Patents Act draft norms finalised

The government has formulated the draft guidelines for the newly amended Patents Act, 2005. As per the guidelines, non-inventions, inventions relating to atomic energy, or those contrary to public order or causing serious prejudice to human beings, animals, health or environment will not be patentable.

"Any process for medicinal, surgical, curative, diagnostic and therapeutic treatment of human beings or animals to cure them is not patentable under the Indian Patents Act. Patents, however, can be obtained for surgical, therapeutic or diagnostic instruments," according to the draft guidelines which have been put on the official website for public comments.

The draft guidelines relate to the practice and procedure to be followed in examination of patents applications in India.

They also aim at making industries, research and development organisations, individual researchers and inventors familiar with the patents system in India provide a user-friendly system for obtaining as well as maintaining patents under the existing law.

While clones and new variety of plants are not patentable, the process or method of preparing genetically modified organisms are patentable subject matter.

The draft also includes guidelines for examining inventions in the software sector. As per the guidelines, claims relating to software programme products are nothing but computer programmes per se, simply expressed on a computer readable storage medium, and as such, are not patentable.

However, an invention involving hardware along with software or a computer programme in order to perform the function of a hardware may be considered patentable. For instance, embedded systems.

Mere discovery of a scientific principle or formulation of an abstract theory or discovery of any living thing or non-living substances will also not be eligible for a patent.

Similarly, a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or any other aesthetic creation, including cinematographic work and television productions, are not patentable, according to the guidelines.

When a patent is granted to two or more persons, each will be entitled to an equal undivided share in the patent unless an agreement to the contrary is in force.

All can enjoy their rights for their own benefits without accounting for to others but the licence cannot be given to any other person, or their assignment, without the consent of others.

Similarly, when a patented article is sold by one of two or more persons registered as grantee or proprietor of a patent, the purchaser and any person claiming the article through him shall be entitled to deal with the article in the same manner as if the article had been sold by a sole patentee, the guidelines said.

The Comptroller of Patents can, at any point of time, revoke a patent if the criteria like novelty are not fulfilled. Violation or false information given in the disclosure norms can also lead to revoking of patents.