patent application, will now be expanded.
At present, only start-ups and applicants choosing the office as an international searching authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) are eligible for expedited examination. Under the draft rules, expedited examination would be available to “small entities”.
This category is defined in Indian law in relation to the level of investment in machinery and equipment. For services companies, this would be no more than five crore rupees (approximately $695,000), and no more than ten crore rupees for manufacturing companies.
The draft rules clarify that foreign companies will be able to submit “any document as evidence of eligibility” for this classification.
Those eligible for expedited examination under the proposals also include individuals, provided there is at least one female applicant, foreign and Indian state projects, and those eligible under the office’s international agreements.
The proposals would also ensure that there are no charges for applying through ePCT, a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) service for electronically filing an application under the terms of the PCT. The same rules would apply to applications filed through the WIPO Digital Access Service.
The draft rules also include reforms to the process of pre-grant opposition, through which a third party can challenge a pending patent. This would now be decided by a committee of two people, or three if they are unable to reach an agreement.
At present, the controller responsible for examining a patent has complete discretion in making a decision on opposition proceedings.
Indian law firm Remfry & Sagar said the draft rules are “in sync with the Indian government’s overall vision to increase efficiencies in the processing of IP applications”.
The proposals are open for public consultation until January 4, 2019.
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