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Patents Act, 1970 · Chapter VII — Provisions for Secrecy of Certain Inventions

Section 39: Residents not to apply for patents outside India without prior permission

In plain English

Section 39 restricts residents of India from filing patent applications abroad without permission.

A person resident in India needs a written permit from the Controller before applying outside India, unless an application for the same invention was filed in India at least six weeks earlier and no secrecy direction applies to it (or all such directions have been revoked).

The Controller must decide permit requests within the prescribed period. For inventions relevant to defence or atomic energy, the permit needs the prior consent of the Central Government.

The section does not apply where the application was first filed outside India by a person resident outside India.

This is a summary, not legal advice. The text of the Act below governs. Summary by , Co-founder and CEO, PatentAssist.ai.

Text of section 39

(1) No person resident in India shall, except under the authority of a written permit sought in the manner prescribed and granted by or on behalf of the Controller, make or cause to be made any application outside India for the grant of a patent for an invention unless—

(a) an application for a patent for the same invention has been made in India, not less than six weeks before the application outside India; and

(b) either no direction has been given under sub-section (1) of section 35 in relation to the application in India, or all such directions have been revoked.

(2) The Controller shall dispose of every such application within such period as may be prescribed:

Provided that if the invention is relevant for defence purpose or atomic energy, the Controller shall not grant permit without the prior consent of the Central Government.

(3) This section shall not apply in relation to an invention for which an application for protection has first been filed in a country outside India by a person resident outside India.

All sections of the Patents Act, 1970

Text of the Patents Act, 1970 as amended up to 2024, from the consolidated version published by the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (IP India). Reproduced under section 52(1)(q) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Check the official text before relying on it.