1 What are the patentable subject matters of an invention

Ans. The patentable subject matters of an invention refer to the types of innovations that can be legally
protected through a patent. To qualify for patent protection, the invention must meet certain criteria,
as well as not fall under the exclusions listed in Sections 3 and 4 of the Indian Patents Act, 1970.

1. Patentable Subject Matter

The first step in determining patentability is ensuring the invention relates to a patentable subject
matter. Under Indian law, Sections 3 and 4 of the Patents Act specify what is not patentable. An
invention that does not fall under these sections may be considered patentable if it satisfies other
conditions like novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability.

2. Criteria for Patentable Subject Matter

The following are the main categories of patentable subject matter:

 Processes or Methods:
o Methods or processes that lead to a technical result, such as a manufacturing process,
software process (with technical contribution), or industrial method.
 Machines or Apparatus:
o Devices or systems that consist of components or parts functioning together to
perform a specific function, including mechanical, electronic, or computational
systems.
 Articles of Manufacture:
o Products or objects produced by humans, which have a specific utility or purpose, such
as tools, devices, or fabricated items.
 Compositions of Matter:
o New chemical compositions, mixtures, compounds, or materials, including
pharmaceuticals, synthetic substances, alloys, or combinations of elements.
 Improvements of Existing Inventions:
o A novel and useful improvement to an existing machine, process, manufacture, or
composition of matter. Improvements must provide an additional technical benefit to
the original invention.

3. Non-Patentable Subject Matter (Sections 3 and 4 of the Indian Patents Act)

To ensure that the invention falls under patentable subject matter, it must not fall under any of the
exclusions listed in Section 3 and Section 4 of the Patents Act:

 Section 3: Lists several categories of non-patentable inventions, including:

o Frivolous inventions or those that contradict natural laws.
o Inventions harmful to public order or morality.
o Scientific discoveries, abstract theories, or mere discoveries of natural substances.
o Mathematical methods or business methods.
o Software per se or algorithms (software combined with hardware may be patentable
if it leads to a technical effect).
o Methods of treatment of humans or animals (medical procedures).
o Plants and animals other than microorganisms.
o Traditional knowledge or the mere duplication of known properties of traditionally
known substances.
  Section 4: Excludes inventions related to atomic energy from being patentable.

2 Explain about the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB)

Ans. The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) was established by the Indian Government as an
Appellate body on 15th of September 2003 for hearing and resolving appeals against registrar under
the Indian Trademarks Act, 1999 and the Indian Geographical Indications of Goods Act, 1999. Later on,
from the 2nd of April 2007, IPAB was further authorized to hear and resolve appeals for the orders and
decisions made by the Patent Controller under the Patents Act, thereby transferring the powers of
High court under the Patents Act and the Copyright Board. With this, the cases relating to patents
pending before the High Court were transferred to IPAB.

In the following cases, the IPAB has appeal authority over the Controller or the Central Government of
India’s decision:

1. Any decisions relating to patent termination due to non-working.

2. Any decisions, including applicant replacement.
3. Any decision on a patent amendment or revocation.
4. Some decisions relating to framework and specification amendments.
5. Any decisions about the reinstatement of lapsed patents.
6. Any decisions, including patent submission.
7. In the case of patent termination in the public interest.
8. In the case of any patent assignment registration.
9. Any decisions about the names of inventors.
10. Any instructions were given to patent co-owners.
11. Any decisions made in connection with the Patent of Addition.
12. Any divisional application-related orders.
13. Any directives about the application’s date of submission.
14. Refusal of an application due to a failure to comply with all of the Act’s requirements.
15. Any anticipation-related decisions.
16. Any decisions made, as well as cases of possible infringement.
17. About the correction of clerical mistakes.
18. Any decisions relating to a patent’s compulsory license.
The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) was recently abolished with the President of India's
promulgation of the "Tribunal Reforms Ordinance, 2021", because the orders passed by the IPAB could
be challenged before the High Courts, and then the Supreme Court in cases where High Court orders
had to be challenged leading to a very exhaustive prosecution process.

3 Explain Ownership and Transfer of Patent

Ans. Ownership and Transfer of Patent Once a patent for an invention is granted, it is important to consider
it as a transferrable property that can be transferred from the original patentee to any other person by
assignment or license or by operation of law.

1. Assignment -The term ‘assignment’ is not defined in the Indian Patents Act. Assignment is an act by
which the patentee assigns whole or part of his patent rights to the assignee who acquires the right to
prevent others from making, using, exercising or vending the invention. There are three kinds of
assignments:
 1. Legal Assignment: An assignment (or an agreement to assign) of an existing patent is a legal
assignment, where the assignee may enter his name as the patent owner. A patent which is
created by deed can only be assigned by a deed. A legal assignee entitled as the proprietor of
the patent acquires all rights thereof.
2. Equitable Assignments: Any agreement including a letter in which the patentee agrees to
give a certain defined share of the patent to another person is an equitable assignment of the
patent. However an assignee in such a case cannot have his name entered in the register as
the proprietor of patent.
3. Mortgages: A mortgage is an agreement in which the patent rights are wholly or partly
transferred to assignee in return for a sum of money. Once the assignor repays the sum to
the assignee, the patent rights are restored to assignor/patentee.

2. Licenses - The Patents Act allows a patentee to grant a License by the way of agreement under
section 70 of the Act. A patentee by the way of granting a license may permit a licensee to make, use,
or exercise the invention. The license is contract signed by the licensor and the licensee in writing and
the terms agreed upon by them.

Licenses are of the following types,

 Voluntary licenses: It is the license given to any other person to make, use and sell the
patented article as agreed upon the terms of license in writing. Since it is a voluntary license,
the Controller and the Central government do not have any role to play.
 Statutory licenses: Statutory licenses are granted by central government by empowering a
third party to make/use the patent without the consent of the patent holder in view of public
interest.
 Exclusive Licenses / Limited Licenses: Depending upon the degree and extent of rights
conferred on the licensee, a license may be Exclusive or Limited License. An exclusive license
excludes all other persons including the patentee from the right to use the invention. In a
limited license, the limitation may arise as to persons, time, place, manufacture, use or sale.
 Express / Implied Licenses: An express license is one in which the permission to use the patent
is given in express terms. In case of implied license where a person buys a patented article,
either within jurisdiction or abroad either directly from the patentee or his licensees, there is
an implied license in any way and to resell it.

3. Transmission of Patent by Operation of law - When a patentee dies, his interest in the patent
passes to his legal representative; in case of dissolution or winding up of a company or bankruptcy
transmission of patent by operation of law occurs.

4 Illustrate Compulsory Licensing of patent along with an example

Ans. Compulsory Licensing

Compulsory licensing is when a government allows someone (under certain conditions and
circumstances third parties could be allowed to use a patent by grant of a Compulsory license) else to
produce a patented product or process without the consent of the patent owner or plans to use the
patent-protected invention itself. It is one of the flexibilities included in the WTO’s agreement on
intellectual property — the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement.

TRIPS lays down the set of conditions that govern the use of compulsory licensing by WTO members,
the most important of which are the following:

 The entity applying for a compulsory license should have been unable to obtain a voluntary
license from the right holder on "reasonable" commercial terms.
  If a compulsory license is issued, adequate remuneration must be paid to the patent-holder.
 A compulsory license must be granted mainly to supply the domestic market.

In circumstances of “National emergency” or in circumstances of “Extreme urgency” or in case of

“Public non-commercial use” if the Central Government is satisfied that it is necessary that compulsory
licenses should be granted at any time after the sealing thereof to work the invention, it may make a
declaration to that effect, by notification in the Official Gazette.

India’s first case of granting compulsory license– India’s first case of granting compulsory license was
granted by the Patent office in 2012 to an Indian Company called Natco Pharma for the generic
production of Bayer Corporation’s Nexavar. All the 3 conditions of Sec 84 was fulfilled that the
reasonable requirements of the public were not fulfilled, and that it was not available at an affordable
price and that the patented invention was not worked around in India.

This medicine is used for treating Liver and Kidney Cancer, and one month’s worth of dosage costs
around Rs 2.8 Lakh. NatcoPharma offered to sell it around for Rs 9000 making this potentially
lifesaving drug easily accessible to all parts of the society and not just the rich people. The Government
took this decision for the general public benefit.

However, it was heavily criticized by the Pharmaceutical Companies as they felt the license should not
have been given. However, NatcoPharma is paying the royalties to Bayer at a rate of 6% of all sales on
a quarterly basis in accordance with the guidelines set by the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP).

5 Discuss about the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)

Ans. Patent Cooperation Treaty

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international patent law treaty, concluded in 1970. It
provides a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in each of its
signatories’ states i.e., by filing one international patent application under the PCT; applicants can
simultaneously seek protection for an invention in a large number of countries. A patent application
filed under the PCT is called an international application, or PCT application.PCT save applicant time,
effort and expense of preparing separate applications in various languages and file it in different
signatories’ states.

Need for Introducing PCT

 To bring the world within reach.

 Removes major costs and provides users with additional time to consider their various Patent
granting options.
 Provides a strong basis to the user for Patenting decisions.
 Is effectively used by the world’s major corporations, universities and research institutions
when they seek international patent protection. Basic Features of PCT System
 Formal examination done by one office.
 Retrieval is carried out by one office.
 International publication done by one office.
 Examination and authorization finished by national office.
 Single application with legal effect in all PCT countries.
 148 countries and 4 regional patent systems.

PCT Advantages

 A single application in single language filed in a single country called the international
 application.
 Provides a strong basis for patenting decisions to the users.
 Harmonizes formal requirements.
 Used by the world’s major corporations, universities and research institutions when they seek
international patent protection.
 This single application has the effect of filing simultaneously in different countries (designated
countries).
 Protects applicant from certain inadvertent errors.
 Evolves to meet user needs.

PCT Filing Process

 STEP 1 Filing of Local application

 STEP 2 Filing of PCT application
 STEP 3 Checking for Defects
 STEP 4 International Search Report
 STEP 5 International publication
 STEP 6 International search
 STEP 7 International Preliminary report
 STEP 8 Enter in National phase

6 Examine the requirements that determine what can be patented in India

Ans. Patent Requirements

Under Section 2(1) (j) of the Patents Act, inventions are defined as those that are either products or
processes, are novel, have an inventive step, and are industrially applicable. When seen through the
lens of patent law, inventions are only those products and processes that satisfy patentability
requirements. The definition of invention however includes only three of the patentability
requirements, and inventions must satisfy two additional requirements to be eligible for patent grant.
One of them relates to the list of subjects that are not patentable even if they are inventions, and the
other reviews the description and workability of the invention.

The following requirements determine what can be patented in India:

1. Patentable subject matter:

The foremost consideration is to determine whether the invention relates to a patentable subject
matter. Sections 3 and 4 of the Patents Act list out non-patentable subject matter. As long as the
invention does not fall under any provision of Sections 3 or 4, it means it has patentable subject matter
(subject to the satisfaction of the other criteria).

2. Novelty:

Novelty, a key criterion for patentability, means that an invention must be new and not disclosed in
any prior publication or used anywhere in the world before the patent application is filed. It ensures
that the invention has not already entered the public domain or become part of the existing state of
the art. Simply put, an invention must be unique with no identical or similar prior art.

3. Inventive step or Non-Obviousness:

Inventive step is defined as "a feature of an invention that involves technical advance as compared to
the existing knowledge or having economic significance or both and that makes the invention not
obvious to a person skilled in the art". This means that the invention must not be obvious to a person
 skilled in the same field as the invention relates to. It must be inventive and not obvious to a person
skilled in the same field.

4. Capable of Industrial Application:

Industrial applicability is defined as "the invention is capable of being made or used in an industry".
This essentially means that the invention cannot exist in abstract. It must be capable of being applied
in any industry, which means that the invention must have practical utility in order to be patentable.
These are the statutory criterion for the patentability of an invention.

Another key requirement is enabling disclosure, where the patent specification must provide enough
detail for a skilled person in the relevant field to replicate the invention without undue effort. If this is
not met, the patent will not be granted.

7 Examine the exclusive rights of a patent holder and its limitations

Ans. Exclusive rights of Patent holder

 Where the subject matter of a patent is a product, to prevent third parties not having the
owner’s consent from the acts of making, using, offering for sale, selling, or importing for
these purposes that product
 Where the subject matter of a patent is a process, to prevent third parties not having the
owner’s consent from the act of using the process, and from the acts of using, offering for
sale, selling, or importing for these purposes at least the product obtained directly by that
process.

Patent owners shall also have the right to assign, or transfer by succession, the patent and to conclude
licensing contracts.

Right to exploit the patent

In India, the patent holder is provided with the right to manufacture, use, sell and distribute the
outcome of his patent.

Right to assign and license

The patent holder is granted with the rights of assigning or granting licenses for manufacture and
distribution of the patented products to others.

Right to surrender the patent

The owner of the patent has the right to surrender his patent after seeking permission from the
controller.

Right before sealing

Section 24 of the Indian Patents Act implies that a patent is sealed from the date of notification for
acceptance to the date of acceptance of the notification. The right of the patentee begins after the
notification for acceptance has been presented.

Right to apply for the Patent of addition

The Indian Patents Act provides for the modifications in the existing invention. In such a case, the
patent holder is granted the right to the modified invention after the notification of the acceptance
comes out. Once the notification is presented, the owner is provided with the same rights as provided
to the previous patent.
 Right in case of infringement

When any of the rights of the patent holder is violated, then it is termed as patent infringement. In
case of violation of patentee’s rights, the patentee can approach either the district court or a high
court. If the person is proven guilty of infringement, the courts will either grant permanent injunction
or damages or both.

8 Discuss in detail the timeline of Patent laws in India and some of the provisions of the Patent
Act, 1970
Timeline of Patent laws in India

 The history of Patent law in India starts from 1911 when the Indian Patents and Designs Act,
1911 was enacted.
 The India Patent Act was first introduced in the year 1856 which remained in force for over 50
years, which was subsequently modified and amended and was called "The Indian Patents and
Designs Act, 1911". After Independence a comprehensive bill on patent rights was enacted in
the year 1970 and was called "The Patents Act, 1970".
 The present Patents Act, 1970 came into force in the year 1972, amending and consolidating
the existing law relating to Patents in India.
 The Patents Act, 1970 was again amended by the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005, along with
Patents Rules which stand recently amended with Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2017, wherein
product patent was extended to all fields of technology including food, drugs, chemicals and
microorganisms.
 After the amendment, the provisions relating to Exclusive Marketing Rights (EMRs) have been
repealed, and a provision for enabling grant of compulsory license has been introduced. The
provisions relating to pre-grant and post-grant opposition have been also introduced.
 Inventions relating to a product or a process, involving inventive step and capable of industrial
application can be patented in India. However, it must not fall into the category of inventions
that are non-patentable as provided under Section 3 and 4 of the (Indian) Patents Act, 1970. In
India, a patent application can be filed, either alone or jointly, by true and first inventor or his
assignee.
 Later, India became signatory to many international arrangements with an objective of
strengthening its patent law and coming in league with the modern world. One of the
significant steps towards achieving this objective was becoming the member of the Trade
Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) system.
 Significantly, India also became signatory of the Paris Convention and the Patent Cooperation
Treaty on 7th December 1998 and thereafter signed the Budapest Treaty on 17th December
2001.
 The present Indian position in respect of patent law is governed by the provisions of the
Patents Act, 1970 as amended by the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005 (hereinafter referred to
as the Act) and Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules)
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has amended Patent Rules 2003 with
effect from 1st December 2017 called as the Patent (Amendment) Rules, 2017.
 The Head Patent Office is located at Kolkata and its branch offices are located at Delhi,
Mumbai and Chennai. Patent system in India is administered by the Controller General of
Patents, Designs, Trademarks and Geographical Indications. Each office has its own territorial
jurisdiction for receiving patent applications and is empowered to deal with all sections of
Patent Act.
 The jurisdiction for filing the patent application depends upon Indian applicant(s) determined
according to place of residence, place of business of the applicant or where the invention
 actually originated. Foreign applicant(s) determined by the address for service in India.

9 Summarize product patent and process patent and WTO’s stand on product and process
patents
Product Patent

As the name suggests, this type of patent protects the product. It offers the inventor higher protection
for his invention by decreasing the level of competition of the same product. The product patent
maximises the level of monopoly and minimizes the competition. So, we can conclude that a product
patent has the following features that eventually benefit the inventor or the patent owner.

 It provides a higher level of monopoly rights to the inventor of the patent owner.
 Such a grant prevents others from manufacturing the same product using the same process or
a different process.
Since the end product is given protection, the level of protection is considered higher in
comparison with process patents.

Process patent

In this type, patent protection is granted only to a particular process used in manufacturing a product
but not the end product. A process patent is often considered to provide limited protection. The
reason is, it does not bar or prevent others from manufacturing or creating the same product by using
a distinct process. Hence, it is possible that there are multiple process patents granted for a single
product. This eventually reduces the monopoly that the inventor enjoys, thereby increasing the level
of competition.

WTO’s stand on product and process patents

During the Uruguay Round of Talks, the World Trade Organization (WTO) codified an agreement that
intended to create and recognise an equitable system for international trade. It was felt that it was the
need of the hour to protect products exported of intangible assets through strong and powerful IP
Laws. This led to the TRIPS Agreement which required the ratified countries to comply with terms in
order to meet global standards and to resolve hindrances to IP protection that were caused at the
global level. One of the requirements specified under the TRIPS Agreement was that all countries that
ratified the agreement must follow the Product Patent Regime.

In short, we can say that the TRIPS and WTO intended that the countries shift from process to product
patents which would maximise the monopoly right over the patent and reduce the competition in the
market.

10 Express Software protection and Computer related Innovations in detail

Ans. Software protection and Computer related Innovations

Computer Related Inventions (CRIs) comprises inventions which involve the use of computers,
computer networks or other programmable apparatus and include such inventions having one or more
features of which are realized wholly or partially by means of a computer programme or programmes.

Modern society relies heavily on computer technology. Without software, a computer cannot operate.
Software and hardware work in tandem in today’s information society. So, it is no wonder that
intellectual property protection of software is crucial not only for the software industry, but for other
businesses as well.

A software patent is generally defined as a patent that protects some programming technique. The
Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) has defined a software patent as being a
 “patent on any performance of a computer realized by means of a computer program. The intellectual
protection of computer software has been highly debated at the national and international level.

There is intense debate over the extent to which software patents should be granted, if at all.
Important issues concerning software patents include:

 Whether software patents should be allowed, and if so, where the boundary between
patentable and non-patentable software should lie
 Whether the inventive step and non-obviousness requirement is applied too loosely to
software
 Whether patents covering software discourage, rather than encourage, innovation

The examination procedure of patent applications relating to CRIs is the same as that for other
inventions to the extent of consideration of novelty, inventive step, industrial applicability and
sufficiency of disclosure etc. The determination that the subject matter relates to one of the excluded
categories requires greater skill on the part of the examiner.

The examination of computer-related inventions (CRIs) in India has long been under controversy in
view of the grey area that exists in the field of Patent law of computer-related inventions. But the
Indian Patent Office has recently taken a positive step to improve the examination of patent
applications in regard to CRIs and revised the Guidelines on Examination of CRIs and has brought
much-needed clarity and consistency in the examination of patent applications for CRIs.

When an invention resides in the combination of software and hardware and, as a result of the new
software in combination with hardware exhibits beneficial results, there shall not to be a need for the
hardware to be novel by itself. A requirement of the novelty of the hardware when the invention
resides in a combination of hardware with new software – CRI –was wholly contradictory to the Indian
Patents Act.

Take, for example, a printer which gives 300 clear prints per cartridge, for which software is invented
which, when combined with the same printer, gives 400 clear prints as the software optimizes the
printing operation. The same software can also enhance the coping capacity of photocopiers. The
inventor claims the combination of the software and the hardware. He does not claim the software is
novel by itself. However; according to the Guidelines of 2016, the printer or another device should by
itself also have new features.

The CRI Guidelines of 2017, there has been an exclusion of the requirement of novel hardware to be
defined in conjunction with a computer program (software).

11 Summarize step-by-step procedure to file a patent in India

Ans. The following is the detailed step-by-step procedure to file a patent in India through the online
system:

Step 1:

1. Account log in - Anyone who wants to file for a patent for his invention first has to visit the
site, i.e., E-Filing of Patent Applications, and then has to create an account there.
2. Patent search (discretionary/optional) - One of the foremost and most important steps is
the novelty of the product, i.e., its newness. A patent search can benefit the inventor by
allowing him to look for inventions already existing in the public domain; through this, he
could find out what inventions are patented in India or around the world.
3. Patent application - Indian Patent Act of 1970, requires the true creator of the invention to
file the application for only one invention in the patent office in the prescribed form. In
accordance with the same, he is to draft a patent application in legal and technical language,
 wherein the patent agent mentions all about the invention with each and every specification.
4. Claims - Through patent claims, the patentee states the subject matter of the patent,
wherein he or she specifies the elements and boundaries of the said invention. After stating
the subject matter of the same, the patentee then notifies the patent office of what he
sought to protect in the invention through a patent so that no other individual can sell,
manufacture, or distribute it without prior permission.
5. Abstract - An abstract must be submitted with the patent application with a few words about
the patent subject matter as to what new technological advancements or technology the
invention will introduce into the industry with the use of the same.
6. Drawing and figure of abstract - At least one copy of the invention’s drawing should be
attached to the patent application.
7. Statement and undertaking – The patentee must provide a statement regarding any other
application that he has filed outside India, providing the particulars about the same or
substantially similar invention.
8. Power of attorney - The patentee is required to give a power of attorney in case a patent
agent is assigned. The power of attorney plays a crucial role in the grant of the patent since
the patentee acts through this legal document and only gives authority to his agent to act on
his behalf.
9. Declaration of inventorship -The person filing the patent application must be the true
inventor or joint inventor of the said invention, and for the same, he is to file a declaration of
inventorship.
10. Fees payment- The last step is to pay the payment fees through the payment gateway.
Step 2

A patent application is published in an official journal after 18 months from the filing date. This
publication includes key details such as the title, abstract, application number, and the names of the
applicant and inventor, making the application publicly available for review.

Step 3

The patent application in the journal is open for any opposition by any person within 3 months from
the date of publication or before the grant of a patent, along with the statement, evidence, and
request for hearing of the opposition.

Step 4

In order to protect the invention the applicant has to file a request for examination of the patent
within 48 months from the date of filing the application.

Step 5

After receiving the first examination report (FER), the applicant gets an opportunity to submit a
response to the objections raised to overcome all of them. And if the controller finds the responses
submitted by the applicant satisfactory in light of the raised objections, the patent will be granted to
the applicant.

12 Discuss revocation of patent along with a relevant case

Ans. Revocation of patents

Revocation, in layman terms, means the act of taking back something that has already been granted.
The same happens to the patent, which even though once granted can’t be treated as permanent.
People, other than the patent holder, are provided with a right of filling a revocation petition if they
have issues due to someone’s patent right. Here the people include any interested person who has
legally acceptable grounds for revocation of the patent and the Central Government. However, such a
person may only raise their voice by filing a petition.

The following provide ground for revocation of the patent:

 If an identical invention has already been protected by the patent right with an earlier filing
date.
 If the person provided with the patent is not the original owner and has by misrepresentation
or fraud obtained the patent protection, the original owner can seek the remedy of patent
revocation.
 An obvious invention can’t be shed by patent protection.
 A patent can be revoked if granted to a person who is not entitled under the patent act 1970.
 If the invention fails to provide the service as specified in specification while applying for the
patent.
 The inventor is bound to disclose all the information required by the section and if such
inventor fails or misrepresent any of the asked information, the patent shall be revoked.
 If the invention does not meet the standard of Section 2(1) (j) of the Patent Act 1970, the
patent granted on such invention can be revoked.
 If an invention lacks newness about prior public use or prior knowledge in such a scenario the
patent can be revoked.
 If any inventor fails to comply with provided compliances his patent may be revoked.
 If any inventor utilizing fraud obtains the permission for amendment of complete
specifications of Patent under the mentioned sections, his patent comes at the sake where it
can be revoked.
 The inventions that come under the umbrella of Section 3 of the Patent Act, 1970, are not
eligible to be patented.
 If the invention claimed by the inventor is already in the knowledge of any local or native
community in India.
 The inventor is bound to disclose the geographical origin or source of the biological material
used in the invention, if he fails to disclose them appropriately, he may invite an unwanted
revocation threat.
 In the instances, where the inventor obtains the invention from abroad and that invention is
already familiar with the public of India.
 Revocation of patent or amendment of complete specification on directions from
Government in cases relating to atomic energy.
 Revocation of patents by the Controller for non-working.
 Revocation of patent in the public interest.

Relevant case

Section 66 of the Patent Act, 1970 came into the limelight for the first time in 1994 in the case of a
repudiated US company named “Agracetus”. Here, in this case, the US-based company was granted a
patent for genetically engineered cotton cell lines. However, after the heavy protest by the farmers
against this patent where they stated that “such patent is affecting their basic right as cotton is the
prime crop on which they rely and it is affecting the economy of India”, The Central Government
decided to revoke the mentioned patent in the interest of public i.e., the central government for the
first time exercised its power under Section 66 of the Patent Act, 1970.