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CS Professional · Intellectual Property Rights - Law and Practice · Indian Patent Law and its Developments

Vihaan Pharma holds an Indian patent granted after the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2002 came into force, on an application filed on 10 March 2010. For how long does the patent run, and from which date is the term counted under the Patents Act, 1970?

The patent runs for twenty years counted from the date of filing the application, here 10 March 2010. The Act, as amended in 2002, fixes the term from filing, not from grant, so delay in grant does not extend the patent's life.

  1. ATwenty years from the date of filing of the application, i.e. 10 March 2010Correct
  2. BTwenty years from the date of grant of the patent
  3. CFourteen years from the date of filing of the application
  4. DSeven years from the date of sealing, extendable by renewal

Explanation

After the 2002 amendment (effective 20-5-2003) the term of every patent is twenty years from the date of filing of the application. Counting from the grant date is wrong because the Act measures the term from filing. Fourteen and seven years were earlier, shorter terms and no longer apply.

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