Foreign Filing Licenses – Timeline And Strategy

Indian patent law does not permit the filing of patent applications outside the territory of India unless a patent application is filed in India first. The Patent office examines the application to ensure that it does not fall under the defence sector or has any relation to atomic energy. Under Section 39(1) of the Indian Patent Act, a foreign patent application can be filed only after six (6) weeks from the Indian filing if no secrecy directions are imposed by the Patent Office within that period.

The exception to this is the Foreign Filing License (FFL). The FFL is written permission from the Controller of Patents to file the patent application outside Indian Territory without filing a patent application in India first. The application for the FFL must be accompanied by a written description of the invention. The content of this description is subjective but the idea is that it must cover the underlying conception of the invention. The purpose is for the Controller