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Provided that in case of a further application filed under section 16, the
order of reference of such further application shall be the same as that of the first
mentioned application:
Provided further that in case the first mentioned application has already
been referred for examination, the further application
shall have to be accompanied
by a request for examination, and such further application shall be published within
one month and be referred to the examiner within one month from the date of such
publication.
(ii) The period within which the examiner shall make the report under sub-section
(2) of section 12, shall ordinarily be one month but not exceeding three months
from the date of reference of the application to him
by the Controller;
(iii) the period within which the Controller shall dispose off the report of the
examiner shall ordinarily be one month from the date of the receipt of the such
report by the Controller.
(3) A first statement of objections, along with any documents as may be required, shall be
issued by the Controller to the applicant or his authorised agent within one month from the
date of disposal of the report of examiner by the Controller:
Provided that
where the request for
examination was filed by a person interested,
only an intimation of such examination may be sent to such person interested.
(4) Reply to the first statement of objections and subsequent reply, if any, shall be
processed in the order in which such reply is received.
(5) The time for putting an application in order for grant under section 21 shall be six
months from the date on which the first statement of objections is issued to the applicant
to comply with the requirements.
(6) The time for putting an application in order for grant under section 21 as prescribed
under sub-rule (5) may be further extended for a period of
three months on a request in
Form 4 for extension of time along with prescribed fee, made to the Controller before
expiry of the period specified under sub-rule (5).‖
24C. Expedited examination of applications.—(1) An applicant may file a request for
expedited examination in Form 18A along with the fee
as specified in the first schedule only
by electronic transmission duly authenticated within the period prescribed in rule 24B on
any of the following grounds, namely:-
(a) that India has been indicated as the competent International Searching
Authority or elected as an International Preliminary Examining Authority in
the corresponding international application; or
(b) that the applicant is a startup.
(2) A request for examination filed under rule 24B may be converted to a request for
expedited examination under sub-rule (1) of rule 24C by
paying the relevant fees and
submitting requisite documents as required under sub-rule (1).
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(3) Except where the application has already been published under sub-section (2) of
section
11A or a request for publication under rule 24A has already been filed, a request for
expedited examination shall be accompanied by a request for publication under rule 24A.
(4) Where the request for expedited examination does not comply with the requirements
of
this rule, such a request shall be processed in accordance with the provisions contained
in rule 24B, with an intimation to the applicant, and shall be deemed to have been filed on
the date on which the request for expedited examination was filed.
(5)The Controller shall refer the request for expedited examination along
with the application and specification and other documents to the examiner, in respect of
the applications where the request for expedited
examination has been received, in the
order of filing of such requests.
Provided that a request for expedited examination under this rule filed by a startup
shall not be questioned merely on the ground that the startup ceased to be a startup after
having filed an application for patent due to the lapse of more than five years from the date
of its incorporation or registration, or the turnover subsequently crossed the financial
threshold limit, as defined.
(6) The period within which the examiner shall make the report under sub-section (2) of
section 12, shall ordinarily be one month but not exceeding two months from the date of
reference of the application to him by the Controller.
(7) The period within which the Controller shall dispose of the report of the examiner shall
be one month from the date of receipt of such report by the Controller.
(8) A first statement of objections along with any document, if required, shall be issued by
the Controller to the applicant or his authorised agent within fifteen days from the date of
disposal of the report of examiner by the Controller.
(9) Reply to the first statement of objections and subsequent reply, if any, in respect of an
application where the request for expedited examination was filed, shall be processed in
the order in which such reply for such application is received.
(10) The time for putting an application in order for grant under section 21 shall be six
months from the date on which the first statement of objections is issued to the applicant.
(11) The time for putting an application in order for grant under section 21, as prescribed
in sub-rule (10) may be further extended for a period of three months on a request for
extension made in Form 4 along with the prescribed fee, made to the Controller before the
expiry of the period specified under sub-rule (10).
(12) The Controller shall dispose of the application within a period of three months from
the date of receipt of the last reply to the first statement of objections or within a period of
three months from the last date to put the application in order for grant under section 21 of
the Act, whichever is earlier:
Provided that this time limit shall not be applicable in case of pre-grant opposition.
(13) Notwithstanding anything contained this rule, the Controller may limit the number of
requests for expedited examination to be received during the year by