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The Centre has streamlined the procedures to submit statements regarding the working of a patented invention on a commercial scale, giving additional flexibilities to the patentee.
“The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2020, which came into effect on October 19, 2020, has further streamlined the requirements related to filing of Form 27 and submission of verified English translation of priority documents, which is not in English language,” said an official release circulated by the Commerce & Industry Ministry on Wednesday.
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The rules were amended following a Delhi High Court order on the matter in April 2018 and consequent stakeholder consultations.
Per the new rules, a patentee gets flexibility to file a single Form-27 in respect of single or multiple related patents. Where a patent is granted to two or more persons, such persons may file a joint Form-27.
Moreover, patentees would now be required to provide ‘approximate revenue/value accrue’ while authorised agents would be able to submit Form-27 on behalf of patentees, the release said.
Time extension
The time available to patentees for filing Form-27 has also been extended to six months, against the current three months, from the expiry of the financial year. Patentees will not be required to file Form-27 in respect of a part or fraction of the financial year.
“While on one hand the requirements in Form-27 regarding submission of information by patentees have been eased, it may be noted that Section 146(1) of the Patents Act, 1970 empowers the Controller to seek information from the patentee, as may be deemed appropriate,” it added.
Priority documents
There are also important changes with reference to Rule 21 on filing of priority documents. If the priority document is available in WIPO’s (World Intellectual Property Organisation) digital library, the applicant would not be required to submit the same in the Indian Patent Office.
The applicant would be required to submit a verified English translation of a priority document, where the validity of the priority claim is relevant to the determination of whether the invention concerned is patentable or not.
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