The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2020

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.

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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.

The rules were amended following a Delhi High Court order on the matter in April 2018.

As 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.

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.

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.