Culture for Working of Patent in India – An Overview

As per the Indian legislators for a successful Intellectual Property Right system, the Patents are permitted not only to allow Patent owners to have the advantage of control over the patented work; however, also to safeguard the objective that the invention is worked on a commercial scale in India and can be used to the overall extent that is reasonably practicable and shall be without unfounded delay. According to the Indian Patents Act, it is compulsory for every licensee and the Patent owner of a permitted Patent to file a statement regarding the work extent upon the patented invention on a commercial range in India. The statements of working of Patentee compulsory to be filed every year in reference to all the Patents that are permitted in India. The time limit to file the statement is 31^st March every year for the past calendar year. In this blog, we will know more about the working of Patent in India.

Working of Patents – An Overview

Under Chapter XVI, Section 83 of the Patent Act, 1970^[1], is generous as “Working of Patents, compulsory licenses, and revocation” delivers us with the common principles concerning the working of patented inventions. This section tells the legislative reasoning behind procuring a Patent License Registration and that Patents are permitted to encourage inventions and to safeguard the working of the Patent articles in our nation as under Section 83 (a). Further, from the much bigger point of view of the Act, the patenting system points to maintain a quid-pro-quo system.

The reason for granting the control over the patented product by the Government is that not to let the Patent owner or the licensee broadcast inventions his invention information and make the public awareness regarding the same by either publishing the Patent or by working more on the patented creation or by allowing the patented invention to the general public at huge at an affordable cost. Section 83 is not a compulsory rule; it just delivers acts as a guiding principle, although it’s useful in knowing the requirement conditions and significance of Patent working inventions in India.

Further, the statements given by the Patent owner and licensees can also be beneficial in understanding the competence of the patenting system for various companies or entities and industries that make use of the patented inventions in their business course.

What is Form 27?

The IPO (Indian Patent Office), after discussion with the members or stakeholders on the draft form, has now provided the final formation of Form 27 for submitting the statement of working of Patent.

1. Indian Patent Law needs every Patentee or licensee to whom the Patent has been permitted to file a statement on the Patent working concerning the extent to which the Patent invention has been worked on commercially in India.
2. This statement of Patent working is delivered in Form 27 of the Patents Rules. It is essential to file the working of Patent while it doesn’t immediately lead to a penalty of the licensing rights or the proprietorship of Patent but on continuous failure to submit the statement would lead to revocation or refusal of the Patent License and ultimately loss of the rights of the Patent owner.

Alterations Brought By the New Form 27 – Working of Patent in India

• One single Form 27 can now be filed for numerous different Patents. These multiple Patents should be belonged to or be related to the same Patent owner. This will happen in cases where a particular Patent invention cannot be divided from the approx revenue generated from the relevant Patents, and so a single request can be filed in such cases.
• In the past, Form 27 had to be given for submission at the conclusion of the calendar year and had three months of time. However, at present, the new form has to be given for the submission at the end of the financial year that is on 31^st March and has a time limit of 6 months & the data can be submitted till 31^st September for every year.
• The present form is clarified and doesn’t necessitate the Patent owner to provide:
• Licenses and sub-licenses details;
• Particulars of importation; only the approx value shall be enough (import nation details);
• The statement on to what scope the public necessity has been fulfilled either partly or sufficiently at a fair and affordable price.
• In the case of numerous Patents, the Patent owner will have to record all the Patents which is planned for filing in that form. Moreover, the owner of the Patent will also describe whether the Patent product is worked or not worked.
• The Patent owner will also deliver revenue raised from the working of Patent and identify them as imported or manufactured in India.

Penalties of Not Filing the Statement for Working of Patent in India

The owners of Patent can’t ignore filing of the statement of Patent considering the following factors:

• Failure to provide the statement on Patent information shall determine the outcome with a punishable crime that consists of a fine that can extend to Rs. 10 lakhs;
• Providing incorrect or wrong information is a punishable offence with both imprisonment up to six months or with fine (on hold to alter);
• It can help the individual interested in looking for mandatory license for the Patent;
• A Patent can be cancelled on the reason of non-working (Patent Act, Section 85).

Conclusion

To conclude, Form 27 has decreased the load on Patent owners, and as it has become more simplified, it has made many Patent owners provide their Statement of working of Patent. It services the purpose of asking the Patent owner about their working information and then making it public. The objective is to tell any interested individual in the Patent to check and examine that whether the Patent can be performed or not to attain the public’s sensible necessity in India.

Hence, it has confident improvement in the Science and Technology sector, and publishing of working of Patent has also proved to be beneficial in trade and businesses. Hence, the Patent owners should follow the same and suitable file their statement.

Read our article:Patent Infringement Letter- An Overview