PATENT RULES, 1972

CHAPTER I

PRELIMINARY

1. Short title and commencement—

(1) These rules may be called the Patents Rules, 1972.

(2) Save as otherwise provided in these rules, these rules shall come into force on the twentieth day of April, 1972.

Provided that rule 21, rules 49 to 53, rule 73 and rules 93 to 105, which relate to sub-section (2) of section 12, sub-section (2) of section 13, section 28, section 68 and section 125 to 132 of the Act respectively shall come into force on the date on which the said sections are brought into force.

2. Definitions— In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,--

    1. "Act" means the Patents Act, 1970 (39 of 1970);
    2. "appropriate office" means the appropriate

      3. office of the Patent Office as specified in rule 4;

    3. "article" includes any substance or material, and any plant, machinery or apparatus, whether affixed to land or not;
    4. "Form" means a Form specified in the Second Schedule;
    5. "Schedule" means to these rules;
    6. "Section" means a section of the Act;
    7. words and expressions used, but not defined in these rules, shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Act.

3. Prescribed particulars— Save as otherwise provided in these rules, the particulars contained in a Form are hereby prescribed as the particulars, if any required under the relevant provision or provisions of the Act.

4. Appropriate office—

(1) The appropriate office of the Patent Office shall—

(i) for all the proceedings under the Act, other than those 12[under sections 24A, 24B, 24C, 43, 44, 51, 52, 60, 65, 68, 69, 125, 153 and 154], be the Head Office of the Patent Office or the branch office, as the case may be, within whose territorial limits—

(ii) for proceedings 12[under section 24A, 24B, 24C, 43, 44, 51, 52, 60, 65, 68, 69, 125, 153 and 154] be the head office of the Patent Office.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (1), until branch offices are established in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 74, the appropriate office for all proceedings under the Act shall be the head office of the Patent Office at Calcutta.

13[(3) The appropriate office decided in respect of any proceedings under the Act shall not ordinarily be changed.]

5. Address for service— Every person, concerned in any proceedings to which the Act or these rules relate and every patentee, shall furnish to the Control and address for service in India and that address may be treated for all purposes connected with such proceedings or patent as the address of the person concerned in the proceedings or of the patentee. Unless such an address is given, the Controller shall be under no obligation either to proceed or deal with any proceeding, or patent or to send any notice that may be required to be given under the Act or these rules.

6. Leaving and serving documents— 12[(1)Any application, notice or other document authorised or required to be filed, left, made or given at the Patent Office, or to the Controller or to any other person under the Act or these rules, may be sent by hand or by a letter addressed to the Controller at the appropriate office or to the person through post or registered post or speed post or courier service and if it is sent by post, or registered post or speed post or courier service it shall be deemed to have been filed, left, made or given at the time when the letter containing the same would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post or registered post or speed post or courier service, as the case may be. In proving such sending, it shall be sufficient to prove that the letter was properly addressed and mailed. If the documents sent through Tele-Fax, are clear and fully legible, they shall also be accepted provided that the original document corresponding to the one sent by Tele-Fax is submitted to the appropriate office within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the document so faxed.]

 

(2) Any written communication addressed to a patentee at his address as it appears on the register of patents or at his address for service given under rule 5, or to any applicant or opponent in any proceedings the Act or these rules, at the address appearing on the application or notice of opposition or given for service, shall be deemed to be properly addressed.

13[(3) All notices and all written communications addressed to a patentee, or to any applicant or opponent in any proceedings under the Act or these rules, and all documents forwarded to the patentee or to the said applicant or opponent shall, except when they are sent by special messenger, be sent by registered post acknowledgment due.]

14[(4) The date of a notice or a written communication addressed to a patentee or to any applicant or opponent in any proceedings under the Act and these rules shall be the date of dispatch of the said notice or written communication, as the case may be, unless otherwise specified under the Act or these rules.]

(5) [In case of postal delay in receipt of a document or a communication sent by the patent office to a party to any proceedings under the Act or these rules, the delay in transmitting or resubmitting a document to the patent office or doing any act by the party may be condoned by the Controller if a petition for such condonation of delay is made by the party to the Controller immediately after the receipt of the document or a communication along with a statement stating the circumstances of the fact and evidence in support of the statement, provided that the delay thus condoned by the Controller shall not exceed the period between the date on which the party was supposed to have received the document or communication by ordinary course of mail and the actual date of receipt of the same.]

7. Fees— (1) The fees payable in respect of the grant of patents and applications therefor and in respect of other matters for which fees are required to be payable under the Act shall be as specified in First Schedule.

(2) 12[(a) The fees payable under the Act may either be paid in cash or may be sent by bank draft or cheque payable to the Controller and drawn on a scheduled bank at a place where the appropriate office is situated. If the draft or cheque is sent by post, the fees shall be deemed to have been paid on the date on which the draft or cheque reached the Controller in the ordinary course of the mail].

    1. Cheques or drafts not including the correct amount of commission and Cheques on which the full value specified therein cannot be collected in cash within the time allowed for payment of the fees, shall be accepted only at the discretion of the Controller.

      2.  

    2. Stamps shall not be received in the payment of any fees payable under the Act.

16[(3) In case an application processed by an individual is fully or partly transferred to a legal entity other than an individual, the difference, if any, in the scale of fee(s) between the fee(s) charged from an individual and the fee(s) chargeable from the legal entity other than the individual in the same matter shall be paid ;by the new applicant with the request for transfer.

(4) Fees once paid in respect of any proceeding shall not be returned irrespective of whether the proceeding has taken place or not.

(5) Subject to the approval of the competent authority any applicant or a registered patent agent may deposit money in advance once in a financial year and request the Controller to realise any fee payable by him from the said deposit and in such case the date of the receipt of the request to realise the fee or the date on which the request to realise the fee is deemed to have been received, whichever is earlier, shall be taken as the date of payment of the fee.

Provided that the requisite amount of money is available at the credit of the person making the request.]

8. Forms– (1) The forms set forth in the Second Schedule with such variations as the circumstances of each case may require shall be used for the purposes mentioned therein.

(2) Where no Form is so specified for any purpose, the applicant may adopt any Form specified in the Second Schedule with such modifications and variations as the Controller may permit.

9. Size etc., of documents— (1) All documents and copies of documents, except affidavits and drawings, sent to or left at the Patent Office or otherwise furnished to the Controller shall be written, typewritten, lithographed, or printed 3[either in the Hindi or in the English language](unless otherwise directed or allowed by the Controller) in large and legible characters with deep indelible ink with lines widely spaced upon one side only of strong white paper of a size of approximately 33.00 centimeters by 20.50 centimeters (13 inches by 8 inches) or 29.7 cms. by 21 cms. (11 ¾ inches by 8 ¼ inches) with a margin of at least four cms. (one and a half inches) on the left-hand part thereof. 4[Any signature which is not legible or which is written in a script other than Hindi or English shall be accompanied by a transcription of the name either in Hindi or in English in block letters.]

  1. Names and addresses of applicants and other persons shall be given in full together with their nationality and such other particulars, if any, as are necessary for identification.

10. Signature and verification of documents-- The documents specified in sub-section (2) of section 128 of the Act shall be dated and signed at the foot and shall contain a statement that the facts and matters stated therein are true to the best of the knowledge, information and belief of the person signing the said documents.

 

ENDNOTE

1.Vide Not. No. S.O. 301(E), dated 20-04-1972, published in GOI(E), dated 20-04-1972, p.p 735-805.

2 Insertion by S.O. 2908 dated 31-07-1976, w.e.f 14-08-1976.

3 Substituted by S.O. 3598 dated 28-10-1977, for "in the English language", w.e.f. 26-11-1977

4 Substituted by S.O. 3598, dated 28-10-1977, w.e.f. 26-11-1977.

11 .Chapter II A inserted by S.O. 1029(E), dated 02-12-1998, w.e.f. 07-12-1998

12 Subs. by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

13 Inserted by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

14 Sub-rule (4) to (5) inserted by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

15 Clause (e) omitted by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

16 Sub-rule (3) to (5) inserted by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

17 Sub-rule (2) omitted by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

18.Added by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

19 Sub-rule (5) omitted by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

20 Rule 28 omitted by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

21 Chapter IIIA (section 33A to 33P) inserted by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

22 Rule 38 to 39 omitted by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

23.Rule 64 omitted by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

24 Some words omitted by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

25 Substituted by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, for "Rs. 10000", w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

26 Omitted by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

27 Original rule renumbered as sub-rule (1) by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

28 The First Schedule substituted by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

29.The Second Schedule substituted by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

30 Added by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

31 Rule 64 omitted by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

34 Sub-rule (1) of rule 71 omitted by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

36. Subs. by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.

37. The Fourth Schedule substituted by S.O. 411(E), dated 02-06-1999, w.e.f. 02-06-1999.