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For engineers
What counts as a technical effect
The examiner wants a technical effect. What does that actually mean?
Something measurable that improves in the machine, the system or the process - not something that improves for the user or the business.
Examples that qualify
Reduced latency. Lower memory footprint or faster memory access. Improved signal reception or transmission. Better image or signal processing. Reduced power consumption. Improved network security. More reliable real-time monitoring. Higher throughput at the same resource cost. Reduced wear, vibration or thermal load.
What these have in common is that you could measure them with an instrument and report a number.
Examples that do not
More conversions. Higher approval rates. Better user experience. A cheaper business process. A more attractive interface. Faster onboarding.
These may all be true and valuable, and none of them is a technical effect. In India this matters particularly for section 3(k), where the business method exclusion is absolute - the words per se attach only to computer programme, not to business method.
The revised CRI Guidelines notified on 29 July 2025 set out a step-wise assessment and list qualifying technical effects, with worked examples. If your only measurable improvements are commercial, no claim drafting fixes it.
What to actually do
- A technical effect is something you could measure with an instrument.
- Write the advantages section in terms of the system, not the customer.
- Put numbers against the improvement in the specification as filed.
- Commercial benefit is not a technical effect, whatever the claim format.
Sources & further reading
- Section 3, Patents Act 1970 - what are not inventions — Official IP India section text
- Revised Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions, notified 29 July 2025 — CGPDTM, via Press Information Bureau
Related
Section 3(k)
Section 3(k) excludes a mathematical method, a business method, a computer programme **per se**, and algorithms from being inventions.
Software claimed as software
You cannot patent a computer programme per se. You can, on current Indian authority, patent an invention that happens to be implemented in software if it delivers a …
The case that put technical effect back at the centre
Thinking about filing?
Before anything is drafted, the useful work is establishing what is already public, what is genuinely yours, and what you can honestly claim.
Educational guidance, not legal advice. This material is published by Ragulika IP for general education and information. It is not legal advice, it does not create a professional-client relationship, and it is not a substitute for advice on your own facts. Patentability, infringement, prosecution strategy and every other IP outcome turn on the specific facts and on the law and Patent Office practice as they stand at the time you act. Please take professional advice before making a decision, and read the underlying provision or judgment before relying on any point stated here.
Last reviewed by Ragulika IP on 2026-08-23. Indian patent law and Patent Office practice change; check the position before you rely on it.