Fastrack Patent Procedure for Startups

The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2016 amended the Indian Patents Rules, 2003 and is effective from May 16^th, 2016. The Patent amendment rules bring good news for Startups in India.

The Patent Registration system in India would now recognize ‘startups’ also as an applicant and these startups would receive added benefits also. To be qualified as a startup the Entity has to be a Private Limited company or a registered partnership firm registered under Partnership Act, 1932 or a limited liability partnership under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2002.Five years should not have lapsed since the date of registration or incorporation of the entity. Turnover in any of the financial year should not be more than INR Twenty Five crores. Entity should not have been formed by splitting an existing entity. The patent office fee for startups is now equal to the fees what a natural person would have paid. This is a 60% drop in the fees that was payable prior to the amendment. The startups may also expedite the examination procedure, in which the examination report is expected to be prepared within 2 months as opposed to the prior situation of 3 months at a fee of INR Eight thousand .

The Office of the Comptroller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks on 22nd April, 2016 has released a Scheme for Facilitating Start-Ups Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP). The objective of this move is to promote innovation and creativity. Under this scheme the controller general has made appointments of experienced and registered patent/ trademark agents as facilitators. These facilitators can be approached by startups for guidance of the Patent registration system in India for better protection of their intellectual property. The startups would not have to pay the facilitators. Initially this scheme would be run for a pilot one year, starting from the date of launch of Startup India.

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