Proposed Amendment u/r 24[C][1] Of The Patent Rules, 2003

With respect to the expedition of the examination process of international applications filed under the Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT), an amendment is proposed u /r 24[C][1]. It explicitly states:

An applicant may file a request for expedited examination in Form 18A along with the fee as specified in the first schedule only by electronic transmission duly authenticated within the period prescribed in rule 24B on any of the following grounds, namely:-

(a) that India has been indicated as the competent International Searching Authority or elected as an International Preliminary Examining Authority in the corresponding international application; or

(b) that the applicant is a startup.