Rule 19M of the Patents Rules, 2003
Transmittal of the international preliminary examination report
Requires India's international preliminary examining authority to send its examination report to the applicant and to the International Bureau in Geneva.
Official legal text
The verbatim statutory text of this provision is reproduced from the official source and checked by our legal reviewer before it is published here. Until that check is complete for this page, read the exact wording directly from the official source linked below — it is the only version that governs.
Read this as a plain-language summary. If it and the official text, or a relevant Gazette notification, say different things, the official text and the notification are what count.
What this rule requires, step by step
A patent application filed through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) can go through two rounds of international work. The first round is a search, which produces an international search report. The second round is optional: the applicant files a demand and asks for an international preliminary examination. That second round ends with a document called the international preliminary examination report, usually shortened to IPER. It is a reasoned opinion on whether the claimed invention looks new, involves an inventive step and can be used in industry.
The Indian Patent Office is one of the offices appointed to act as an International Preliminary Examining Authority. When it does that work, it must eventually hand the finished report over. Rule 19M is the delivery rule. Once the report has been drawn up within the period allowed, the authority is required to send one copy to the International Bureau of WIPO and one copy to the applicant.
Both copies matter for different reasons. The applicant's copy is a planning document. It tells the inventor, before spending money on national filings in several countries, how strong the case looks and which claims are likely to attract objections. The copy sent to the International Bureau is the official route by which the report reaches the patent offices of the countries the applicant has elected. Those offices do not receive it directly from India.
Anything attached to the report travels with it. If the applicant amended the description or claims during preliminary examination, those amended sheets go along as annexes, so the elected offices see the version the authority actually examined.
An IPER is an opinion, not a decision. It does not grant or refuse anything. When the same application later enters the Indian national phase, the Controller carries out a fresh examination under the Act and the report does not bind that examination, although it is often persuasive and saves time.
Why this rule matters
PCT applicants who chose the Indian Patent Office as their preliminary examining authority, and the national offices that later handle the same application.
At the close of the optional second stage of the PCT process, before the applicant enters national phases.
A duty on the Indian authority to deliver its report to the applicant and to the International Bureau, so the result reaches every elected office.
An applicant who does not read the report loses an early, low-cost warning about weak claims and may spend heavily on national filings that will face the same objections.
How it works in practice
A Pune sensor startup reads its report before spending on filings
Kestrel Robotics Pvt Ltd, a Pune startup, files a PCT application for a vibration sensor used in flour mills. Its founder, Ananya Rao, chooses the Indian Patent Office as the searching authority and later files a demand for international preliminary examination. During that examination she amends two claims to add a temperature compensation step. When the authority finishes, it draws up its report and, under Rule 19M, sends one copy to the International Bureau and one to Kestrel. The report says the amended claims look new and inventive, but that the original broad claim would have been obvious over a German publication. Ananya now knows two things before spending money: the narrow claim set is worth pursuing, and the broad claim is not. She budgets for national filings in three markets instead of eight, and files the amended claims. The elected offices later receive the same report through the International Bureau, so nobody is working from a different version.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- The report is produced only if the applicant asks for preliminary examination by filing a demand.
- Rule 19M covers delivery: one copy to the International Bureau, one copy to the applicant.
- Elected patent offices get the report through the International Bureau, not directly from India.
- Amended sheets filed during examination go along with the report as annexes.
- The report is an opinion on patentability; it does not grant, refuse or bind the Indian Controller later.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Treating the report as a decision. A favourable report is encouraging, but every national office still examines the application under its own law.
- Assuming the report is sent to each country's office by the Indian authority. It travels through the International Bureau.
- Believing a negative report ends the matter. Applicants can amend and argue again in each national phase, including in India.
Connected provisions
- RuleRule 19KInternational preliminary examination report
- RuleRule 19LPeriod for establishing international preliminary examination report and its transmission
- RuleRule 19FIndian International Preliminary Examining Authority
- RuleRule 19EConfidential treatment
- RuleRule 20International applications designating or designating and electing India
A rule is subordinate legislation. It is made by the Central Government under a rule-making power in the Act and is amended by notification rather than by Parliament. The parent sections are listed on their own so that the source and the procedure are never confused.
Forms, deadlines and fees
The official fee for anything described on this page is set out in the First Schedule to the Patents Rules. It is not the same for every applicant, and it is not the same for online and physical filing, which is why no amount is stated here. How Indian patent fees work.
Related judgments
Case summaries are published only after a qualified reviewer has checked the judgment, the citation and the way the holding is described. Nothing has cleared that review for this provision yet, so nothing is listed here. We would rather show no case note than one that misstates what a court decided. How case notes are prepared.
Questions people ask about Rule 19M
What is the difference between the search report and the preliminary examination report?
The international search report lists documents an examiner found and is produced for every PCT application. The preliminary examination report is optional and comes only if the applicant files a demand. It goes further: instead of just listing citations, it gives a reasoned opinion on whether the claims appear new, inventive and industrially applicable, and it takes into account any amendments and arguments the applicant filed during that stage.
Does a positive preliminary examination report guarantee an Indian patent?
No. The report is not binding on the Indian Controller. When the application enters the Indian national phase, it is examined afresh under the Patents Act, including grounds that the international authority never considered, such as the exclusions in section 3. Indian examiners may also find prior art in Indian sources. A positive report helps, and it often shortens argument, but it is not a promise of grant.
Will I receive the report directly, or through my agent?
The authority sends the applicant's copy to the address for service recorded on the file. If a patent agent is on record, the copy reaches the agent, who is expected to pass it on. Applicants should confirm with their agent that the correspondence address is current, because the report arrives at a point when decisions about national filings must be made quickly.
Is the report made public?
The report is not a secret document forever. It is communicated to the International Bureau and to the elected offices, and the file of a PCT application becomes accessible after international publication in the manner allowed by the Treaty. During the examination stage itself, the authority handles the papers confidentially in line with the confidentiality rule that applies to this chapter.
Need help reading your international preliminary examination report?
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