Chapter 1 & 2 : The Patent Act,1970

CHAPTER I: PRELIMINARY

This chapter sets the stage for the entire Act.

Section 1: Short title, extent and commencement

This section just gives the law its official name and states where and when it applies.

• (1) What it says: This Act may be called the Patents Act, 1970.
  • In plain English: This is the official name of the law.
  • Real-world example: When a lawyer files a case related to an invention, they will refer to this law as “The Patents Act, 1970”.
• (2) What it says: It extends to the whole of India.
  • In plain English: This law applies everywhere in India, to all states and union territories.
  • Real-world example: A patent granted in Delhi is also valid and enforceable in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and every other part of the country. An inventor is protected by this one single law.
• (3) What it says: It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint…
  • In plain English: The law (or different parts of it) doesn’t just start the day it’s signed. The Central Government decides the official start date and announces it.
  • Real-world example: The government might decide that the new rules for filing (Chapter III) start on April 1st, but the rules for appeals (Chapter XIX) start six months later, on October 1st, to give a new legal board time to be set up.

Section 2: Definitions and interpretation

This section is the official dictionary for the entire Act. It defines all the key terms used in the law.

• (1) What it says: In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires…
  • In plain English: These are the official meanings of the following terms unless using that exact meaning in a specific sentence wouldn’t make any sense.
• (a) “Appellate Board” (ommited)
  • In plain English: This refers to the special high-level tribunal (the Intellectual Property Appellate Board, or IPAB) you appeal to if you disagree with a decision made by the Controller at the Patent Office.
  • Real-world example: If the Patent Office (Controller) refuses to grant your patent, you don’t go to a regular local court. You must file an appeal with the “Appellate Board”. (Note: The IPAB was abolished in 2021, and its powers have been transferred to the High Courts. This definition is now read in that context.)
• (ab) “assignee”
  • In plain English: An ‘assignee’ is anyone who legally receives ownership (or part-ownership) of a patent from the original owner. This also includes people who inherit it.
  • Real-world example: Sarah invents a new app and gets a patent. She then assigns (sells) the patent rights to Google. Google is the “assignee”. If Sarah had passed away, the person who inherits her patent (her ‘legal representative’) would also be covered under this definition.
• (aba) “Budapest Treaty”
  • In plain English: This is an international agreement for patent applications involving micro-organisms (like bacteria, yeast, etc.). It allows an inventor to deposit a sample of their new micro-organism in one recognized international bank instead of in every single country where they want a patent.
  • Real-world example: A scientist invents a new oil-eating bacteria. To get a patent, they must provide a sample. Instead of mailing samples to India, the USA, and Japan, they deposit it once at a recognized bank in Germany. India, as a member of the treaty, will accept that single deposit.
• (ac) “capable of industrial application”
  • In plain English: This is a key test for getting a patent. It means the invention can be practically made or used in any kind of industry (including agriculture). It cannot be a purely theoretical idea.
  • Real-world example: A new chemical formula is just an idea. But a process to manufacture that chemical at scale, or a use for that chemical (e.g., as a new kind of waterproof spray), is “capable of industrial application.”
• (b) “Controller”
  • In plain English: This is the “boss” of the patent system. It refers to the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, who is the head of all the Patent Offices in India.
  • Real-world example: When you file a patent application, it is ultimately the “Controller” (or an officer acting on their behalf) who examines it and decides whether to grant or refuse it.
• (c) “convention application”
  • In plain English: This is a special type of patent application. It’s used when you first file for your patent in another “convention country” (a member of an international treaty like the Paris Convention) and then, within 12 months, file for the same patent in India.
  • Real-world example: You invent a new solar panel and file a patent application in the USA on January 1, 2024. You can then file a “convention application” in India anytime before January 1, 2025. India will treat your application as if you had filed it in India on the same day you filed in the USA (this is called “claiming priority”).
• (d) “convention country”
  • In plain English: A foreign country that is part of an international patent treaty or agreement with India (like the Paris Convention or WTO).
  • Real-world example: The USA, Japan, Germany, China, and the UK are all “convention countries”. This allows inventors to file in one country and then have 12 months to file in the others while keeping their original filing date.
• (e) “district court”
  • In plain English: This refers to the specific level of court that has the authority to hear patent cases.
  • Real-world example: If someone is infringing your patent, you can’t just go to any small claims court. You must file your lawsuit in the “district court” (or High Court) that has the proper jurisdiction.
• (f) “exclusive licence”
  • In plain English: A very strong form of permission. The patent owner gives a licensee the right to use the invention, and everyone else is excluded. This even excludes the patent owner themselves from using it.
  • Real-world example: A pharma company (Patentee) gives an “exclusive licence” to Cipla to manufacture and sell its new drug in India. This means only Cipla can make it. Not even the original patent-owning company can make and sell it in India.
• (h) “Government undertaking”
  • In plain English: Any industrial or business entity that is run, controlled, or substantially funded by the Government (Central or State).
  • Real-world example: This includes organizations like BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited), ONGC, or a research institution that gets almost all its funding from the government.
• (i) “High Court”
  • In plain English: The main, high-level court for a specific state or union territory.
  • Real-world example: If you want to challenge a decision of the Controller (since the IPAB was abolished), you would appeal to the “High Court” (e.g., the Delhi High Court, Madras High Court).
• (ia) “international application”
  • In plain English: An application for a patent filed under the “Patent Cooperation Treaty” (PCT). This system lets you file one single application to start the process of seeking a patent in many countries at once.
  • Real-world example: An inventor in France files one “international application” (a PCT application) and “designates” India, Japan, and Brazil. This single filing acts as the initial application in all those countries simultaneously, giving them time to decide where to proceed.
• (j) “invention”
  • In plain English: This is the core concept. To be an “invention,” your idea must meet three tests:
    1. It must be a new product or process.
    2. It must have an “inventive step” (see 2(ja)).
    3. It must be “capable of industrial application” (see 2(ac)).
  • Real-world example: Simply finding a new plant in the forest is not an invention. But isolating a new chemical from that plant (new product), figuring out it cures a disease (inventive step), and developing a method to turn it into a pill (industrial application) is an invention.
• (ja) “inventive step”
  • In plain English: This is often the hardest test. It means your invention is not “obvious” to a person who is an expert in that specific field (a “person skilled in the art”). It must involve a “technical advance” over what’s already known or have a significant economic impact, or both.
  • Real-world example: If existing umbrellas are black, making a blue umbrella is not an inventive step. It’s obvious. But creating an umbrella with a new internal frame and new material that makes it 10x stronger in the wind is a technical advance and has an inventive step.
• (k) “legal representative”
  • In plain English: A person who is legally allowed to manage the property and estate of a person who has died.
  • Real-world example: If an inventor dies, their “legal representative” (often the executor of their will) can take over the patent application or manage the granted patent.
• (l) “new invention”
  • In plain English: Your invention has never been published in any document, used anywhere in the world, or otherwise made available to the public before the date you filed your patent application. It must not be part of the “state of the art” (all existing knowledge).
  • Real-world example: You invent a new type of bicycle gear system. If you give a public presentation about it at a conference before filing your patent, it’s no longer a “new invention” because it has been publicly disclosed.
• (m) “patent”
  • In plain English: An official right granted by the government for an invention. This right gives the owner a 20-year monopoly to stop others from making, using, selling, or importing the invention.
  • Real-world example: When a company is “granted a patent” for a new drug, it means they have the legal right to be the only one to sell that drug for 20 years from their filing date.
• (n) “patent agent”
  • In plain English: A qualified professional (like a specialized lawyer) who is legally registered to help people apply for and manage their patents.
  • Real-world example: Most inventors hire a “patent agent” to write their technical patent application (specification) and to communicate with the Patent Office, as the rules are very complex.
• (o) “patented article” / “patented process”
  • In plain English: An article or a process for which a patent is currently in force and has not expired.
  • Real-world example: The specific formula for a drug is a “patented article.” The specific chemical method used to manufacture that drug is a “patented process.”
• (p) “patentee”
  • In plain English: The person or company whose name is currently listed in the official “register” as the owner (grantee or proprietor) of the patent.
  • Real-world example: If an inventor, Raj, is granted a patent, he is the “patentee.” If he sells the patent to a company, that company becomes the new “patentee” once the transfer is officially recorded.
• (t) “person interested”
  • In plain English: This is a broad term. It includes not just direct business rivals, but anyone who is actively researching or working in the same field as the invention.
  • Real-world example: A university professor researching solar panel technology could be a “person interested” who can legally oppose a competitor’s patent for a new solar panel, even if the professor doesn’t own a company.
• (y) “true and first inventor”
  • In plain English: This defines who is considered the actual inventor. It’s the person(s) who came up with the inventive idea. This definition excludes:
    1. Someone who just imports the invention into India.
    2. Someone who was just told about the invention by a person outside India.
  • Real-world example: A scientist in Germany, Dr. Schmidt, invents a new engine. He tells his Indian friend, Mr. Rao, about it. Mr. Rao cannot file for a patent in India claiming to be the “true and first inventor.” Only Dr. Schmidt (or his assignee) can.

CHAPTER II: INVENTIONS NOT PATENTABLE

This is one of the most important chapters. It lists all the things that you cannot get a patent for, even if they are new.

Section 3: What are not inventions

This section is a list of exclusions. If your idea falls into any of these categories, it is “not patentable”.

• (a) What it says: …frivolous or which claims anything obviously contrary to well established natural laws.
  • In plain English: You can’t patent things that are silly, absurd, or simply impossible because they break the known laws of science.
  • Real-world example: You cannot get a patent for a “perpetual motion machine” (a machine that runs forever without an energy source) because it violates the laws of thermodynamics.
• (b) What it says: …contrary to public order or morality or which causes serious prejudice to human, animal or plant life or health or to the environment.
  • In plain English: You can’t patent an invention if its main purpose is illegal, immoral, or would cause significant harm to society or the environment.
  • Real-world example: You cannot get a patent for a new type of untraceable landmine (contrary to public order) or a machine designed only for cheating in casinos (contrary to morality).
• (c) What it says: …mere discovery of a scientific principle or the formulation of an abstract theory or discovery of any living thing or non-living substance occurring in nature.
  • In plain English: You cannot patent a discovery of something that already exists in the world. You can’t own a law of nature, a scientific theory, or a plant/mineral you just found.
  • Real-world example: Einstein could not patent his theory of relativity ($E=mc^2$). A biologist cannot patent a new species of butterfly they discover in the Amazon. A company cannot patent a human gene they simply identified. You can, however, patent a new process to isolate a substance from nature.
• (d) What it says: …mere discovery of a new form of a known substance which does not result in the enhancement of the known efficacy… or the mere discovery of any new property or new use for a known substance…
  • In plain English: This is a very important rule, especially for medicines. It means you can’t get a new patent just by making a trivial change to an existing drug (like changing its crystal form) unless you can prove this new form works significantly better (has higher “efficacy”). You also can’t patent finding out that an old drug can be used for a new purpose (e.g., finding out a headache pill also helps with hair loss).
  • Real-world example: A company has a patent on a drug “X”. After the patent expires, they can’t get a new 20-year patent just by creating “X-hydrochloride” (a salt form) unless they can prove with data that this new form is, for example, 30% more effective at treating the disease than the original “X”.
• (e) What it says: …substance obtained by a mere admixture resulting only in the aggregation of the properties…
  • In plain English: You can’t get a patent for simply mixing two or more things together if the resulting mixture just does what each ingredient is expected to do. There must be a “synergistic” effect (where the combination is better than the sum of its parts).
  • Real-world example: You can’t patent a new drink made by mixing lemon juice and tea, where the result just tastes like lemon and tea. But if mixing chemical A and chemical B creates a new super-glue that is 10x stronger than A or B alone (a synergistic effect), that might be patentable.
• (f) What it says: …mere arrangement or re-arrangement or duplication of known devices…
  • In plain English: You can’t get a patent for just taking a bunch of known items and putting them together in one box, even if it’s convenient, as long as each item still just does its normal job.
  • Real-world example: You can’t patent a “new” first-aid kit that contains a known bandage, a known antiseptic, and known scissors. All the parts are just working as they always did, just in a new box.
• (h) What it says: …a method of agriculture or horticulture;
  • In plain English: You cannot patent a method of farming or gardening, as these are considered traditional activities.
  • Real-world example: You cannot get a patent on a “new method of growing tomatoes by watering them twice a day.” The special new fertilizer itself might be patentable (as a product), but the act of farming is not.
• (i) What it says: …any process for the medicinal, surgical, curative, prophylactic, diagnostic, therapeutic… treatment of human beings or… animals…
  • In plain English: You cannot patent a method of treating a person or animal to cure a disease, make a diagnosis, or perform surgery. This is to ensure doctors are free to treat patients without fear of patent infringement.
• Real-world example: A doctor cannot get a patent on “a new surgical technique for heart bypass surgery.” A company can, however, patent a new surgical tool (a product) or a new drug (a product) used for the treatment.
• (j) What it says: plants and animals in whole or any part thereof… seeds, varieties and species and essentially biological processes for production… of plants and animals;
  • In plain English: You cannot patent life forms like plants, animals, or their parts (like seeds or genes). You also can’t patent a natural process for breeding them, like cross-pollinating two flowers. (Note: Micro-organisms are patentable).
  • Real-world example: You cannot get a patent for a new variety of rose you created by simply cross-breeding two existing roses. (This may be protected by a different law, The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act).
• (k) What it says: …a mathematical or business method or a computer programme per se or algorithms;
  • In plain English: You cannot patent an abstract idea like a mathematical formula, a business plan, or a computer program by itself (“per se”).
  • Real-world example: You cannot patent a “method for doing online retail” (a business method). You also cannot patent the source code for an app (that’s protected by Copyright). However, you might be able to patent a system that uses that software to perform a new and inventive technical task (e.g., a new type of data encryption system).
• (l) What it says: …a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or any other aesthetic creation…
  • In plain English: You cannot patent creative works. These are protected by Copyright, not Patent law.
  • Real-world example: You cannot get a patent for a new song, a movie script, a painting, or the visual design of a website.
• (m) What it says: …a mere scheme or rule or method of performing mental act or method of playing game;
  • In plain English: You can’t patent a set of rules, a way of thinking, or instructions for playing a game.
  • Real-world example: You cannot patent a “new method for learning a language in 10 days” (a mental act) or the rules for a new board game.
• (n) What it says: …a presentation of information;
  • In plain English: You cannot patent a way of presenting information.
  • Real-world example: You cannot get a patent for a new way to design a railway timetable or a restaurant menu, even if it’s clearer than old ones.
• (o) What it says: …topography of integrated circuits;
  • In plain English: You cannot patent the 3D layout or design of an integrated circuit (a microchip). This is covered by a completely different law (The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Act, 2000).
  • Real-world example: Intel cannot use this Act to protect the specific 3D layout of the transistors on its new processor.
• (p) What it says: …an invention which in effect, is traditional knowledge or which is an aggregation or duplication of known properties of traditionally known component…
  • In plain English: You cannot patent something that is already part of “traditional knowledge” (like ancient herbal remedies). You also can’t patent something just by mixing two traditional ingredients. This rule was added to prevent “bio-piracy”.
  • Real-world example: You cannot get a patent for “a healing paste made from turmeric and neem,” as the healing properties of both are well-known in traditional Indian knowledge (like Ayurveda).

Section 4: Inventions relating to atomic energy not patentable

• (1) What it says: No patent shall be granted in respect of an invention relating to atomic energy falling within sub section (1) of section 20 of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 (33 of 1962).
  • In plain English: You simply cannot get a patent for any invention that falls under the “atomic energy” category, as defined by a separate, specific law (the Atomic Energy Act).
  • Real-world example: A scientist who invents a new, more efficient method for enriching uranium or designing a nuclear reactor part cannot get a patent for it. Such inventions are kept by and controlled by the Central Government for national security reasons.

Section 5: Inventions where only methods or processes of manufacture patentable

• (1) What it says: [Omitted by the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005]
  • In plain English: This section has been deleted and is no longer part of the law.
  • Historical example (What it used to mean): Before 2005, this section was very important. It said that for things like food, medicine, and chemicals, you could only patent the method (process) of making them, not the product itself. This allowed Indian companies to make the same drugs (e.g., for HIV) as long as they used a different method.

Current Status: When this was “Omitted” in 2005, India began granting full “product patents” for medicines and chemicals, in line with its international (TRIPS) agreements.