National Phase Application in India is filed under Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The timeline to enter national phase in India according to PCT is within 31 months from the earliest priority date. International patent applicants and inventors file patents in India before launching innovative products and services.
Inventors across the world take advantage of the provisions of the PCT by filing a single application with the WIPO or World Intellectual Property Organization.
The application is known as PCT International Phase Application. The PCT forms include primary form of PCT/RO/101, which designates various countries eligible for national phase entry.
India is designated by default and hence patent applicants can complete PCT filing in India using details of the international patent application.
Patent attorneys in India prepare PCT filing documents on behalf of patent applicants.
The PCT filing procedure in India begins with first step of filing the complete specification as per latest records of WIPO documents.
Thereafter, patent lawyer in India or patent agent in India files the patent forms including Form 1 as an application for grant of patent, Form 3 as details of corresponding foreign patent applications, Form 5 as declaration of inventorship signed by true and first inventors, and Form 26 as power of attorney to authorize the patent attorney, with the patent office in India through online filing portal.
Inventions developed in India for innovative products are protected globally by way of PCT or Patent Cooperation Treaty.
Patent applicants initiate the process of PCT filing from India by filing an international patent application directly or within 12 months of filing an ordinary patent application that contains complete specification with set of formal patent claims and patent drawings.
Such PCT international phase application is filed either with the Indian Patent Office as the receiving office (RO), or directly with the International Bureau (IB) of WIPO.
The official fee for filing a PCT patent application in India under national phase is same as filing an ordinary patent application.
The PCT filing fee in India is calculated as a combination of basic filing fee and any additional fee for claims in addition to 10, or pages in addition to 30.
The PCT patent filing cost in India includes basic filing fee is INR 1600 for an individual applicant and INR 8000 for a legal entity under e-filing mode. In addition, startups and MSMEs can obtain rebate under the fee schedule for legal entity.
Patent applicants develop a profitable patent strategy for filing a PCT patent application in India. The advantage of PCT patent filing mechanism is that it provides a single patent application to be filed across various countries and jurisdictions to streamline the worldwide patent filing efforts.
The PCT National Phase Application in India requires filing of specification within the deadline as calculated by the WIPO PCT time calculator.
At long last, at 31 months from the recording date of the PCT application or from the most punctual need date of the application, if a need is asserted, the global stage closes and the PCT application enters into the national and local stage.
In any case, any national law may fix time limits which terminate later than 31 months. National and local stages can likewise be begun before on the express demand of the candidate, even before distribution of the universal application.
Patent applicants in India file PCT patents by complying with the PCT filing requirements as defined by the Indian Patents Act. The basic information required for patent filing in India includes:
Advocate Rahul Dev is a Patent Attorney & International Business Lawyer practicing Technology, Intellectual Property & Corporate Laws. He is reachable at rd (at) patentbusinesslawyer (dot) com & @rdpatentlawyer on Twitter.
Quoted in and contributed to 50+ national & international publications (Bloomberg, FirstPost, SwissInfo, Outlook Money, Yahoo News, Times of India, Economic Times, Business Standard, Quartz, Global Legal Post, International Bar Association, LawAsia, BioSpectrum Asia, Digital News Asia, e27, Leaders Speak, Entrepreneur India, VCCircle, AutoTech).
Regularly invited to speak at international & national platforms (conferences, TV channels, seminars, corporate trainings, government workshops) on technology, patents, business strategy, legal developments, leadership & management.