Rule 24C of the Patents Rules, 2003
Expedited examination of applications
Allows qualifying applicants to move ahead of the normal examination queue by filing a request for expedited examination.
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
Ordinary examination follows the order in which requests were filed, and in busy technology fields that queue is long. Rule 24C creates a faster lane. A qualifying applicant files a request for expedited examination on Form 18A, electronically, with the higher fee prescribed for it, and the application is taken up ahead of the ordinary queue.
Not everyone can use the lane. The rule lists the eligible categories, and that list has been widened over the years. It covers startups, small entities and applicants who are natural persons where a female applicant is among them. It covers government departments, government companies, institutions established by law and owned or controlled by government, and institutions substantially financed by government. It covers educational institutions. It covers applicants who chose the Indian office as their international searching or preliminary examining authority. And it covers applicants eligible under an arrangement between the Indian Patent Office and a foreign patent office, which is how the patent prosecution highway route works. The current list should be read in the rule itself, since categories have been added by amendment.
Eligibility has to be proved, not merely asserted. A startup files its recognition document, a small entity or micro, small and medium enterprise files its registration, an educational institution files evidence of its status. Claiming a category without support invites an objection and can cost the applicant the fee difference.
An applicant who has already filed an ordinary request for examination is not shut out. The rule allows conversion of an ordinary request into an expedited one on payment of the difference in fee, provided the applicant qualifies. This is common where a startup files early, then finds a copier in the market and needs a granted patent quickly.
What speeds up is the office's side of the process. The examiner reports sooner and the first examination report issues sooner than in the ordinary track. What does not change is the applicant's own reply period, which follows the same rule as ordinary examination: the application must be put in order for grant within six months from issue of the report, extendable by three months on a timely request in Form 4. Applicants who choose the fast lane and then reply slowly waste the advantage.
Finally, expedited examination changes speed, not standards. The examiner applies the same law on novelty, inventive step and the exclusions. A weak application simply reaches its refusal faster. The Controller may also limit the number of expedited requests accepted in a year by notice in the Journal.
Why this rule matters
Startups, MSMEs, educational institutions, government bodies, female applicants and PCT applicants who used the Indian office as an international authority.
When the ordinary examination queue is too slow for a commercial need such as funding, licensing or stopping a copier.
A right for listed categories to have their applications examined out of turn on payment of the higher prescribed fee.
Eligible applicants wait in the ordinary queue for years while competitors copy a product that could already have been protected by a granted patent.
How it works in practice
A recognised startup converts to the fast lane
Vaayu Mobility Pvt Ltd, a recognised startup in Coimbatore, files an application for a battery swapping latch and requests ordinary examination. Eight months later a larger competitor launches a near-identical latch. Publication rights alone will not stop it, because an infringement suit needs a granted patent. The company's adviser files a request for expedited examination on Form 18A, electronically, along with the startup recognition certificate and the difference in fee, converting the earlier ordinary request. The application is taken up out of turn and the first examination report issues far sooner than the ordinary queue would have allowed. The company replies within ten weeks rather than using the full six months, narrowing one claim and filing test data on latch retention under vibration. The patent is granted, and the company is then in a position to act against the competitor. Had it left the ordinary request untouched, the wait would have run into years.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- The request is filed on Form 18A, electronically, with the higher prescribed fee.
- Only listed categories qualify, including startups, small entities, female natural person applicants, government and educational bodies, and applicants under a foreign office arrangement.
- Evidence of eligibility must be filed with the request.
- An existing ordinary request can be converted by paying the fee difference.
- The applicant's reply period is unchanged: six months from issue of the report, extendable by three months on a timely Form 4.
- Expedited examination changes speed, not the legal standard applied.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Assuming expedited examination guarantees grant. It only brings the decision forward, whichever way it goes.
- Claiming startup or small entity status without filing the supporting document, which delays the very process the applicant is trying to speed up.
- Filing the request on paper. The rule requires the electronic route.
- Winning a fast report and then using the entire reply period, which throws away most of the time saved.
- Overlooking that a change in the applicant's status, such as a startup outgrowing the definition, can affect fees and category claims later.
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 request must still fall within the period allowed for requesting examination under the examination rule.
- After the report issues, the application must be put in order for grant within six months, extendable by three months if Form 4 is filed before the six months expires.
Open the deadline calculator — and have every date confirmed against the current Rules before you rely on it.
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.
Amendment history
What changed in this provision, newest first. Read the footnotes in the official consolidated text for the full record.
- 2024The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024The extension provisions were aligned with the ordinary examination rule so that a request can be made during the extended period. Attribution pending reviewer confirmation.
- 2019The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2019Eligibility was widened well beyond startups, adding small entities, applicants who are all female natural persons, government departments and undertakings, institutions financed by government, and applicants covered by arrangements with foreign patent offices.
- 2016The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2016The rule was inserted, creating expedited examination. At first it was open only to startups and to applicants who had chosen India as the international searching or preliminary examining authority.
Compiled from official consolidated texts and Gazette notifications. See the site-wide change log.
Related judgments
Court decisions shape how this provision is applied, but a summary is useful only if it is right. Every case note on this site is read by a legal reviewer before it goes live, and none has been completed for this provision so far. This section will fill in as those reviews finish. How case notes are prepared.
Questions people ask about Rule 24C
Who counts as a startup for expedited examination?
The rule uses the definition of startup set out in the Patents Rules, which reflects the recognition framework administered by the central government, and it includes foreign entities that meet equivalent criteria on turnover and years since incorporation. The practical requirement is documentary: file the recognition certificate or equivalent proof with the request. Definitions have been amended more than once, so check the current definition rule before relying on a status certificate that is several years old.
How much faster is expedited examination in practice?
Considerably faster, though the exact time depends on the technology field and the volume of requests. The rule compresses the office's internal steps, so the examiner reports and the first examination report issues much sooner than in the ordinary queue. The office may also cap the number of expedited requests it accepts in a year. Applicants should treat expedited examination as a strong improvement in timing rather than a guaranteed number of months.
Can I switch from ordinary to expedited examination?
Yes, if you qualify. The rule allows an ordinary request for examination to be converted into an expedited one on filing the prescribed form with the difference in fee and the evidence of eligibility. This is a common route for startups and small entities that filed early to secure the date and later face a market problem that makes speed valuable. Conversion does not reset any other deadline in the case.
Is expedited examination worth the extra fee?
It depends on why you want the patent. If you need a granted patent to stop a copier, to complete a licensing deal, to satisfy an investor or to meet a tender requirement, the extra fee is usually small against the commercial value of the time saved. If the patent is a long-term defensive asset with no immediate commercial trigger, the ordinary queue may be perfectly adequate and the money is better spent on drafting quality.
Does the patent prosecution highway route come under this rule?
Yes. One of the eligible categories covers applicants eligible under an arrangement between the Indian Patent Office and a foreign patent office for processing applications. Those arrangements are the basis of the prosecution highway pilots, which allow work already done by a partner office on a corresponding application to support faster handling in India. Each arrangement has its own conditions, technology limits and annual caps, so check the current terms before planning around it.
Do you qualify for expedited patent examination in India?
MYCrave Consultancy checks your eligibility category, assembles the proof and files Form 18A to move you out of the queue.
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