Patents filing set to get cheaper, easier

Filing for patents will become cheaper as the government has made changes in the rules and set the application fee at Rs 4,000 for companies and Rs 1,000 for individuals.

While the draft Patents (Second Amendment) Rules 2005 have left the basic fee structure unchanged for grant of patents, additional charges for more claims and voluminous patents applications have been removed.

The draft rules, which drastically reduce the filing fee, propose changes to the Patents Rules 2003 and changes, as well, in the time""period for the entire procedure of granting patents "" publication of application, examination and opposition.

"There has been a drastic cut in the filing fee which was in some cases running into lakhs of rupees. This rationalisation was long overdue as the rates post-January 1, 2005 are exorbitantly high," said Hari Subramanium, a patents attorney.

While the fee before the onset of the new patents regime (January 1, 2005) was Rs 4,000 per application for companies, it remained the same (post-January 1) for the first 30 pages. Beyond 30 pages, there was a charge of Rs 400 per page and of Rs 800 for any claim exceeding 10. All these extra charges will go, according to the new draft rules.

The draft rules, put up for comments by industry and public for a period of 30 days, have not altered the fee for renewal of patents applications, requests for publication and examination.

A requests for examination attracted Rs 10,000 under the January1 regime compared with Rs 4,000 earlier. Further, any extension of time meant a fee of Rs 4,000, Rs 8,000 and Rs 12,000 for the first, second and third months, respectively, compared with Rs 1,000 per month applicable before.

"The government has been treating the patents office almost like its cashcow," said a patents attorney.

The time-lines for granting patents have also been revised. Under the draft rules, the period for filing of statements and undertakings by foreign applicants has been increased from three months to six months. "The increased time-lines are desirable as three months are too short a time-frame for foreign applicants," said Abhishek Saket, a patents attorney.

The time-period for requesting examination of an application has also been increased from six months to nine months.