CONTEMPORARY TRENDS RELATED TO SOFTWARE PATENTING IN INDIA

AUTHOR – HARSH PATEL, LLM CANDIDATE AT HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

BEST CITATION – HARSH PATEL, CONTEMPORARY TRENDS RELATED TO SOFTWARE PATENTING IN INDIA, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (7) OF 2026, PG. 377-385, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344. DOI – https://doi.org/10.65393/IJLRV6I742

ABSTRACT

This project examines the modern trends in software patenting in India both in Section 3(k) and the backlaw cases and the transformation of exams. It is followed by the ways in which the rules and policies governing computer-related inventions have shifted to more rigid exclusion schemes to a technical effect/technical contribution mode, as represented by the 2017 and 2025 Guidelines to Examining Computer-Related Inventions (CRI). Namely the Ferid Allani case and its impact on the way software-implemented inventions are treated at the Patent Office are specially highlighted.

Based on the latest government releases and the IP India Annual Report 2024-25, the study contextualizes these changes of the doctrines into a bigger frame of record patent filings, increasing local involvement, and institutional changeover. The project investigates as to whether the present rules strike a balance between the exclusion of so-called computer programs per se and safeguarding actual software-enabled technical advancement, and concludes by providing some practical proposals on how the standards can be further clarified and transparency enhanced using only a slight amount of official statistics by employing a doctrinal approach.

KEYWORDS: Software patenting, Section 3(k), Computer‑related inventions, CRI Guidelines 2025, Ferid Allani, Technical effect, Patent filing trends.