Patent Registration Process in India: Step-by-Step Guide

A patent is a techno-legal document that grants exclusive rights to the patent holder. In India, these rights are granted by the office of the Controller General of Patents. These rights enable the inventor to prevent anyone from using, selling, manufacturing, or importing the invention without their consent. Without patent registration, inventors cannot claim these rights and protect their invention from being used by competitors in the market.

The laws that govern the patent registration process in India are the Indian Patent Act, 1970 and the Patent Rules, 2003. Once registered, the patent is valid for 20 years from the date when the application is filed.

In this article, we will discuss the forms required, the authorities before which the application is filed, the time framework, the fees to be paid, and some additional factors required during the patent registration process in India.

Patent filings in India have been steadily increasing. According to the WIPO 2024 Report, India recorded the fastest growth in patent applications in 2022-23 with 64,480 new filings and a 15.7% increase. This trend highlights the growing awareness among businesses and inventors about the importance of protecting their innovations.

Not all ideas are patentable. The invention in question must fulfill the listed criteria to qualify as a Patent in India.

Many people believe that they can patent any idea. However, patents protect the implementation of ideas and not the idea itself. For instance, simply thinking about patenting flying cars or a device for teleportation is not enough. You need to provide a specific method or process which can be made or used by a person skilled in the art without any experimentation.

Before filing a patent application, you must follow some preparatory steps that can save you time, money, effort, and prevent potential disappointments during the registration process:

Before filing a patent application, you must check if your invention is truly patentable and does not already fall in the public domain. For this, you must conduct a patentability search covering both patent documents and non-patent literature (NPL).

For patent searches, you can use various free or paid tools. Some of the free tools are listed here:

In addition to patent databases, it is equally critical to also look at the Non-Patent Literature (NPL). This includes technical and scientific information that might not be included in patent databases but still can affect the novelty or inventiveness of the invention. NPL may include academic research papers and journal articles, conference proceedings, thesis and dissertations, technical standards, white papers, reports, and product documentations or online content. You can use General Google search, Google scholar, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, arXiv.org, PubMed, etc. for performing an NLP search.

Make sure you have all the essential documents of your invention including a detailed description of the invention, any drawings or diagrams explaining its working, a list of inventors, and information related to any foreign patent applications. It is always wise to keep detailed records of your invention process such as dated lab notebooks, sketches, or prototypes. These records can be valuable if you need to prove anything later during the patent prosecution process.

Patent drafting is the most critical step in the patent registration process. It’s like creating a detailed roadmap that explains the invention so clearly that any person having ordinary skills in the technical field could recreate it just by reading your patent specification. This draft will be the legal foundation that will protect your innovative idea.

A well-drafted patent specification contains in-depth technical information that demonstrates the uniqueness and functionality of the invention. The key components of a patent draft include title, field of invention, background, summary, brief description of drawings, detailed description, claims, drawings, abstract, sequence listing (if applicable). The patent specifications are the invention’s first line of defence for its legal protection and potential commercial success.

While filing you opt for a provisional application or a complete application. Here is what you should consider:

Patent registrations can be expensive; therefore, proper budgeting is important. When filing an application, the basic cost includes the government filing fees. However, various other fees are also applicable such as publication fees, examination fees, additional claims, additional pages, etc. Additionally, you will need to pay maintenance fees throughout the patent’s life to keep it active.

There is good news for startups and small entities. The Indian government offers significantly reduced fees—approximately 80% less than those for large companies. This makes the patent system more accessible for new innovators with limited resources.

The patent filing process in India involves several stages and may take 3-5 years for completion under the ordinary route. However, the Indian Patent Office (IPO) offers an expedited examination route, allowing applicants to significantly reduce the timeline and obtain a patent grant within 12 months. This expedited route is available for startups, small entities, female applicant, etc. (detailed list given below). Here are the details of the patent filing process:

You can file a patent application via online mode or offline mode. The online mode requires filing the application through the Indian Patent Office website. The offline mode requires you to file it in person at one of the four patent registration offices in India i.e. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, or Kolkata based on your geographical location. The online method is faster, cheaper (10% less than physical filing), and most recommended.

Your application must contain several important documents as follows:

Out of these Form 2 is the most critical as it contains your patent specification. This document must clearly explain how someone skilled in your field could recreate/enable your invention based solely on your description.

Post filing the next step is publication i.e. your application becomes public knowledge. The application now waits in queue to be published in the Official Gazette.

The IPO publishes it in the weekly Patent Journal, accessible online. This starts the opposition period when others can challenge your application.

Publication of your patent does not mean that your application will be considered for examination. You can follow ordinary examination route or the expedited examination route.

To start the ordinary examination process you must file a Request for Examination (RFE) by submitting Form 18 and paying the required fees. According to the Patent (Amendment) Rules, 2024, the timeline for filing RFE or to submit Form 18 has been reduced from 48 months to 31 months starting from the date of priority or filing (whichever is earlier).

These changes aim to speed up the patent examination process. You must make a note of these amendments to avoid missing the deadline and having your application abandoned.

There is a prescribed form and timeline for filing an application for registration of Patent. The application is then examined by the authorities. The Controller examines the Patent Application, only after receiving of the request for examination. Upon receiving the request for examination, the Patent application is examined by the Patent Registration Office, India.

Applicants can request for expedited examination by filing Form18A along with the required fees. These applications are examined within one month from the date of request (or not exceeding two months). This quickened process allows inventors to deal with any objections rapidly than the standard examination process.

To avail this type of examination, the applicant needs to meet certain eligibility criteria. It also applies to recognized startups, small entities, and natural persons where at least one applicant is female. Government departments, government companies, and institutions established by a Central, State, or Provincial Act that are owned, controlled, or substantially financed by the government are eligible as well. Applications in technology sectors notified by the Central Government based on departmental requests and public consultation may also qualify.

During the examination, the examiner reviews your patent application to verify if all the patent requirements have been met. After this, the examiner issues a First Examination Report (FER), which lists all the objections or unfulfilled requirement.

Mostly all applicants receive objections. You have 6 months to respond to all the objections stated in the FER. This may involve:

If the examiner is not satisfied with your arguments, further reports may be issued. You must submit the response in the given timeframe else your application will be deemed abandoned.

If all the objections are successfully addressed and the Controller is satisfied with your application, he will issue a certificate of grant of patent. Your patent will be published in the Patent Journal as “granted”. You will receive your patent certificate that will be your proof of exclusive rights for the next 20 years from the date of filing.

The patent registration journey isn’t always smooth. Here are common challenges and solutions:

During the review process, examiners may find similar patent or non-patent literature within the scope of the invention. This commonly raises several types of objections, such as lack of novelty, lack of inventive step/s, insufficient disclosure, invention being obvious to a person skilled in the art, non-patentable subject matter, etc. Make sure to understand the objection fully, provide supporting evidence and consider amending claims (if necessary). Meet all deadlines and request extensions before they expire.

Patents face two types of opposition – a pre-grant (before grant) or a post-grant (within 12 months after). In such scenarios study the grounds of opposition, gather strong supporting evidence, consider adopting various strategies such as narrowing claims (if necessary), and prepare for hearings with the controller.

Missing patent deadlines can have serious implications, but certain situations offer remedies. For example, if you miss the 6-month deadline to respond to examination reports, you can file Form 4 for an extension of up to 3 months (requires additional fees). However, certain critical deadlines offer no flexibility such as the 12-month window to file complete specification. Hence, patent timelines must be planned carefully.

Securing a patent in India requires planning, patience, and persistence, but the rewards can be enormous. A patent gives you monopoly rights over your invention creating opportunities for commercialization, licensing, and business growth. The patent system is a powerful tool to secure a competitive advantage and get recognition for your creative work.

At IPExcel, we understand that patent registration can be overwhelming. That’s why we’re here to guide you in every step of the way. Our team of experts is specialized in patentability searches, craft detailed and precise patent drafts and manage the entire filing and prosecution process. We can help you focus on what you do best, innovating. We will ensure your inventions gets the protection they deserve and unlock its full commercial potential.