Page 12 - A&A Patents&Design Rewind-2016

7. Expedited examination of applications
a. The Patents (Amendment) Rules 2016
have a provision for filing an expedited
request for examination under two
circumstances:
i. That India is designated as the
International Searching Authority
or elected as the International
Preliminary Examining Authority in the
corresponding international application;
or
ii. That the Applicant is a Startup
(definition in rule 2(fa))
In addition, a normal request for examination
can be converted to a request for
expedited examination by paying the
relevant fees and submitting the relevant
documents.
b. The Controller can limit the number of
requests for expedited examination to
be received during the year.
c. Where the request for expedited
examination does not comply with the
requirements of the Rules, the request
shall be processed as a normal request
with intimation to the applicant.
d. The Examiner shall make the report
within one to two months from the
date of reference of the application
by the Controller. The Controller
The timelines for normal and expedited examination have been pictorially represented below:-
RULE 24B – USUAL PROCEDURE OF EXAMINATION
RULE 24C – EXPEDITED EXAMINATION
12 | Patents & Design
shall dispose the examination report
within one month from the date of
receipt of the report. A first statement
of objections shall be issued by the
Controller within fifteen days from the
disposal of the report.
e. The reply to the Examination Report
shall be filed within six months from the
date of the first statement of objections.
Said time can be extended by three
months provided that the request
is made before the expiry of the six
months’ period.
f. The Controller shall dispose the
application within three months from
the date of receipt of the reply to the
first statement of objections or within
a period of three months from the last
date to put the application in order for
grant, whichever is earlier.
g. Hearings: Hearings can now be held
through video-conferencing or audio-
visual communication devices. Hearing
submissions and relevant documents
have to be filed within 15 days from the
date of hearing.
8. Oppositions
a. A copy of the written statement
(representation for opposition) has