Section 9 of The Patents Act, 1970, PA : Section 9: Provisional And Complete Specifications

Explanation using Example

Consider a scenario where an individual, Mr. Sharma, has invented a new type of solar panel technology. He files an application for a patent with a provisional specification, outlining the basic concept of his invention. According to Section 9(1) of The Patents Act, 1970, Mr. Sharma must file a complete specification detailing his invention within twelve months from the date of filing his application. If he fails to do so, his application would be considered abandoned.

Now, imagine Mr. Sharma has filed multiple applications with provisional specifications for inventions that are related or are modifications of one another. According to Section 9(2), if the Controller believes these inventions constitute a single invention, he may allow Mr. Sharma to file one complete specification for all these related provisional specifications. The twelve-month period would be calculated from the date of filing of the earliest provisional specification.

In another case, if Mr. Sharma initially files an application with a complete specification, but later decides to treat it as a provisional specification within twelve months from the date of filing, the Controller can allow this as per Section 9(3).

Lastly, according to Section 9(4), if Mr. Sharma files a complete specification after initially filing a provisional one, he can request the Controller to cancel the provisional specification and post-date his application to the date of filing of the complete specification, anytime before the grant of the patent.