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The Patent (2nd Amendment) Rules,2020; (2nd Revised Rules 2020) published by DPIIT in the Official Gazette of India on 4th November 2020 have come into force with immediate effect. A gist of these revised rules is summarized as under:

• – The Official fees for filing and prosecution of Indian Patent Applications applicable to the applicants qualifying under small entities have been reduced and made at par with those applicable to the natural person/ startups.
• – There is no need to pay up the balance official fees, in case the small entity ceases to be the small entity after filing of the patent application.
• – Request for expedited examination filed by a small entity shall not be questioned merely on the ground that it ceases to be a small entity due to crossing the financial threshold limit as notified by the competent authority.

With this 2nd Revised Rules 2020, fees applicable to small entities have significantly reduced (almost 1/4th when compared to a large entity). This change has brought the small entities at par with Startups and lessened their financial burden to a great extent.

This Amendments will hopefully encourage small entities to innovate and also seek patent protection for their innovations notably contributing in patent filing trends.