Is It Possible To Reinstate Your Patent Application In India?

Introduction

The Indian Patent Law has often been deemed as one of the most rigid and austere laws in the world, with limited flexibility, especially in terms of deadlines. However, contrary to the popular belief, there have been instances where the Indian courts have restored patent applications even when they violated a statutory deadline under the Indian Patents Act, 1970 (hereinafter "Act").

The recent case of The European Union, represented by The European Commission v/s Union of India & Ors ¹ was one such case in which, the single judge bench of Delhi High Court restored two applications that were "deemed to be abandoned" due to non-filing of a response to the first examination reports issued in the respective matters.