Section 2 of (ACT NO. 39 OF 1970) in hindi
- (1)In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— 2[
- * * *;
- (ab)“assignee” includes an assignee of the assignee and the legal representative of a deceased
assignee and references to the assignee of any person include references to the assignee of the legal
representative or assignee of that person;
4[(aba) “Budapest Treaty” means the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Micro-organisms for the purposes of Patent Procedure done at Budapest on 28th day of April, 1977, as amended and modified from time to time;]
- (ac)“capable of industrial application”, in relation to an invention, means that the invention is capable of being made or used in an industry;]
- (b)“Controller” means the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks referred to in section 73;
- (c)“convention application” means an application for a patent made by virtue of section 135; 5[(d) “convention country” means a country or a country which is member of a group of countries or a union of countries or an Inter-governmental organisation 6[referred to as a convention country in section 133;]
- (e)“district court” has the meaning assigned to that expression by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908);
- (f)“exclusive licence” means a licence from a patentee which confers on the licensee, or on the licensee and persons authorised by him, to the exclusion of all other persons (including the patentee), any right in respect of the patented invention, and “exclusive licensee” shall be construed accordingly;
- * * * * 1.1-4-1978, vide notifin. No. S.O. 799, dated 10-3-1978, in respect of the provisions of sub-section (2) of s. 12 and sub-section (2) of s. 13, s. 28, s. 68, and ss. 125 to 132 see Gazette of India, Part II, sec. 3 (ii). 20-4-1972 vide notifin. No. S.O. 300 dated 20-4-1972, in respect of the provisions [except sub-section (2) of s. 12 and sub-section (2) of s. 13, s. 28, s. 68 and ss. 125 to 132] see Gazette of India, Part II, sec. 3 (ii). 3. Cl. (a) omitted by Act 33 of 2021, s. 13 (w.e.f. 4-4-2021). 7. Cl. (g) omitted by s. 2, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-1-2005).
- (h)“Government undertaking” means any industrial undertaking carried on—
- (i)by a department of the Government, or
- (ii)by a corporation established by a Central, Provincial or State Act, which is owned or controlled by the Government, or
- (iii)by a Government company as defined in section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), 1[or] 1[(iv) by an institution wholly or substantially financed by the Government;]
- * * * * 3[(i) “High Court”, in relation to a State or Union territory, means the High Court having territorial jurisdiction in that State or Union territory, as the case may be;] 4[(ia) “international application” means an application for patent made in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty;] 5[(j) “invention” means a new product or process involving an inventive step and capable of industrial application; 6[(ja) “inventive step” means a feature of an invention that involves technical advance as compared to the existing knowledge or having economic significance or both and that makes the invention not obvious to a person skilled in the art;]]
- (k)“legal representative” means a person who in law represents the estate of a deceased person; 7[(l) “new invention” means any invention or technology which has not been anticipated by publication in any document or used in the country or elsewhere in the world before the date of filing of patent application with complete specification, i.e., the subject matter has not fallen in public domain or that it does not form part of the state of the art;
- (la)“Opposition Board” means an Opposition Board constituted under sub-section (3) of section 25;
- (m)“patent” means a patent for any invention granted under this Act;]
- (n)“patent agent” means a person for the time being registered under this Act as a patent agent;
- (o)“patented article” and “patented process” mean respectively an article or process in respect of which a patent is in force; 4[(oa) “Patent Cooperation Treaty” means the Patent Cooperation Treaty done at Washington on the 19th day of June, 1970 as amended and modified from time to time;]
- (p)“patentee” means the person for the time being entered on the register as the grantee or proprietor of the patent;
- (q)“patent of addition” means a patent granted in accordance with section 54;
- (r)“patent office” means the patent office referred to in section 74;
- (s)“person” includes the Government; 2. Certain words omitted by s. 2, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-1-2005)
- (t)“person interested” includes a person engaged in, or in promoting, research in the same field as that to which the invention relates; 1[(ta) “pharmaceutical substance” means any new entity involving one or more inventive steps;] 2[(u) “prescribed” means,—
- (A)in relation to proceedings before a High Court, prescribed by rules made by the High Court;
- * * * *
- (C)in other cases, prescribed by rules made under this Act;]
- (v)“prescribed manner” includes the payment of the prescribed fee;
- (w)“priority date” has the meaning assigned to it by section 11;
- (x)“register” means the register of patents referred to in section 67;
- (y)“true and first inventor” does not include either the first importer of an invention into India, or a person to whom an invention is first communicated from outside India.
↩2.Subs. by Act 38 of 2002, s. 3, for Cl. (a) (w.e.f. 20-5-2003).
↩4.Ins. by Act 15 of 2005, s. 2 (w.e.f. 1-1-2005).
↩5.Subs. by Act 38 of 2002, s. 3, for clause (d) (w.e.f. 20-5-2003).
↩6.Subs. by Act 15 of 2005, s. 2, for “notified as such under sub-section (1) of section 133” (w.e.f. 1-1-2005).
↩1.Ins. by Act 15 of 2005, s. 2 (w.e.f. 1-1-2005).
↩3.Subs. by s. 2, ibid., for clause (i) (w.e.f. 1-1-2005).
↩4.Ins. by Act 38 of 2002, s. 3 (w.e.f. 20-5-2003).
↩5.Subs. by s. 3, ibid., for clause (j) (w.e.f. 20-5-2003).
↩6.Subs. by Act 15 of 2005, s. 2, for clause (ja) (w.e.f. 1-1-2005).
↩7.Subs. by s. 2, ibid., for clauses (l) and (m) (w.e.f. 1-1-2005).
- (2)In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference—
- (a)to the Controller shall be construed as including a reference to any officer discharging the functions of the Controller in pursuance of section 73;
- (b)to the patent office shall be construed as including a reference to any branch office of the patent office.
Summary
- This section defines the key terms used throughout the patent system to ensure clarity.
- An invention is defined as any new product or process that involves an inventive step and can be made or used in an industry.
- An inventive step must offer a technical advance over existing knowledge, have economic significance, or both, and must not be obvious to an average skilled person in that field.
- A new invention refers to technology that has not been published anywhere in the world or used in India before the filing date.
- The term assignee includes any further assignees as well as the legal representative of a deceased assignee.
- The true and first inventor explicitly excludes anyone who simply imports an invention into India or receives information about it from abroad.
Practical examples
FAQ
1. What does an inventive step mean under Section 2 of the Patents Act, 1970?
Under Section 2 of the Patents Act, 1970, an inventive step is a feature of an invention that involves a technical advance compared to existing knowledge, has economic significance, or both, making the invention not obvious to a person skilled in the art.
2. Who is excluded from being the true and first inventor under Section 2 of the Patents Act, 1970?
Under Section 2 of the Patents Act, 1970, the true and first inventor does not include the first person to import an invention into India or the first person to whom an invention is communicated from outside India.
3. What is the definition of a government undertaking under Section 2 of the Patents Act, 1970?
Under Section 2 of the Patents Act, 1970, a government undertaking includes any industrial undertaking run by a government department, a government-owned or controlled corporation, a government company, or an institution mostly financed by the government.
4. What does capable of industrial application mean under Section 2 of the Patents Act, 1970?
Under Section 2 of the Patents Act, 1970, capable of industrial application means that the invention can be made or used in an industry.
Test yourself
Q1.Under Section 2 of the Patents Act, 1970, who is excluded from the definition of a true and first inventor?
Q2.What is required for a feature to qualify as an inventive step under Section 2 of the Patents Act, 1970?
Q3.Under Section 2 of the Patents Act, 1970, what does the definition of assignee include?
Q4.Under Section 2 of the Patents Act, 1970, what does capable of industrial application mean in relation to an invention?