India’s patent ecosystem is shaped by a delicate balance: encouraging innovation while safeguarding public interest and cultural heritage. This balance plays out differently across industries, where the rules and interpretations of patentability can make or break an innovation strategy. Four sectors: pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence and software, green technologies, and traditional knowledge illustrate how India applies global IP principles to its unique social and economic priorities.
Pharmaceutical Patents and the Section 3(d) Dilemma
In pharmaceuticals, the key challenge lies in discouraging evergreening of patents while ensuring that genuine innovations are rewarded. Section 3(d) of the Indian Patents Act bars patents for new forms of known substances unless the applicant can prove enhanced efficacy. Importantly, the courts and the Patent Office have interpreted “efficacy” narrowly as therapeutic efficacy. Improved properties such as stability, bioavailability, or ease of manufacture are not sufficient unless they lead to demonstrable therapeutic benefit.
To succeed, applicants need robust evidence showing superior therapeutic outcomes, such as better clinical response rates, reduced mortality, or a materially improved safety profile. Comparative studies and mechanistic data that establish a clear link between the claimed property and a meaningful clinical benefit are crucial. Mere assertions of improved performance without data rarely withstand scrutiny.
From a drafting perspective, patent specifications should be supported by comparative results and framed around the specific clinical problem solved. Tight claims that highlight the technical contribution are more persuasive than broad formulations. Applicants must also anticipate challenges, since pre-grant and post-grant oppositions are frequently used by competitors in India’s vibrant generics market. Compulsory licensing remains a possibility where affordability and accessibility concerns arise, further shaping pharmaceutical IP strategy.
The lesson is clear: Section 3(d) demands that incremental innovations be backed by data-driven evidence of therapeutic efficacy. Aligning R&D, regulatory, and IP strategies at an early stage is essential for success.
This blog is a part of our The Ultimate Guide to Intellectual Property Law Blogpost.
AI and Software Patents: Where Do We Stand?
Software patents face another hurdle in India under Section 3(k), which excludes mathematical methods, algorithms, and computer programs per se. However, inventions that demonstrate a clear technical effect or technical contribution beyond the software itself can still be protected.
Patentable subject matter typically involves computer-related inventions that improve system-level performance. For example, reduced network latency, improved resource utilization, or novel security protocols that interact with hardware can qualify. Drafting strategies must anchor claims in the system architecture, showing measurable gains such as lower error rates, faster processing, or reduced energy consumption. Independent method and system claims should describe technical interactions rather than business logic.
Where patents are difficult, companies often rely on complementary forms of protection. Copyright can safeguard source code, while trade secrets can secure proprietary models, training data, or algorithms. Branding and design rights may provide further support, especially in user-facing applications.
India’s approach reflects a pragmatic balance: pure software or business methods are excluded, but inventions that solve a technical problem through a technical solution remain eligible for protection. For applicants, the key lies in highlighting the measurable technical effect of their innovation.
Green Technology Patents: India’s Push Toward Sustainability
India’s commitment to sustainability has spurred growth in patent filings across green technologies such as solar, wind, energy storage, and electric mobility. While these inventions pass through the same novelty and non-obviousness requirements as other patents, the way they are framed and prosecuted determines their strength.
Strong claims often arise in system-level innovations such as smart grids, microgrid controllers, or vehicle-to-grid technologies, as well as in material science breakthroughs like improved battery chemistries and membranes for carbon capture. Success in this sector depends heavily on presenting robust technical data, efficiency numbers, cycle life metrics, degradation curves, and scalability measures.
Applicants should carefully balance breadth and specificity. Competitors often make minor adjustments to circumvent claims, so fallback positions are essential. On the procedural side, India offers expedited examination in certain cases, including for startups and small entities, making it possible to bring green patents to grant more quickly.
Commercialization brings its own challenges. Standard-essential patents (SEPs) and licensing under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms are increasingly relevant in technologies such as EV charging and grid integration. Tech transfer, defensive publication of non-core innovations, and selective patenting of differentiators can help businesses align IP strategy with sustainability goals.
Green patents thrive when innovators can quantify efficiency, durability, and scalability. Data is the lifeblood of successful applications in this space.
Traditional Knowledge and Ayurveda: Can Ancient Wisdom Be Protected?
Traditional knowledge in India, particularly Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, and Yoga, cannot be patented in its existing form. To prevent misappropriation, the government maintains the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), which documents ancient formulations and practices in a form accessible to patent examiners worldwide. This defensive tool ensures that rebranded traditional remedies do not receive wrongful patents abroad.
That said, modern innovations built upon traditional knowledge may still qualify for patents. For example, a new standardized extract with scientifically validated therapeutic outcomes, or a novel drug delivery system that significantly alters pharmacokinetics, may be patentable. Similarly, scalable extraction or purification methods and validated biomarkers can represent sufficient technical advancement.
Applicants must also comply with the Biological Diversity Act of 2002, which requires prior approval and benefit-sharing arrangements when biological resources are accessed for commercial purposes. Failure to comply with these obligations can invalidate patents and expose companies to liability.
Beyond patents, branding, geographical indications, and trademarks play a key role in protecting products derived from traditional knowledge. Ethical commercialization, with benefit-sharing arrangements and community engagement, is not only a legal requirement but also a reputational necessity.
India’s approach reinforces that traditional knowledge itself cannot be monopolized, but evidence-backed innovations that advance upon it can find protection so long as regulatory and ethical requirements are respected.
Balancing Innovation and Public Interest
Pharmaceuticals, software and AI, green technologies, and traditional knowledge each highlight how India’s patent law balances innovation with public welfare. Section 3(d) ensures that drug patents reward genuine therapeutic advances rather than incremental tweaks. Section 3(k) filters out pure software while permitting protection for technical contributions in AI and computing. Green technology patents thrive on data that demonstrate measurable sustainability benefits. Traditional knowledge cannot be privatized, but modern scientific improvements grounded in it can receive protection if benefit-sharing rules are followed.
For innovators and businesses, these sectoral nuances are not mere legal technicalities—they define market access, investment potential, and competitive edge. A well-planned IP strategy in India must therefore combine rigorous technical evidence, careful claim drafting, compliance with statutory obligations, and foresight about commercialization challenges. When done right, patents in India can both safeguard innovation and contribute to broader societal goals.
