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Patent myth
“Any improvement to a known product can be patented.”
An improvement has to be more than a workshop change, and in chemistry and pharmaceuticals a new form of a known substance faces a further test under section 3(d).
Substituting a modern material for an old one, or rearranging known components each working in the known way, has been treated as falling short of an inventive step. And for a new form of a known substance - a salt, a polymorph, an isomer, a particle size - section 3(d) requires a significant difference in properties with regard to efficacy, which for a medicine means therapeutic efficacy.
Improvements are worth protecting. They just need the evidence that shows why they are more than obvious.
Sources & further reading
Related
Section 3(d)
A provision that treats a new form of a known substance as unpatentable unless it differs significantly in properties **with regard to efficacy**, and also bars the …
The data you did not generate
In chemistry, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and food technology, several of the objections you will face can only be answered with comparative data. If nobody gener…
The case that defined what "efficacy" means
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.
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.