Can You Patent an App or Software in India? What the Law Allows

You cannot patent code, an idea for an app, or a business method just because it runs on a phone. You can patent a software-implemented invention when it produces a technical effect: it makes a device, network or process work better in a way that goes beyond normal computing. Most apps don't meet that bar. Some do, and those patents are valuable.

Section 3(k) of the Patents Act, 1970 says that "a mathematical or business method or a computer programme per se or algorithms" are not inventions. The Patent Office's Revised Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions (CRIs), 2025, issued in July 2025, read this as four separate exclusions:

• Mathematical methods: a formula or calculation on its own is excluded. Maths applied inside a technical process that gives a concrete result is not.
• Business methods: a new way to price, sell, run loyalty points or match buyers and sellers is excluded, even if it's automated.
• Computer programme per se: the code as such, or a claim that just says "software that does X", is excluded.
• Algorithms: an abstract set of steps is excluded. An algorithm tied to a specific technical application that solves a technical problem may not be.

The courts have taken the same line. The Delhi High Court has held that an invention with a technical contribution or technical effect is not barred merely because it is implemented in software.

The test is what problem you solve and how. "Users find it easier" is not technical. "Latency drops from 400 ms to 80 ms because data is processed on the edge device in this specific way" is. No new hardware is needed, but the claims must describe the technical means, not just the result.

• Copyright protects your source code, object code, UI text and graphics automatically. Registering it with the Copyright Office gives you evidence of ownership and dates, which helps in a dispute. See our copyright registration guide.
• Trademark protects the app's name and logo. Register it in class 9 (downloadable software) and class 42 (SaaS and IT services). Run a trademark public search before you launch.
• Trade secrets and contracts protect algorithms you never publish, such as server-side models and pricing logic. Use NDAs, invention-assignment clauses in employment and freelance contracts, and access controls.

For most app startups, copyright plus a registered trademark is the core protection. A patent is worth pursuing for the one or two genuinely technical innovations underneath the product.

1. Don't publish first. A public launch, demo video or blog post explaining the method can destroy novelty. File at least a provisional application before you disclose.
2. Prior-art search of patents and papers, to see whether the technical idea is new.
3. Provisional application (optional) to secure a date, then the complete specification within 12 months.
4. Request for examination within 31 months of the priority date. Startups can ask for expedited examination.
5. Respond to the examination report, where 3(k) objections are common. Show the technical problem, the technical solution and the effect, with data where you have it.

Extra fees apply for long specifications and many claims, and professional drafting fees are separate. Once filed, you can follow the application with our patent application status guide. TaxQue's patent registration service starts with an assessment of whether your software invention is likely to clear Section 3(k).