Indian IP and Tech Policy: Consultations and Developments
Indian ministries usually take consultation comments clause by clause. Draft yours in that structure, then paste it into the submission form or a covering letter.
Key developmentsUpdated Oct 2026 · 5 items
- EU Digital Omnibus on AI enters into force
Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 moves Annex III high-risk duties to 2 December 2027 and Annex I to 2 August 2028; transparency duties stay on 2 August 2026.
Source: EUR-Lex ↗ - India introduces mandatory labelling for AI-generated content
IT Rules amendment, in force 20 February 2026: prominent labels, provenance metadata, user declarations on large platforms and 3-hour takedowns.
Source: Hogan Lovells ↗ - DPIIT working paper proposes a hybrid licensing model for AI training
A mandatory blanket licence for training on copyrighted works, with government-set royalties due once the AI is commercialised. Comments closed about 7 January 2026.
Source: Fox Mandal ↗ - DPDP Rules notified, phased over 12–18 months
Data Protection Board set up first; consent-manager and substantive data-fiduciary duties follow over 12 to 18 months.
Source: Mondaq ↗ - MeitY releases India AI Governance Guidelines
Principles-based, light-touch framework under the IndiaAI Mission; relies on existing law rather than a new AI statute.
Source: SCC Online ↗
To: Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks Subject: Comments on Draft amendment to the Patents Rules (example) From: Your name, organisation GENERAL COMMENT Shorter statutory timelines help disposal rates only if extension practice is predictable. The comments below ask for clear, published criteria for extensions. CLAUSE-WISE COMMENTS 1. Rule 24C(6) Issue: Extension of the FER response period is discretionary, with no published criteria. Proposed change: Insert: "The Controller shall ordinarily allow the extension where the request is filed within the period under sub-rule (5) and states reasons." Justification: Predictable extensions reduce abandonment of meritorious applications by small and foreign applicants. 2. Rule 131(1) Issue: Three-year Form 27 periods are counted from the financial year after grant, which is easy to misdocket. Proposed change: Publish the due date for each patent on the patent register entry. Justification: Reduces inadvertent non-compliance and supports accurate public information on working. Submitted for consideration.
Desk reference · Core Indian instruments
| Instrument | Governs | Administered by |
|---|---|---|
| Patents Act, 1970 and Rules, 2003 | Patentability, prosecution, working, compulsory licensing | CGPDTM under DPIIT |
| CRI Guidelines | Examination of computer-related inventions under s.3(k) | CGPDTM |
| Copyright Act, 1957 | Software, content, assignment and licensing formalities | Copyright Office under DPIIT |
| Designs Act, 2000 | Industrial designs | CGPDTM |
| Trade Marks Act, 1999 | Marks, including well-known mark determinations | CGPDTM |
| Information Technology Act, 2000 | Electronic records, intermediaries, cyber offences | MeitY |
| Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 | Processing of personal data, including in AI training | MeitY and the Data Protection Board |
Tools
India IP & Digital Reform Tracker
Rules, guidelines and bills affecting IP and data, with status and the date each took effect.
AI Inventorship: US · EP · IN
Where each office stands, the leading decisions, and what applicants are doing in practice.
Open Consultations
Consultations open for comment, with the deadline and a link to the draft.
Questions practitioners ask.
Short answers to the questions US patent attorneys and in-house teams ask most about India, with the rule behind each one. Reviewed October 2026.
How do you submit comments on an Indian government consultation?
Follow the notice: most ministries ask for comments by email to a named address, in a clause-by-clause table giving the provision, the proposed change and the justification, within a fixed window that is often 30 days.
More tools.
Live toolIndia Patent Deadline Calculator
Calculate Indian patent deadlines under the 2024 Rules: 31-month national phase, Form 18, Form 3, FER response, Form 27 and renewals. Indian forms mapped to US practice.
Live toolOpen-Source Licence Compatibility Checker
Check GPL, LGPL, AGPL, MPL, Apache-2.0 and MIT components against your outbound licence for distributed, SaaS and internal products. EU Cyber Resilience Act dates included.
Live toolAI Obligation Mapper
Map AI obligations by role and market: EU AI Act dates after the 2026 Omnibus, India IT Rules synthetic-content labelling, DPDP Act and the amended Colorado AI Act.
Live toolChip IP Protection Planner
Plan chip IP protection: US mask work registration (17 U.S.C. 908), India SICLD Act layout-design filing bar, 10-year terms and patent grace periods in the US, EP and India.
Live toolClimate-Tech Classifier
Suggest CPC Y02 and Y04S climate-tech tags from an abstract for green patent landscapes and portfolio reporting, with India carbon market developments.
Live toolIndia IP Assignment Check
Why work-made-for-hire fails for Indian contractors. Check assignments against Copyright Act s.19 defaults, Patents Act s.68, Section 39 foreign filing and stamp duty.
Live · FlagshipFFL Planner
Sequence foreign filing licences and first filings across jurisdictions, including India s.39 and US 35 U.S.C. 184 permissions.