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Can I file abroad first? A section 39 check
If anyone involved is resident in India, filing outside India first without permission can cost you the Indian application or patent.
Section 39 should allow the foreign filing - check that it is the same invention.
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.
- The exemption covers an application for the same invention as the Indian one. If the foreign application adds material that is not in the Indian application, ask your attorney whether a Form 25 permit is needed for it.
- The twelve-month priority window runs from your first application.
- Keep a record of the Indian filing date and the absence of any secrecy direction.
- Report the foreign filing to the Indian Patent Office under section 8 (Form 3).
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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.