Ayush Patent Guidelines 2025 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
The Guidelines for Examination of Ayush Related Inventions, 2025 tell inventors and examiners how patent applications in Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Sowa-Rigpa, Homoeopathy and Yoga and Naturopathy are treated. This article covers the opening part: what is in scope, which provisions of the Patents Act the Guidelines stress, the duty to disclose the source of biological material, and the path from filing to examination. The six guiding principles are in the next two articles.
The Guidelines are the Patent Office's guidance and do not have the force of law; the Patents Act, 1970 and the Patents Rules, 2003 as now in force prevail. The Office revises its guidelines, so check the current version on ipindia.gov.in.
The Guidelines say an Ayush invention can be protected only if it meets the ordinary tests of the Patents Act: it must be new, inventive and capable of industrial application, and must not fall in section 3. For inventions based on biological material the applicant must also disclose the source and geographical origin; wrong or missing disclosure can lead to refusal, opposition or revocation. The Office searches the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library and other databases.
What counts as an Ayush invention (paragraph 1)
The Guidelines define Ayush as the traditional and non-conventional systems of healthcare and healing, naming Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Sowa-Rigpa, Homoeopathy, and Yoga and Naturopathy, and say the scope extends to other codified or non-codified Ayush related inventions. They list Ayush products, equipment and devices, and value-added products such as food recipes and nutraceuticals based on Ayush systems. The Guidelines describe themselves as complementary to the 2012 traditional knowledge guidelines and as more focused on guiding Ayush stakeholders on filing and examination; the 2012 text is explained in our article on the TK Guidelines.
The first message is plain: a traditional background does not remove the need to meet the statutory conditions. An invention can be granted protection "subject to fulfilment of the provisions related to patentability" under the Act and Rules (paragraph 1).
The provisions the Guidelines emphasise (paragraph 2.1)
Paragraph 2.1 lists, in a table, the sections of the Patents Act to keep in view. In TaxClue's summary:
| Provision | Why it matters for Ayush inventions |
|---|---|
| Section 2: invention, inventive step, new invention, industrial application | The invention must be new, involve technical advance or economic significance and be capable of industrial use |
| Section 3(a), (b) | Frivolous inventions, and those whose use may be contrary to public order or morality or seriously prejudice health or the environment |
| Section 3(c) | Mere discovery of a scientific principle, or of a living or non-living substance occurring in nature |
| Section 3(d) | New forms, new properties or new uses of a known substance, and mere use of a known process, unless the stated condition is met |
| Section 3(e), (f) | Mere admixtures that only add up the properties of components, and mere arrangement of known devices |
| Section 3(h), (i), (j) | Agriculture and horticulture methods, treatment methods, plants and animals and essentially biological processes |
| Section 3(k) | Mathematical or business methods, computer programmes per se and algorithms |
| Section 3(p) | An invention that is in effect traditional knowledge, or an aggregation or duplication of known properties of traditionally known components |
For the general rules on each of these exclusions see our summary of what cannot be patented under section 3. The point of the Guidelines' list is that Ayush applications meet section 3(c), (d), (e), (i) and (p) more often than most.
If you are preparing an Ayush filing, our patent drafting and filing service can help frame the claims around what the Guidelines say the examiner will test.
Biological material and disclosure (paragraphs 2.2 and 2.3)
Paragraph 2.2 says that, besides the Patents Act and Rules, applicants must abide by the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and its rules for patents based on biological resources, in particular section 6 of that Act. The Guidelines list the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 among their references. The Act as amended in 2023 should be checked before a filing; this article does not state its provisions.
Paragraph 2.3 states the consequence of getting disclosure wrong. Applications based on traditional knowledge or biological material can be refused under section 15 if they do not comply with the Patents Act, or as the outcome of a pre-grant opposition under section 25(1). Granted patents can be revoked in a post-grant opposition under section 25(2), or under section 64(1). Non-disclosure or wrong mention of the source or geographical origin of the biological material used in the invention, in the complete specification, is a ground for all of these. The statutory provision is discussed in section 10 and the biological material disclosure.
Filing, screening and examination (paragraphs 3.1 to 3.3)
The Guidelines set out the steps in short form:
- Who may apply. The true and first inventor, the inventor's assignee, or the legal representative of a deceased inventor or assignee, alone or jointly.
- Where and how. Online or on paper at the four Patent Office locations the Guidelines name: Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai. For more detail they send readers to the Manual of Patent Office Practice and Procedure, which this series explains in its Chapter 3 articles.
- Screening and classification. Every invention, including Ayush ones, is screened into subjects and given patent classification codes. Publication follows after eighteen months, or earlier on request.
- Examination. The invention must meet novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability. The Office does a prior art search using the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library, which covers Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Sowa-Rigpa and Yoga, and other databases, listed in an annexure to the Guidelines.
The guiding principles that follow in paragraph 3.4 are described as not exhaustive; each application is judged on its own merits under the Act and Rules.
What the examiner checks, what you show
| What the examiner asks | What the applicant shows | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Is the claimed subject in an Ayush text or known use? | The distinguishing feature over the Ayush literature | Paragraph 3.3 |
| Does the claim fall in section 3(c), (d), (e), (i) or (p)? | A technical effect or new product beyond the exclusion | Paragraph 2.1 |
| Is the biological source disclosed? | Source and geographical origin in the complete specification | Paragraphs 2.2, 2.3 |
| Is the application otherwise complete? | Correct applicant, filing office and documents | Paragraph 3.1 |
A worked example
Haritha Wellness Pvt Ltd files for a polyherbal tablet for sleep, using four plants collected from a named region. The specification names each plant, the part used and the region of collection, and explains a processing step that raises the content of a marked compound. At examination the Office searches TKDL and finds a classical formulation with three of the four plants, so it objects on novelty and obviousness. Haritha narrows the claims to the processing step and its measured result, and keeps the source disclosure intact.
Common lapses
- Treating a traditional use as if it were an invention.
- Leaving out the source and geographical origin of a plant or other biological material.
- Not checking the Ayush literature and TKDL before filing.
- Claiming an extract or a combination without a technical effect.
- Relying on the 2002 Biological Diversity Act without checking the Act as amended in 2023.
Need help with an Ayush filing?
Good Ayush filings are built around the prior art the examiner will find. If you are preparing a specification for an herbal, Ayurvedic or similar invention and want the source disclosure and claim strategy reviewed, speak to our patent drafting and filing team.
Key takeaways
- Ayush inventions must satisfy the normal tests of the Patents Act; tradition does not replace them.
- Section 3(c), (d), (e), (i) and (p) are the usual risk points.
- Disclose the source and geographical origin of biological material; failure can lead to refusal, opposition or revocation.
- The Office searches TKDL and other listed databases.
- The Biological Diversity Act as amended in 2023 should be checked.
Read next
- Ayush Guidelines 2025: guiding principles 1 to 3
- Ayush Guidelines 2025: guiding principles 4 to 6
- TK and Biological Material Guidelines 2012: screening and Form 1
- What cannot be patented: section 3
Disclaimer: Based on the manuals and guidelines published by the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks that are named in the article, as consulted on 4 October 2026. They are guidance and do not have the force of law; the Patents Act, 1970 and the Patents Rules, 2003 as amended (including the 2024 amendment rules) prevail, and the current versions on ipindia.gov.in should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.