Nine months after the Central government first notified the draft Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2018 on the 4^th of December 2018, the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2019 have now come into effect through a notification by the Central Government on the 18^th of September 2019 in its official gazette. In line with the draft rules, the new rules now primarily entitle the following categories of patent applicants to seek expedited examination of their patent applications:

1. Small entities / MSME’s;
2. Female applicants;
3. Departments of the Government;
4. Institutions owned or controlled by the Government;
5. Institutions wholly or substantially financed by the Government;
6. Government companies; and
7. Applicants of those countries whose patent offices are in an agreement / arrangement with the Indian patent office.

In addition to this certain fee will no longer be applicable, giving PCT applicants a reason to be cheerful about.