Hitherto claims for priority in India from patent applications filed in other countries were confined to certain Commonwealth countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. By proclamation effective on January 3, 1995, the President of India announced that priority would henceforth be available for patent applications filed in India based on applications filed in any other WTO-member country. The proclamation itself implies that such claims can be made with immediate effect even though the foreign applications were filed before the proclamation came into effect. Thus, it may now be possible to claim priority in India, for example from a United States application filed in 1994.

The position is, however, not entirely clear since the provision of the Indian statute under which the proclamation was made permits the President to make a proclamation in respect of India's treaty obligations. Since India had no treaty obligations under GATT-TRIPS before January 1, 1995, it is arguable that no rights could have arisen prior to this date and that no claim to priority earlier than January 1, 1995 can be made in India. The Indian Patent Office apparently is still considering the issue and has not yet issued its final views on the topic. For the time being, we recommend making a claim to priority when filing applications in India even though it is possible that ultimately any claim to a date earlier than January 1, 1995 may be denied.