In the month of May 2016, several amendments were made to the Indian Patent Rules, which enabled start-ups to avail expedited examination of their patent application. The amended Rules also set out the criteria to qualify as start-up. The Rules do not mandate certification by any government agency to qualify as start-up. However, the patent office has set-out an additional requirement, although questionable, for Indian entities to qualify as start-up. The additional requirement is not applicable to Non-Indian entities, and the patent office at present has not set out clear guidelines on how it would deal with Non-Indian entities claiming start-up status. Hence, Non-Indian entities may continue to meet the criteria as defined by the Rules to claim start-up status.

The patent office requires an Indian entity claiming start-up status to obtain a certificate from Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP). The certificate may be obtained after the patent application has been filed.

The procedure below is only for applicants who have already filed a patent application and the same is published.

1. Visit https://www.startupindia.gov.in/content/sih/en/startupgov/startup-recognition-page.html and fill in the details requested in the form
2. Select “Patent filed and published in the Journal by the India Patent Office in areas affiliated with the nature of business being promoted”
3. Against “Supporting document based on the nature of recommendation selected above”, upload journal extract of publication of your patent application
4. Upload incorporation/registration certificate
5. Against “Brief note on innovative ness of products /services offered by the entity”, upload a document in PDF format that provides details relating to the nature of business of your company and why products /services offered by your company is innovative
6. With respect to tax benefits, note that, if you opt for tax benefits, your application will go to the Inter–Ministerial Board for evaluation, which may take time. If your aim is only to obtain benefits related to IPR, you can refrain from choosing the tax benefits option
7. Submit the application upon self-certification

We hope you find this information useful to avail benefits offered in the Indian patent system to start-ups from across the world.

Please feel free check our services page to find out if we can cater to your requirements. You can also contact us to explore the option of working together. 

Best regards – Team InvnTree   

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