THE PATENTS ACT 1970
(39 of 1970)
An Act to amend and consolidate the law relating to patents.
Be it enacted by Parliament in the twenty first year of the Republic of India as follows:-
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
Short title extent and commencement
1. (1) This Act may be called the Patents Act, 1970.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
(3) It shall come into force on such date* as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint:
Provided that different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act, and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision.
Definition and interpretation
2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
- a. "assignee" includes the legal representative of a deceased assignee and references to the assignee of the legal representative or assignee of that person;
- 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;
- d. "convention country" means a country notified as such under sub-section (1) of Section 133;
- e. "district court" has the meaning assigned to that expression by the Code of Civil Procedure, 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:
- g. "food" means any article of nourishment and includes any substance intended for the use of babies, invalids or convalescents as an article of food or drink;
- 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 and includes the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and any other institution which is financed wholly or for the major part by the said Council;
