Startup India · SIPP
DPIIT Patent Facilitation Scheme for startups in India.
DPIIT-recognised startups pay roughly 80% less in patent official fees, get a government-funded patent facilitator for drafting, filing and prosecution, and can request expedited examination. Hashi IP Solutions runs the technical work — search, drafting, filing and prosecution — so the rebate buys you a patent worth owning.
- 80% rebate on patent official fees
- Government-funded patent facilitator
- Expedited examination eligibility
- AI-assisted search & drafting
- India + PCT filing strategy
Book a free consultation
We will confirm your DPIIT eligibility, give an indicative patentability view, and map the cheapest credible filing route — at no cost.
- Response within one business day
- Confidential — NDA on request
- Indicative cost before you commit
What you get
DPIIT startup patent benefits, in plain terms
The scheme lowers the cost of protection dramatically. What it does not do is decide what to protect, or how well it is drafted — that is where the value is won or lost.
Quick answer
DPIIT recognition gives your startup an 80% rebate on Indian patent official fees, a government-paid patent facilitator under SIPP, and eligibility for expedited examination — together reducing a typical filing from tens of thousands of rupees to a few thousand, and grant timelines from years to months.
80% fee rebate
DPIIT-recognised startups pay the startup fee slab at the Indian Patent Office — roughly one-fifth of the fees payable by a company, across filing, examination, excess claims and renewals.
Facilitator fees paid by government
Under SIPP, an empanelled facilitator's professional fees for drafting, filing and prosecution are borne by the Government of India. You pay only the statutory fees.
Expedited examination
Startups are an expressly eligible category for expedited examination, which can compress grant timelines from several years to a matter of months.
Affordable portfolios, not single filings
A lower marginal cost per application means you can protect two to five core technical contributions instead of gambling everything on one patent.
Diligence-ready IP position
Filed and granted rights, correctly owned by the company, are what investor counsel look for when they ask what your startup actually owns.
International optionality
A well-drafted Indian priority filing preserves your 12-month window for PCT and national-phase filings in the markets that matter.
Eligibility
Who qualifies for the scheme
Recognition is granted to the entity, not the founder. If the invention belongs to the business, the business should be the applicant.
- Incorporated in India as a private limited company, registered partnership firm or LLP
- Up to 10 years old from the date of incorporation
- Annual turnover below INR 100 crore in every financial year since incorporation
- Not formed by splitting up or reconstructing an existing business
- Working towards innovation, development or improvement of products, processes or services
- Valid DPIIT recognition certificate at the time of filing
Not eligible
- Sole proprietorships and unregistered partnerships
- Public limited companies
- Entities older than ten years from incorporation
- Entities formed by splitting or reconstructing an existing business
- Entities that crossed INR 100 crore turnover in any financial year
Not recognised yet? Recognition usually takes a few working days on the Startup India portal. We will tell you whether to wait for it before filing.
Cost
How much a DPIIT startup actually saves
Indicative e-filing official fees per application. Figures change with amendments to the Patent Rules — confirm current fees before filing.
| Official fee | DPIIT startup | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Filing (provisional or complete, e-filing) | ~INR 1,600 | ~INR 8,000 |
| Request for examination | ~INR 4,000 | ~INR 20,000 |
| Expedited examination | ~INR 8,000 | ~INR 60,000 |
| Each claim beyond 10 | ~INR 320 | ~INR 1,600 |
| Each page beyond 30 | ~INR 160 | ~INR 800 |
Across filing, examination and grant, the official-fee saving on one moderately sized application is typically INR 40,000–70,000 — before the facilitator fees the government pays separately under SIPP.
Process
From DPIIT recognition to granted patent
Seven stages. The two that decide the outcome are the search and the drafting; everything after that is procedure.
- 01
Eligibility & DPIIT check
We confirm your recognition status, the correct applicant entity, and whether the startup fee slab applies to your filing.
- 02
Patentability & prior art search
A targeted search across patent and non-patent literature establishes novelty and inventive step before you spend on drafting.
- 03
Filing strategy
Provisional or complete, India-first or PCT, and how many applications your roadmap actually justifies.
- 04
Patent drafting
A domain engineer drafts claims, specification, embodiments and drawings around your technical contribution.
- 05
Filing in the startup category
Forms 1, 2, 3, 5, 26 and 28 filed with your DPIIT certificate so the rebate is applied at source.
- 06
Examination & prosecution
Request for examination (expedited where useful), FER responses, amendments and hearings by the same technical team.
- 07
Grant & portfolio management
Renewals, continuation strategy, and a portfolio view that supports fundraising and commercialisation.
Checklist
Documents required
Lighter than most founders expect. The DPIIT certificate and Form 28 are what secure the rebate at filing.
- DPIIT recognition certificate
- Certificate of incorporation
- Form 1 — application for grant of patent
- Form 2 — provisional or complete specification
- Form 3 — foreign filing statement and undertaking
- Form 5 — declaration as to inventorship
- Form 26 — power of attorney
- Form 28 — startup / small entity declaration
- Technical description, drawings and test data
- Assignment deed where the inventor is not the applicant
How we help
The technical work behind the scheme
A subsidy lowers cost, not risk. We handle the searching, drafting and prosecution so the application you file is one an investor's counsel — or an examiner — takes seriously.
Patentability & prior art search
Know what exists before you draft.
ExplorePatent drafting
Claims built around the commercial product.
ExplorePatent filing & prosecution
India filing, FER responses, hearings.
ExploreStartup IP strategy
What to file, when, and in which markets.
ExplorePCT & international filing
Preserve foreign options for 30 months.
ExplorePatent analytics
Whitespace and competitor intelligence.
ExploreDeep dive
Learn more about the DPIIT Patent Facilitation Scheme
A 20-minute founder's guide covering eligibility, the 80% rebate, fees, timelines, documents, common mistakes and 25+ questions founders actually ask.
DPIIT Startup Patent Benefits: The Complete Founder's Guide
What DPIIT is, how SIPP works, who can apply, how much you save, the filing process and timeline, documents, government fees explained, the five costliest mistakes, and why drafting quality still decides the value of your patent.
Read the complete guideFAQ
Questions founders ask
It is the Startup India Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP) scheme, under which government-empanelled patent facilitators support DPIIT-recognised startups and their professional fees are paid by the Government of India. The startup pays only official fees, at the reduced startup slab.
DPIIT startups
The scheme makes filing cheap. We make the patent worth filing.
Talk to a patent professional about your invention, your DPIIT status, and the filing route that fits your roadmap — from Hyderabad and Bangalore to Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Kochi.
General information for founders, not legal advice. Fee figures are indicative and change with amendments to the Patent Rules; scheme terms are set by DPIIT and the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks.