With the intent of encouraging patent filing, the Government has amended the Patent Rules of 2003. If the filer of the patent is a startup they will be eligible for a rebate of 80% on the patent fee. The Government has also introduced a more liberal definition of startups to cast the net wider and include more organisations into the startup fold with its corresponding benefits.

The hope is also to bring down the time taken to process a patent from 5-7 years to two and a half years and eventually to one and a half years by March 2018. The rules were revised and the announcement made on September 2, 2017.

“A foreign entity, fulfilling the criteria for turnover and period of incorporation or registration as per Startup India Initiative” it was said would be allowed the patent filing benefits meant for Indian startups.

To avail of expedited patent registration, startups and individuals affiliated to startups have to pay INR 8000 while for established and older players it is INR 60,000. To get Intellectual Property Rights related benefits a certificate has to be obtained from the DIPP (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion).

The startup would have to be recognised under the competent authority of the ‘Startup India Initiative’ to be eligible for this programme.