Earlier
6(1) Any application or document to be filed or given at the patent office or to the Controller or to any other person under the Act or these rules, may be tendered by hand or sent by a letter addressed to Controller at the appropriate office or through registered post, courier service. If it is sent by post or electronic transmission it shall be considered to have been filed at the time when the mail containing the same would have been delivered.
6(2) Any written communication addressed to a patentee at his address as it appears on the register of patents or at his address for service given under rule 5, or to any applicant or opponent in any proceedings under the Act or these rules, shall be properly addressed.
6(3) All notices and all written communications addressed to a patentee or any applicant or opponent in any proceedings under the Act or these rules and all documents forwarded to such persons shall be sent by registered post or courier service or by electronic transmission.
6(4) The date of a notice or a written communication addressed to a patentee or any applicant or opponent in any proceedings under the Act and these rules shall be the date of dispatch of the said notice unless the Act specifies otherwise.
6(5) In case of delay in receipt of a document or communication by the patent office to a party to any proceedings under the Act or these rules, the delay in resubmitting a document to the patent office may be condoned by the Controller if a petition for such is made by the party to the Controller immediately after the receipt of the document.
Present
- 6(1) “courier service” omitted
- New insertion
- (1A) A patent agent shall file or give all documents only by electronic transmission authenticated as required and shall include scanned copies of documents that are required to be submitted in original with a Proviso that original documents that are required to be submitted in original, within a period of fifteen days, failing which they shall be considered not filed.
- 6(2) any written communication addressed to a patentee at his postal address or e-mail address, as it appears on the register of patents or to any applicant or opponent in any proceedings under the Act or these rules, shall be deemed to be properly addressed.
- 6(3) “courier service” omitted
- 6(4) “courier service” omitted
- 6(5) no change
- New Insertions
- 6(6) – The Controller may condone or excuse the delay in transmitting a document to the patent office, if a petition for such condonation of delay is made by the party to the Controller along with a statement and evidence in support of it to the satisfaction of the Controller that delay was due to war, civil disorder, strike, natural calamity, a general unavailability of services in the locality where the party resides and that the relevant action was taken as soon as reasonably possible not later than one month from the date when such situation had ceased to exist.
- 6(7) – Any liability or burden of proof regarding the authenticity of any document filed or given under these rules including electronically submitted documents shall be on the party filing the document.
Total Amendments
The above rule was amended in 2005
General Understanding
- Section 6(1) the words “courier service” are to be omitted
- 6(1A) has been newly inserted- it requires that a patent agent shall give all documents by electronic transmission and duly authorised along with attachment of scanned copies of original documents where required.
- Section 6(2) is substituted- it states that any written communication to a patentee at his address as it appears on register of patents should be properly addressed.
- Section 6(3) and 6(4) are the same except for omission of the words “courier service”.
- Section 6(5) there has been no change.
- Section 6(6) has been inserted- it states that in case of delay in transmission of document to IPO, a petition for such delay can be made by the party with supporting statement and evidence if the delay was due to a situation where it was not possible for normal communication to exist and if the Controller is satisfied relevant actions must be taken within a month from when such a situation ceases to exist.
- Section 6(7) states that the responsibility of proof-reading the documents submitted to the IPO and examining their originality shall lie with the party filing such documents.
by Sanjana Shashikanth
