Grant, the patent term and the rights it gives

A patent gives the right to exclude, not the right to practise. It lets the patentee stop others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the patented product or the product of a patented process in India.

The term is twenty years from the date of filing — not from grant — for every patent, subject to renewal fees being paid. A patent that is granted eight years after filing has twelve years left.

Rights are subject to conditions in the Act: government use, the research and reverse-engineering exemptions, acts done for regulatory submissions, and the compulsory licence regime.