The journey

The Indian patent process, step by step

Fourteen steps from “I think I have invented something” to a granted, maintained, enforceable Indian patent. Each step links to the exact Act sections and Rules that govern it. Timelines vary with office workload, objections and the route you choose — nothing here is a promise about how long your matter will take.

Decide what you are protecting

Confirm you are dealing with an invention and not a design, a brand or a piece of software copyright. Check the Section 3 exclusions before you spend on drafting, and do a prior-art search. This is where most money is saved.

Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Rule 13

Choose provisional or complete

A provisional specification fixes a date while development continues. A complete specification must fully describe the invention and end with claims. The complete must follow the provisional within the prescribed period.

Section 9 Section 10 Rule 13 Rule 14

File the application

Form 1 with the specification, inventorship declaration and applicant-category evidence. Applicant category decides the fee tier. The filing date anchors novelty, term and almost every later deadline.

Section 6 Section 7 Rule 7 Rule 8 Rule 9

Disclose foreign filings

If you have filed, or later file, for the same invention outside India, Form 3 tells the Office. Failing to keep it current is a ground of revocation, and it is a common oversight.

Section 8 Rule 12

Get permission before filing abroad

An Indian resident generally cannot file abroad first. Either file in India and wait the prescribed period, or apply on Form 25 for written permission.

Section 39 Rule 71

Publication

Ordinarily 18 months from priority. You can request early publication to start the clock sooner. Publication opens the pre-grant window.

Section 11A Rule 24 Rule 24A

Request examination

Nothing happens until you ask. Miss the period in Rule 24B and the application is treated as withdrawn. Eligible applicants can use expedited examination.

Section 11B Rule 24B Rule 24C

Respond to the FER

The first examination report lands with novelty, inventive step, Section 3, unity and formal objections together. The window to put the application in order is fixed and short.

Section 14 Section 15 Section 21 Rule 24B Rule 28A

Hearing and amendments

If objections remain, the Controller offers a hearing. Amendments must stay within what was originally disclosed and must not widen the claims.

Section 57 Section 59 Section 80 Rule 81 Rule 129 Rule 129A

Pre-grant opposition

Any person may file a representation after publication and before grant. It is decided before the application proceeds.

Section 25 Rule 55

Grant

The patent is granted, published and entered in the Register. Only now can it be enforced in court.

Section 43 Section 46 Section 47 Rule 74

Post-grant opposition

A person interested has one year from publication of grant to oppose, before an Opposition Board.

Section 25 Rule 55A Rule 56 Rule 57 Rule 58

Renew, and keep working records

Renewal fees keep the patent alive for its 20-year term from filing. Working statements on Form 27 are filed at the prescribed interval and are public.

Section 53 Section 146 Rule 80 Rule 131

Enforce, license or let go

Assign or license in writing and register it. Enforce against infringers, defend revocation counter-claims, restore if a renewal was missed, or surrender if the portfolio has moved on.

Section 48 Section 63 Section 64 Section 68 Section 108 Rule 84 Rule 87 Rule 90

Two clocks kill more Indian applications than any prior art. The request for examination, and the period to put the application in order after the first examination report. Put both in a diary the day you file, and check them against the current Rules — the examination period was changed in 2024. Use the deadline calculator.

Want this run properly from day one?

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