Patenting inventions involving biological resources in India
StratJuris Law Partners
Stratjuris Law Partners is a firm of advocates, focusing on the Practice of Intellectual Property Law in India.
By Sanika Gupte
Planning to throne biological material as a patent? Look out for the NBA hurdle!
According to Section 10 (4) (d) (ii) of the Patents Act, 1970, it is imperative for an applicant to fully disclose the source and geographical origin of the biological material used in an invention. Furthermore, in Form 1 of the Patent Act, 1970, the applicant is required to assert that the invention described in the specification utilizes biological material from India, and the necessary permission from the Competent Authority will be submitted before the patent is granted. This may not appear particularly alarming… However, failure to comply with these requirements could potentially lead to your application being rejected, a granted patent being revoked, as well as a penalty of at least ONE LAKH RUPEES!