India’s Department for Promotion of Industy and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has notified proposed amendments in the Patent Rules, 2003. The amendments proposed by DPIIT on August 22, 2023, are “positive,” law firm LexOrbis said in a client alert emailed to clients and media on September 3, 2023. The DPIIT amendments are for consultative purposes and, if accepted by the relevant industries and other stakeholders, the government may notify the amendments, the firm said.
“We expect this process to take some time and the DPIIT has asked for submission of comments by September 22, 2023,” the statement said.
LexOrbis reports that some of the important amendments proposed in the Rules relate to the following:
Working Statement: The amendment proposes to extend the period for filing of working statement from the current once-in-a-year to every-fourth-year covering the working of a patent for the past three financial years. Most importantly, the proposed Form 27 does not require disclosure of accurate or approximate value accrued from the patent. Under the proposed Form 27, patent owners only need to indicate whether the patent was “worked” or “not worked” and no further details need to be given; Read more