IREC Rule No.1336: [FR-48(A)] Patent For Inventions
- [FR-48(A)] Patent For Inventions:-
A railway servant shall not apply for or obtain, or cause or permit any other person to apply for or obtain, a patent for an invention made by such railway servant which is connected directly or indirectly with his official duties, save with the permission of the President and in accordance with such conditions as the President may impose.
Government Of India’s Orders:
(1) Patents for Inventions: Application for permission shall be made by the railway servants making an invention to the head of his department, or if he is himself the head of a department, to the Railway Board. The head of the department shall deal with the application confidentially and with expedition so that the inventor may not be prejudiced by delay in making his application at the Patent Office and shall forward it with his recommendations to the Railway Board.
(2) In dealing with the applications for patents the Railway Board shall be guided by the following principles;
(i) Permission shall be granted to the applicant without any restriction if the invention has no connection with the railway servant’s official duties and has not resulted from facilities provided as government expense.
(ii) If the invention is made in the course of the railway servant’s official duties or has resulted from facilities provided at government expense, then;
(a) If the invention is of such general interest and utility that the public interest will be best served by allowing the public a free use of the invention, the application for taking out a patent shall be refused and the invention shall be published. An exgratia payment shall ordinarily be made to the inventor as a reward in all such cases;
(b) If the invention is not of the kind mentioned in clause (a), but is of sufficient public utility as is likely to make its commercial exploitation profitable, the inventor shall be directed to take out a patent and to assign his rights under the patent to the President. In all such cases, the inventor shall be rewarded either by a suitable lump-sum payment or by a liberal percentage of the profits made by Government in connection with the invention;
(c) In other cases, the inventor shall be allowed to take out a patent for his own benefit subject to his undertaking to permit Government the use of the invention either without payment or on such terms as they may consider reasonable. Before permission is given to a railway servant under this clause to take out a patent, he shall undertake-
(i) To insert a condition, in respect of the Railway Board’s right in the patent, in any agreement which he may enter with any party for exploiting the said patent, and also to forward a copy of such agreement to the Board for their information; and
(ii) To refund to the Railway Board any royalty which he may receive from the exploitation of the patent in respect of the articles purchased for the use of the Crown, whether or not he was in service at the time of such purchase.
Copies of orders relating to grant of permission to take out patents, wherein any condition is imposed regarding any special right reserved for the government, should be forwarded to the Controller of Patents and Designs so that a notice of such conditions may be entered in the Register of Patents for the information of the public.
(3) When the invention has been assigned to the President under clause (ii)(b) of item (2) above, the President may-
(a) Exploit the patent himself, or
(b) Advertise the patent and grant licenses on payment to manufacturers, or
(c) Sell the rights under the patent to a firm or to a private person.
(4) In order to secure for Government the full benefits of inventions, the Controller of Patents and Designs will ordinarily be consulted before any awards are made under Clauses (a),(b) of item 2 (ii) above or steps are taken for the exploitation of the patents under item 3 above.
(5) When a railway servant makes a suggestion, in regard to railway working or makes an invention, for which he does not propose to apply for permission to take out a patent, and in either case the suggestion or the invention is likely to prove beneficial to the railway, the General Manager of a railway may grant to such a railway servant a bonus or reward not exceeding Rs.500. Proposals for the grant of bonus or reward in excess of this limit shall require the previous sanction of the president.
[Authority: No.34/572/S/23, 14.03.1935 and, No.E-39-PT-1(2), 08.07.1939]