IP Intelligence › Ask a Question › I have a PCT application. When and how do I enter India?
Guided answer
I have a PCT application. When and how do I enter India?
A PCT application is not a worldwide patent. To get an Indian patent you must enter the Indian national phase within 31 months of the earliest priority date.
Plan the national phase entry well before the deadline.
Moderate complexity - several routes or missing facts
Please review this with an advocate, patent attorney or registered patent agent before you act. Do not rely on this answer alone.
- File the national phase application on Form 1 (rule 20(1)) and pay the national fee before 31 months (rule 20(3)(a)).
- If the international application was not filed or published in English, file a verified English translation (rule 20(3)(b)), including any Article 19 or Article 34 amendments that apply (rule 20(5)).
- The request for examination on Form 18 is due within 31 months from the priority date (rule 24B(1)(i)). File it with the national phase papers to be safe.
- Report corresponding foreign applications under section 8 (Form 3).
- Do not leave entry to the last week. Diarise a checkpoint at 28 months.
Read next
Educational guidance only - not legal advice. Do not rely on it. It cannot see your documents, your dates or the prior art, and those usually decide the answer. Laws, rules, forms, fees and deadlines change. Please review your situation with a qualified advocate, patent attorney or registered patent agent before you act or decide not to act.
Not sure whether this applies to your invention?
The honest answer usually needs someone to look at your actual disclosure, your timeline and the prior art. That is a conversation, not an article.