Types of patent applications in India

Types of patent application at a glance

Every type is filed on Form 1 with the specification on Form 2 (rule 13(1)), and each application must be for one invention only (section 7(1)).

Types of patents in India: there is only one

"Patent" in the Act means a patent for any invention granted under it (section 2(1)(m)). Searchers often look for utility, design and plant patents, which are categories from US law. In India:

• Inventions are protected by a patent under the Patents Act, 1970, whether the invention is a product or a process.
• Industrial designs, the shape or ornament of an article, are registered under the Designs Act, 2000, not patented.
• Utility models, the shorter and cheaper "petty patents" some countries offer, do not exist in Indian law.
• Plants and animals in whole or in part, other than micro-organisms, including seeds, varieties and species, are not inventions (section 3(j)).

Every patent has the same term: 20 years from the filing date, kept in force by renewal fees (section 53). The one exception is the patent of addition, described below.

Ordinary application

An application filed in India without claiming priority from any earlier application is commonly called an ordinary application, the term the Act itself uses in section 139. It is made under section 7 by a person entitled to apply under section 6, such as the inventor or the inventor's assignee. It must be accompanied by a provisional or a complete specification (section 7(4)). Its filing date becomes the priority date and the start of the 20-year term. The steps from here are in the how to file a patent in India guide.

Provisional application and complete specification

A provisional patent application in India is an ordinary application filed with a provisional specification. It secures a filing date while the invention is still being developed. The complete specification must be filed within 12 months, or the application is deemed abandoned (section 9(1)). Several provisionals for cognate inventions can be combined into one complete specification (section 9(2)).

The provisional route is not available to convention or PCT applications, which must start with a complete specification. The provisional vs complete specification guide covers what each must contain.

Convention application

If you first applied for the invention in a convention country (section 133), you can file in India within 12 months of that first application and claim its date. Claims based on matter disclosed in the first application then get its date as their priority date (section 135(1)). Where you filed in several convention countries, the 12 months run from the earliest filing.

• It must be filed with a complete specification and state the date and country of the first application (section 136(1)).
• Cognate inventions filed abroad can be combined in one convention application, but the fee is charged as if separate applications had been made (section 135(2)).
• The Controller can ask for a verified copy of the foreign application, with an English translation if needed (section 138(1) and (2)).
• The 20-year term still runs from the Indian filing date (section 53(1)), not from the foreign priority date.

PCT national phase application

An international application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty that designates India is treated as an Indian application once a corresponding application is filed before the Controller (section 7(1A)). That national phase application is filed on Form 1 (rule 20(1)) within 31 months of the priority date (rule 20(4)(i)), with the national fee and, if the international application was not filed or published in English, an English translation (rule 20(3)).

• The filing date in India is the international filing date (section 7(1B)), and the term is 20 years from that date (section 53(1), Explanation).
• The title, description, claims, abstract and drawings of the international application are taken as the complete specification (section 138(4)).
• The Patent Office does not start processing before 31 months unless the applicant makes an express request on Form 18 (rule 20(2) and 20(4)(ii)).

Divisional application

A divisional (a "further application" in the Act) carves out an invention disclosed in a pending application. Under section 16, it can be filed at any time before the parent is granted, either voluntarily or to meet an objection that the claims cover more than one invention. That objection is common because the claims must relate to a single invention or a single inventive concept (section 10(5)).

• It needs a complete specification that adds no matter not in substance disclosed in the parent's complete specification (section 16(2)), and must cite the parent's application number (rule 13(2)).
• It is deemed filed on the parent's filing date (section 16, Explanation), so it shares the parent's priority and term.
• Since 2024, further divisionals can be filed out of a divisional, including for an invention disclosed in the provisional specification (rule 13(2A)).
• The Controller can require amendments so that the parent and the divisional do not claim the same matter (section 16(3)).
• Examination must be requested within 31 months of the parent's priority or filing date, or 6 months from filing the divisional, whichever is later (rule 24B(1)(iv)).

Patent of addition

A patent of addition covers an improvement in or modification of a "main invention" for which the same applicant has applied for, or holds, a patent (section 54(1)). It cannot be filed before the main application and cannot be granted before the main patent (section 54(3) and (4)). An independent patent for an improvement can also be converted into a patent of addition on request (section 54(2)).

• Term: the unexpired term of the main patent, ending when the main patent ends (section 55(1)).
• Fees: no renewal fees (section 55(2)), and a 50% reduction on the filing fees (Table I, entries 1 and 2, as amended in 2024).
• Validity: it cannot be refused or revoked only for lack of inventive step over the main invention (section 56(1)), but novelty is still judged against the main specification (section 56(2)).
• If the main patent is revoked: the patent of addition can become an independent patent for the rest of the term, and renewal fees then apply (section 55).

The specification must cite the main patent or application and state that the invention is an improvement in or modification of it (rule 13(3)). Fee amounts are on the patent fees in India page.

Product patent vs process patent

An invention is "a new product or process" (section 2(1)(j)), so a patent claims a product, a process, or both. The rights differ under section 48:

• Product patent: the right to prevent others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the product in India, however it is made (section 48(a)).
• Process patent: the right to prevent others from using the process, and from using, offering for sale, selling or importing the product obtained directly by it (section 48(b)). A competitor who reaches the same product by a different process is outside it.

Proving which process a competitor used is hard, so in a suit over a process for obtaining a product the court may direct the defendant to prove that their process is different, if the product is new or the conditions of section 104A are met. A product and a process for making it can be claimed in one application when they form a single inventive concept (section 10(5)). The guide to writing patent claims shows both claim types.

The 2005 change for medicines and chemicals

Section 5, headed "Inventions where only methods or processes of manufacture patentable", restricted some inventions, including medicines and drugs, to process claims. The Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005 omitted it with effect from 1 January 2005, so product patents are now available in those fields. Section 3(d) still excludes a new form of a known substance, such as a salt, ester or polymorph, unless it differs significantly in efficacy (section 3(d)).

Classification of patents in India

"Classification" can mean two things. Legally, applications are classified by type as above. Technically, Indian patent applications are classified by subject matter under the International Patent Classification (IPC), which is printed with each application published in the Indian Patent Journal. The type of application also decides the deadlines that follow; the Indian patent timeline lists them from filing to expiry.

More IP India guides

• Patent fees in India (2026)

  Every official Indian patent fee from filing to renewal, with a fee calculator.

• How to check Indian patent application status

  Where to check an Indian patent application's status, and what each status means.

• The Indian Patent Journal, explained

  What the weekly Indian Patent Journal publishes and how to search it.

• How to file a patent in India, step by step

  Every step from prior art search to grant, with the forms and deadlines at each one.

• Provisional vs complete specification in India

  When to file a provisional, what it must contain, and the 12-month deadline for the complete.

• How to write patent claims, with examples

  Claim structure, independent and dependent claims with worked examples, and the claim objections raised in India.

• Form 18: request for examination in India

  The Form 18 deadline, fees, expedited examination on Form 18A, and what happens if you miss it.

• How to respond to a First Examination Report (FER)

  The FER deadline, common objections, how to structure the reply, and the hearing.

• Indian patent timeline, from filing to expiry

  Each stage of an Indian patent with its statutory deadline, from filing to the end of the 20-year term.