IP Intelligence › Myths › The twenty year term starts when the patent is granted.
Patent myth
“The twenty year term starts when the patent is granted.”
It runs from the filing date - or, for a PCT application designating India, from the international filing date. India has no term extension or adjustment.
Indian grant commonly comes four to six years after filing. Those years come out of the twenty, not on top. So a patent granted in 2031 on a 2026 filing has roughly fifteen enforceable years, and any prosecution delay is simply lost commercial life.
Product plans and licensing models built on twenty years from grant overstate the asset by a quarter or more.
Sources & further reading
- The Patents Act, 1970 (consolidated to 1 August 2024) — Official IP India text
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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.