Patents Act 1970 - Overview Bare Act

Patents Act 1970

Overview

Legislative Overview

The Patents Act, 1970 was enacted by the Indian Parliament and came into force on 19th September 1970, with the stated objective: “An Act to amend and consolidate the law relating to patents.” It replaced the earlier Patents and Designs Act, 1911, which had governed patent law during the colonial period.

The Act comprises 23 Chapters, containing 163 Sections and one The Schedule, Amendments to the Indian Patents and Designs Act 1911.

Its legislative foundation can be traced to The Patent Bill, 1953 and The Patent Bill, 1963, which remained unimplemented. The substantive framework was ultimately codified through The Patent Bill, 1970, and select provisions were enforced prospectively.

Key Highlights:

🗺️ Territorial Applicability: The Patents Act, 1970 extends to the entire territory of India, conferring nationwide jurisdiction.
🏛️ Governing Authority: The Act falls under the administrative purview of the Central Government.
🇮🇳 Post-Independence Reform: The legislation was introduced to modernize India's patent regime in alignment with post-independence national priorities, ensuring relevance in a rapidly evolving global landscape.
📜 Evolution through Amendments:

The Act has undergone significant amendments, notably in 1999, 2002, and 2005, to align with international standards post India's accession to the TRIPS Agreement under the WTO framework (1995) along with other amendments as per the requirement.
India, as a developing nation, was granted a 10-year transitional period to comply with TRIPS obligations.

🌐 International Integration: Pursuant to India's accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in 1978, the country was designated as a receiving office, enabling international patent filings under the PCT framework.

List of Amendments in the Patents Act:

The Repealing and Amending Act, 1974 (effective from 20/Dec/1974)
The Delegated Legislation Provisions (Amendment) Act, 1985 effective from 15/May/1986)
The Patent (Amendment) Act, 1999 (effective from 1/Jan/1995)
The Patent (Amendment) Act, 2002 (effective from 20/May/2003, 02/April/2007, and 6/June/2019)
The Patent (Amendment) Act, 2005 (effective from 1/Jan/2005, 02/April/2007)
The Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021 (effective from 4/April/2021)
The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 (effective from 11/August/2024)

Bare Act - Overview

Schedule

Keywords#

Patents Act, Chapter, Index, Section, List.