Publication of a patent application
When your application becomes public, what that starts, and when you might want it to happen sooner.
An Indian application is ordinarily published after eighteen months from the priority date or the filing date, whichever is earlier. Until then the file is confidential.
Publication is not grant. It gives the applicant a limited set of rights from publication, but those rights cannot be enforced in court until the patent is actually granted.
Early publication on request is a strategic tool — it starts the pre-grant opposition window sooner and can be combined with expedited examination to compress the timeline, at the cost of losing secrecy earlier.
The provisions that govern this
Act sections and Rules are listed separately, as they always are on this site. Open a provision for its own explanation, example and deadlines.
- 11APublication of applications
- 22Acceptance of complete specification
- 23Advertisement of acceptance of complete specification
- 24Effect of acceptance of complete specification
- 35Secrecy directions relating to inventions relevant for defence purposes
- 76Officers and employees not to furnish information, etc.
- 143Restrictions upon publication of specification
- 145Publication of official journal
- 152Transmission of copies of specifications, etc., and inspection thereof
- 153Information relating to patents
- 155Reports of Controller to be placed before Parliament
- 19DTransmittal of the international search report and written opinion
- 19EConfidential treatment
- 24Publication of application
- 24ARequest for publication
- 25Identification of published applications
- 26Request for withdrawal
- 27Inspection and supply of published documents
- 38Omitted
- 45Omitted
- 83Publication of the amendment allowed
- 123Manner of advertisement of the proposed correction of any error
- 125Notification of corrections
- 134Request for information under section 153
Deciding whether to request early publication?
MYCrave Consultancy & Services handles this work every day — 22,000+ IP applications filed for 11,000+ clients across India.