Structure of the Indian Patents Act, 1970

Patents in India are governed by The Patents Act, 1970 (“Act”) which came into force on 20th April 1972. The said enactment replaced the previous governing law i.e., The Indian Patent and Design Act, 1911. The Act extends to the whole of India. After its enactment, the Act was amended several times in 1999, 2002, and in 2005. The noteworthy changes were made in the year 2005 whereby, in pursuant to India’s obligation arising out of Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement, 1995, the patent protection was extended to product patents including pharmaceutical drugs. Prior to 2005 amendment, only process patents were recognized and granted in India. The Act is accompanied by Rules which were established for implementing the Act. The Patents Rules came into force on 20th April 1972 and got further amended in the year 2003, 2005, 2006, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 (39 of 1970) written below the Patents Act refers to the Act number of that year, i.e., The Patents Act is 39th Act of 1970.

The structure of the Act and Rules is as below:

2003. Schedules: There are 5 schedules under The Patent Rules, 2003.
2004. The First Schedule talks about the fees payable and refundable mentioned under rule 7 of the Patents Rules, 2003. The fees payable is determined based on various factors, such as the services for which the fees are payable, the relevant forms for them, and the method of filing (either e-filing or physical filing). The fees are different under e-filing method and physical filing method. The fees are also different for entities other than natural person, startup, educational institute, and small entity. The fees refundable are determined based on the services or account.
2005. The Second Schedule talks about the list of forms mentioned under rule 8 of the Patents Rules, 2003. There is total 32 forms including form 7A and 18A. Each form is for a different purpose e.g., Form 1 is for the application for grant of a patent; Form 2 is for provisional or complete specification; Form 7 is for notice of opposition; Form 10 is for request for grant of patent, Form 17 is for application for compulsory licence, Form 29 is for request for withdrawal of patent application, etc.
2006. The Third Schedule talks about the Form of Patent as mentioned in Rule 74 which is basically the certificate of Grant of a Patent.
2007. The Fourth Schedule talks about a list of matter in respect of which cost is to be awarded, as mentioned in Rule 136(1).
2008. The Fifth Schedule talks about the Rules (19 (2), 19A (1)(b), 19B (5), 19B (12), 19H, 19K (5), ISA fee.

Chapters: There are total 23 chapters in the Act which list out the Sections, and 16 chapters in the Indian Patent Rules which list out the Rules.

Chapters (Sections)

1. Chapter I includes sections 1 & 2 which defines the key terms and the extent of the Act;
2. Chapter II includes sections 3-5 and specifies the types of inventions which are not patentable;
3. Chapter III includes sections 6-11 and outlines the process of applications for patents and details involved in it;
4. Chapter IV includes sections 11A-24 and covers the publication and examination of applications for patents;
5. Chapter IVA originally dealt with exclusive marketing rights but it has been omitted;
6. Chapter V includes sections 25-28 and it talks about the opposition procedure in the process of grant of patents;
7. Chapter VI includes sections 29-34 and refers to anticipation through different modes;
8. Chapter VII includes sections 35-42 and explains various provisions required to maintain secrecy for certain inventions;
9. Chapter VIII includes sections 43-53 which talks about the final grant of patents to the inventor, term of invention and rights of the inventor;
10. Chapter IX includes sections 54-56 and defines the patents of addition along with their term and validity;
11. Chapter X includes sections 57-59 and talks about the amendment of applications and specifications before certain authorities;
12. Chapter XI includes sections 60-62 and outlines the status and procedure for restoration of lapsed patents;
13. Chapter XII includes sections 63-66 and covers the surrender and revocation of patents;
14. Chapter XIII includes sections 67-72 and outlines the register of patents;
15. Chapter XIV includes sections 73-76 and talks about the patent office and its establishment;
16. Chapter XV includes sections 77-81 and describes the general powers of controller;
17. Chapter XVI includes sections 82-94 and discusses the working of patents, compulsory license and its revocation;
18. Chapter XVII includes sections 99-103 and talks about the use of inventions for government purposes and acquisition of inventions by central government;
19. Chapter XVIII includes sections 104-115 and is related to the infringement of patents, its remedies and defences under it;
20. Chapter XIX includes sections 116-117 and originally dealt with appeals to the appellate board, has been omitted.
21. Chapter XX includes sections 118-124 related to penalties in for various committed offences;
22. Chapter XXI includes sections 125-132 and talks about patent agents, their rights and qualifications;
23. Chapter XXII includes sections 133-139 deals with international arrangements;
24. Chapter XXIII includes sections 140-162 and refers to miscellaneous provisions such as fees, restrictions, evidences, etc.

16 Chapters (Rules)

1. Chapter I includes rules 1-9 which defines the key terms and specifies, commencement, fees, forms, etc;
2. Chapter II includes rules 10-16 and talks about the application for patents and its procedure;
3. Chapter III includes rules 17-23 and covers international applications required under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT);
4. Chapter IV includes rules 24-38 and explains the procedure of publication and examination of applications;
5. Chapter V includes rules 39-54 and originally dealt with exclusive marketing rights but this has been omitted;
6. Chapter VI includes rules 55-70 and outlines the procedure involved in the opposition to grant of patents;
7. Chapter VII includes rules 71 & 72 pertains to secrecy directions for application made outside India;
8. Chapter VIII includes rules 73-80 and talks about the final grant of patents and renewal procedure;
9. Chapter IX includes rules 81-83 and discusses the implementation of amendments with respect to application, specification or any other documents;
10. Chapter X includes rules 84-86 and addresses the restoration and opposition of patents;
11. Chapter XI includes rule 87 and talks about surrender of patents;
12. Chapter XII includes rules 88-95 and discusses about the register of patents;
13. Chapter XIII includes rules 96-102 and deals with compulsory licence and conditions for revocation of patents;
14. Chapter XIV includes rules 103-107 and outlines the role and power of scientific advisors;
15. Chapter XV includes rules 108-120 and talks about patent agents, their qualifications and disqualifications;
16. Chapter XVI includes rules 121-139 and contains other miscellaneous provisions.

Sections & Rules: Sections define the laws in the Act which provide legal requirements whereas Rules helps in the enactment and functioning of the sections.

1. • Sections: There are total 163 sections. Additional sections added to the Act are sections 11A, 11B, 92A, 104A, 107A, 117A, 117B, 117C, 117D, 117E, 117F, 117G, 117H and 157A. Sections which have been omitted are sections 5, 22, 23, 24, 27, 95,96,97,98,112, 116, 117, 117B, 117C, 117D, 117F, 117G, 117H, 161 and 163.
   • Rules: There are total 139 rules. Additional rules added to the Act are rules 19A, 19B, 19C, 19D, 19E, 19F, 19G, 19H, 19I, 19J, 19K, 19L, 19M, 19N, 24-A, 24-B, 24-C, 28A, 55A, 63A, 74A, 103A, 111A, 121A and 129A. Rules which have been omitted are rules 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 64, 65, 73 and 89.

How to read the Act?

Before proceeding to individual chapters and sections, a person reading the Act, needs to be well versed with the history of Patents in India and circumstances which led to enactment of Indian Patent Act, 1970 which eclipsed the previous legislation governing Patents in India i.e., Indian Patent and Design Act, 1911. Thereafter, one needs to understand the objectives of the Act, the purpose is to understand the aspiration which the Act is trying to achieve. The Act consists of sections and rules which makes it easier to understand what a patent is all about and how a person moves forward with it.

For a clear understanding of the Act or for that matter any other statute, one should read and understand the sections in a sequential manner, as each section talks about different aspects under that statute. Along with the sections, rules should also be referred side by side as it helps in understanding the implementation of the sections. The sections mention the criteria, but the rules help in proceeding with that criterion. All sections and rules are important, but one should focus on a bunch in order to have a proper understanding of the statute.

For example, the section 142 talks about the fees that has to be paid for grant of patents and application and at the same time rule 7 tells us how one can procced with the payment of fees, how to pay, whom to pay and where to pay. Schedules may be referred to check forms and fee needed to proceed with act action under this Act.  Hence it is essential to map relevant rule with a specific section to understand the statute as a whole. It is highly recommended to first of all understand gist of the Chapter and then move to a specific section. For complete interpretation of the section, read it fully and never try to read only subclause or incomplete section as this may lead to an incomplete and wrong interpretation.

In conclusion, the Act requires a thorough reading to understand its implication in detail and it is always recommended to use the official readings as published in gazette available on web portal of Intellectual Property India .

Author: Ms Tanishka Ruia
5^th year BBA LLB
PES University