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Patents Act, 1970 · Chapter VIII — Grant of Patents and Rights Conferred thereby

Section 53: Term of patent

In plain English

Section 53 sets the term of a patent.

A patent lasts twenty years from the date of filing of the application.

For an international (PCT) application designating India, the twenty years run from the international filing date.

A patent ceases to have effect if a renewal fee is not paid within the prescribed or extended period, and once a patent expires or ceases, its subject matter is no longer protected.

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 53

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the term of every patent granted, after the commencement of the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2002, and the term of every patent which has not expired and has not ceased to have effect, on the date of such commencement, under this Act, shall be twenty years from the date of filing of the application for the patent.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section, the term of patent in case of International applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty designating India, shall be twenty years from the international filing date accorded under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

(2) A patent shall cease to have effect notwithstanding anything therein or in this Act on the expiration of the period prescribed for the payment of any renewal fee, if that fee is not paid within the prescribed period or within such extended period as may be prescribed.

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(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, on cessation of the patent right due to non-payment of renewal fee or on the expiry of the term of patent, the subject matter covered by the said patent shall not be entitled to any protection.

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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.