India: Patent

Patent searches have also evolved significantly over time. For instance, patent lawyers once spent several days combing through huge volumes of printed material in patent libraries, looking for the crucial piece of prior art.

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has issued a notification on February 04, 2026 to clarify the obligation to submit a Declaration in Form-10 by any person intending to use any biological resource or associated traditional knowledge, obtained from a foreign country in India. This article provides an overview of the new requirement and its implications for businesses and research institutions.

The Indian Arbitration Act, 1996, is international in its outlook. It is founded on two United Nations documents: the UNCITRAL Rules of 1976 and the UNCITRAL Model Law of 1985. India adopted these blueprints for its international and also its domestic arbitrations.

Indian patent law requires annual Working Reports declaring whether patents are commercially exploited on Indian territory. This obligation applies to all patent holders and licensees with active patents in India, even when inventions remain unexploited, and carries significant compliance and strategic implications for intellectual property rights management.

The Calcutta High Court has ruled that Graphic User Interfaces (GUIs) qualify as protectable designs under India's Designs Act, 2000, rejecting the Controller's narrow interpretation that excluded digital interfaces from registration. The landmark decision establishes that GUIs reflect creative aesthetic choices in visual elements like icons, menus, and color palettes that can be judged by the eye, and clarifies that the term 'article' requires broad interpretation...

The High Court of Delhi recently delivered a significant judgment in the matter of Mold-Tek Packaging Limited v. Neway Industries Pvt. Ltd. The case revolves around two key patents held by Mold-Tek regarding container closure systems: IN 401417 (for a “Tamper-Evident Leak Proof Pail Closure System”) and IN 298724 (for a “Tamper Proof Lid Having Spout for Containers and Process for Its Manufacture”).

The legal landscape governing economic regulation in India has reached a critical juncture, defined by a persistent and increasingly sophisticated tension between the cross-sectoral mandate of the Competition Commission of India ...

Welcome to the January 2026 edition of our Intellectual Property Newsletter, bringing together key legal, regulatory, and industry developments shaping the global IP landscape.

In today's innovation-driven economy, intellectual property (IP) is often the most valuable asset a startup owns.