Statement of Working of a Patent (Form 27)

TO THE CONTROLLER OF PATENTS STATEMENT REGARDING THE WORKING OF A PATENTED INVENTION ON A COMMERCIAL SCALE IN INDIA (Section 146(2) of the Patents Act, 1970, read with the Patents Rules) Patent number : [patent_number] Patentee/licensee: [patentee_name] [patentee_address] Financial year : [financial_year] 1. STATUS The patented invention has been: [worked_status] 2. IF WORKED — PARTICULARS [working_details] 3. IF NOT WORKED — REASONS AND STEPS BEING TAKEN [not_worked_reasons] 4. LICENSEES AND SUB-LICENSEES [licensees] 5. I/We state that the information given above is true to the best of my/our knowledge and belief. Place: ______________ Date: [statement_date] [patentee_name] PATENTEE / LICENSEE ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── THIS IS A STATUTORY OBLIGATION, NOT AN OPTIONAL RETURN India is unusual in requiring patentees to tell the Patent Office whether their patent is actually being WORKED — used commercially in India — rather than merely held. Section 146 of the Patents Act, 1970 imposes the duty, and it applies to every patentee and every licensee. FAILING TO FILE, OR FURNISHING FALSE INFORMATION, CARRIES PENALTIES. Refusing or failing to supply the information is punishable with a fine, and furnishing information known to be false is punishable with imprisonment as well as a fine. That is a materially more serious consequence than most routine filings carry, and it is widely underappreciated. FILE IT EVEN IF THE ANSWER IS "NOT WORKED". A patent that is not being worked is not itself an offence — failing to report is. If it has not been worked, say so, give the reasons, and describe the steps being taken towards working it. That is exactly what the form contemplates. WHY THE INFORMATION MATTERS: a patent not worked in India within the prescribed period after grant, or not available to the public at a reasonably affordable price, may be made the subject of a COMPULSORY LICENCE application by a third party under Section 84. Your own working statements are the primary evidence in such a proceeding — in both directions. Statements filed carelessly in quiet years are quoted back in contested ones. PRACTICAL POINTS: - The obligation falls on LICENSEES too, not only the patentee. - Keep the commercial figures consistent with what you file elsewhere. Inconsistency between a working statement and accounts or regulatory filings is difficult to explain later. - Diarise it annually alongside your renewal fees. Both are dates that quietly lose rights when missed. - Where working is through an importer or distributor rather than manufacture in India, say so and describe the arrangement, rather than leaving the answer ambiguous.