Patents Rules · Chapter IV
Publication and Examination of Applications
Chapter IV of the Patents Rules, 2003 contains 20 rules, of which 1 has been omitted. Each one has its own page with a plain-language explanation, a worked Indian example, the forms and deadlines it touches, and the sections it connects to.
20
Rules in this chapter
19
In force
1
Omitted
24–38
Rule numbers
- 24Publication of applicationFixes eighteen months from the earliest of the filing or priority date as the point when a patent application is published.
- 24ARequest for publicationLets an applicant ask for early publication on the prescribed form instead of waiting for the eighteen month date to arrive.
- 24BExamination of applicationSets the deadline for requesting examination and the timetable for answering the first examination report before an application can be granted.
- 24CExpedited examination of applicationsAllows qualifying applicants to move ahead of the normal examination queue by filing a request for expedited examination.
- 25Identification of published applicationsProvides for published applications to be identified by fixed particulars so that the public can trace, cite and inspect them reliably.
- 26Request for withdrawalPrescribes the form on which an applicant asks the Patent Office to withdraw a pending patent application.
- 27Inspection and supply of published documentsOpens the file of a published application to public inspection and allows copies of its documents to be obtained on payment of the prescribed fee.
- 28Procedure in case of anticipation by prior publicationSets out the steps the Controller follows when the search shows that the invention was already published before the applicant's priority date.
- 28AProcedure in relation to consideration of report of examiner under section 14Applies the same hearing procedure to the Controller's consideration of an examiner's report, so no application is refused without a hearing.
- 29Procedure in case of anticipation by prior claimingSets out what happens when someone else's application with an earlier date already claims the same invention.
- 29AGrace periodGives the form and route for claiming the twelve month grace period where the invention was disclosed in one of the situations the Act protects.
- 30Amendment of the complete specification in case of anticipationDeals with how a complete specification is amended to overcome an anticipation objection raised by the Controller during examination.
- 31Form of reference to another specificationSets out how a reference to an earlier specification is worded and placed when the Controller orders that public notice under section 18.
- 32Procedure in case of potential infringementSets the procedure the Controller follows when a pending claim looks likely to infringe a claim of another patent already in force.
- 33Form of reference to another patentPrescribes the wording and placement of the reference to another patent that the Controller can order printed in a specification under section 19.
- 34Manner in which a claim under section 20(1) shall be madeExplains how a person claiming a pending patent application under an assignment or agreement must put that claim before the Controller.
- 35Manner in which a request may be made under section 20(4)Explains how to ask the Controller to let a pending application continue in the name of a dead applicant's legal representative or a successor body.
- 36Manner of application under section 20(5)Explains how one joint applicant can ask the Controller for directions when co-applicants cannot agree on how a pending application should proceed.
- 37Numbering of applications on the grant of patentProvides that every application receives a separate patent number when the patent is granted, distinct from the application number it carried before.
- 38Omitted OmittedA rule that once closed the publication and examination chapter of the Patents Rules and has since been omitted, leaving the number unused.