Rule 20 of the Patents Rules, 2003
International applications designating or designating and electing India
Sets out how a PCT application that names India is brought into the Indian system and treated as a regular Indian patent application.
Official legal text
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What this rule requires, step by step
A Patent Cooperation Treaty application is a single international filing that keeps the door open in many countries at once. It is not a world patent. Nothing is granted internationally. To get a patent in India, the applicant has to bring that international application into the Indian system. That step is called entering the national phase, and Rule 20 is the rule that governs it.
The core requirement is timing. An applicant who wants the international application treated as an Indian application must file it at the Patent Office within thirty-one months from the earliest priority date. If there is no priority claim, the count runs from the international filing date. This period is generous but unforgiving in practice, because it is tied to the Treaty timetable and cannot be treated as flexible.
The filing itself uses the ordinary application form together with the fee worked out on the basis of the specification as it stands. What forms the Indian application is the international application: the description, claims, drawings and abstract as internationally filed, along with any amendments the applicant made during the international stage. If the international application is in a language other than English, a verified English translation must be supplied.
The Patent Office does not normally start work on a national phase application before the thirty-one month period runs out, because the applicant may still amend or withdraw during the international stage. An applicant in a hurry can ask for the application to be processed early, and the office may then begin sooner.
One limit runs through the whole process. The Indian application cannot go beyond the disclosure of the international application as filed. Amendments can narrow, clarify or correct, but new subject matter cannot be smuggled in at the national phase, and an examiner who spots added matter will object.
Why this rule matters
Indian and foreign applicants holding a PCT application that designates India, and their agents.
In the months leading up to the thirty-one month deadline counted from the earliest priority date.
The mechanism that converts an international application into a pending Indian application with an Indian filing date and priority.
The application is treated as withdrawn so far as India is concerned, and the invention, already published internationally, becomes prior art that blocks a fresh filing.
How it works in practice
A Bengaluru diagnostics firm enters the Indian national phase
Meridian Diagnostics Pvt Ltd of Bengaluru files an Indian provisional application in March, then a PCT application twelve months later claiming that priority. Its counsel diarises the national phase deadline as thirty-one months from the March priority date, not from the PCT filing date, and sets internal reminders at twenty-eight and thirty months. During the international stage the company narrows one claim to remove a feature the search report had shown was known. At month twenty-nine it files the Indian national phase application on the prescribed form, paying fees calculated on the number of pages and claims, and supplies the specification as amended. Because the international application was in English, no translation is needed. The company also files its statement about corresponding foreign applications. The Patent Office does not begin processing immediately, as the thirty-one month period has not expired, but the application is safely on file with its March priority date preserved.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- India must be brought in within thirty-one months of the earliest priority date.
- The count runs from the priority date, not from the date the PCT application was filed.
- The international application, with any amendments made during the international stage, becomes the Indian specification.
- A verified English translation is required if the international application is in another language.
- The office normally waits for the thirty-one month point before processing, unless early processing is requested.
- No new subject matter can be added when entering the national phase.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Counting thirty-one months from the international filing date when there is an earlier priority date. That error can cost several months and the application itself.
- Assuming a PCT application will automatically become an Indian patent. Nothing happens in India unless the national phase is entered.
- Treating the national phase as a chance to add improvements developed after filing. Later developments need their own application.
- Forgetting that the request for examination is a separate step with its own deadline, and that entering the national phase does not start examination by itself.
Connected provisions
The link between a rule and its section matters in practice, because an argument about whether a procedure is valid usually starts with the parent provision. The connected sections are listed here, apart from the explanation, so the chain of authority is easy to follow.
Forms, deadlines and fees
Where a form is required, the Second Schedule to the Patents Rules prescribes it. Superseded versions circulate widely online, so download the current form from the Patent Office and check it against the rule before use.
- The Indian national phase must be entered within thirty-one months from the earliest priority date, or from the international filing date if no priority is claimed.
Open the deadline calculator — and have every date confirmed against the current Rules before you rely on it.
Any official fee connected with this provision is fixed by the First Schedule to the Patents Rules, not by the provision itself. The amount depends on who the applicant is and on whether the filing is made online or on paper, so no figures are reproduced here. How Indian patent fees work.
Related judgments
This part of the page is reserved for summaries of decided cases. They are added one at a time, after review by a person qualified to confirm that the summary matches the judgment. Nothing has been cleared for this provision so far, so there is nothing to show. How case notes are prepared.
Questions people ask about Rule 20
Is the thirty-one month deadline extendable?
Treat it as fixed. It flows from the Treaty timetable read with these Rules, and Indian practice has consistently been strict about it. Whether any relief is possible in an exceptional case depends on the current version of the rule on extension of time and on the Controller's view, and no applicant should plan around that possibility. The safe approach is to diarise the date from the earliest priority date and file well before it.
Do I need to file a fresh specification for India?
No. The international application as filed, together with amendments properly made during the international stage, becomes the Indian specification. You file the prescribed application form and fees, and supply the specification in the required manner. You may make voluntary amendments afterwards, but they must stay within what was originally disclosed. A translation, verified as accurate, is needed if the international application was not in English.
What fees apply on national phase entry?
The ordinary application fee applies, with additional amounts calculated on the number of pages and the number of claims in the specification, and it varies by applicant category. Natural persons, startups, small entities and educational institutions pay at a lower rate than large companies. All amounts are in the First Schedule and are revised from time to time, so check the current fee schedule before filing rather than relying on older figures.
Can I enter the national phase and delay examination?
Yes, to an extent. Entering the national phase and requesting examination are separate steps. The application sits pending until a request for examination is filed within the period allowed by the examination rule. Many applicants use that gap to test the market or raise funds. The gap is not unlimited, and if the request is not filed in time the application is treated as withdrawn.
Is your PCT deadline for India approaching?
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