IAM has ranked S.S. Rana & Co. in the Gold tier for Firms: prosecution in India in the IAM Patent 1000 2026. IAM notes that the firm has climbed the patent prosecution rankings this year, moving up from a recommendation in the 2025 edition to a Gold tier position.
About the IAM Patent 1000
IAM is a specialist publication on IP as a business asset. Its Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals identifies leading private practice patent firms and individuals across dozens of jurisdictions, and the 2026 edition is its fifteenth.
Who qualifies. IAM assesses private practice firms on their patent work and market reputation, drawing on the views of peers and clients with direct knowledge of their practice.
How firms are chosen. The 2026 rankings follow a five-month research process with thousands of interviews with private practice lawyers, patent attorneys and in-house counsel. IAM’s research team, based in London, Manchester and Hong Kong, analyses those interviews alongside written submissions and client feedback.
The format. Firms are placed in tiers, with gold the highest, followed by silver and bronze. In India, IAM publishes separate firm rankings for prosecution and litigation.
What the ranking recognises
In its 2026 commentary, IAM points to the following:
A climb to Gold. IAM records that the firm has moved up the patent prosecution rankings this year to secure a Gold tier position.
A long track record. IAM highlights a legacy of more than 35 years, over which the firm has earned the trust of technical universities, design institutes, government bodies and private institutions, and served thousands of clients worldwide across a broad range of industries.
A multidisciplinary team. IAM notes that the firm’s IP work is driven by professionals from multidisciplinary backgrounds, which lets the team draw on varied expertise to help clients protect and develop new inventions.
Leadership and bench strength. IAM describes Managing Partner Vikrant Rana, with nearly three decades in practice, as a commanding presence in India’s IP field and a trusted adviser to blue-chip multinationals and emerging start-ups on protecting and managing their IP. It names Associate Partners Renu Bala Rampal, whose scientific background spans chemistry, life sciences, mechanical technologies and pharmaceuticals, and Johny Solomon Raj, who leads the firm’s Chennai branch, as providing critical support to the practice.
What changed for patent prosecution in India
Prosecution practice in India has shifted with the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024, notified on 15 March 2024. For applicants, including Indian companies, universities, start-ups and multinational corporations filing in India, the main changes are:
Faster examination requests. The deadline to request examination is now 31 months from the priority date or filing date, whichever is earlier, down from 48 months, for applications filed on or after 15 March 2024.
Foreign filing details. The statement and undertaking on corresponding foreign applications in Form 3 is now due within three months of the date of the First Examination Report, instead of within six months of filing the Indian application.
Working statements. Patentees now file the statement of working in Form 27 once every three financial years instead of every year.
Pre-grant oppositions and inventors. The Controller must first consider whether a pre-grant opposition is maintainable, and inventors can apply for a certificate of inventorship for a patent in force.
The firm’s patent team has written about these changes in detail in its analysis of the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024.
Patent prosecution at S.S. Rana & Co.
S.S. Rana & Co. is a full-service IP and corporate law firm founded in 1989 and headquartered in New Delhi, with branch offices in Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata. It has more than 220+ staff, including over 100 IP professionals and technically qualified patent agents and attorneys.
The full patent lifecycle. The practice runs from early invention evaluation and patentability, prior art, freedom to operate and landscape searches, through claim drafting, filing in India and abroad and PCT national phase entry, to examination strategy, hearings, oppositions and maintenance.
Technical depth. Its patent attorneys and agents work across pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, electronics, software and artificial intelligence, mechanical engineering and clean technology.
India, SAARC and beyond. The firm drafts, files and prosecutes patents across India, the SAARC region and major global markets through a network of international associates.
Start-ups and innovators. Managing Partner Vikrant Rana is an IP facilitator under the Government of India’s Start-ups Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP) scheme and has guided more than 350 start-ups and grassroots innovators through filing and prosecution.
Quality and security. The firm holds ISO 9001:2015 certification for quality management and ISO 27001:2013 certification for information security management.
Continued recognition from IAM
| IAM ranking | Recognition | Edition |
| IAM Patent 1000 | S.S. Rana & Co.: Gold, Firms: prosecution (India) | 2026 |
| IAM Patent 1000 | S.S. Rana & Co.: Bronze, Firms: litigation (India) | 2026 |
| IAM Patent 1000 | Renu Bala Rampal: Silver, Individuals: prosecution (India) | 2026 |
| IAM Patent 1000 | S.S. Rana & Co.: Recommended for patent prosecution and patent litigation | 2025 |
| IAM Global Leaders | Vikrant Rana featured | 2026 |
| IAM Strategy 300 | Vikrant Rana listed | 2026 |
See the firm’s IAM Patent 1000 profile and the IAM Patent 1000 2026 India rankings. Read about the firm’s Bronze ranking for patent litigation, Renu Bala Rampal’s Silver ranking and the Leaders League 2026 patent prosecution ranking. Each recognition is recorded on our Awards page.
Frequently asked questions
Gold Tier (Firms: Prosecution)
Yes. S.S. Rana & Co. is ranked in the Gold tier for Firms: prosecution in India in the IAM Patent 1000 2026.
In the 2025 edition, IAM recommended the firm for patent prosecution. In 2026, IAM notes that the firm has climbed the prosecution rankings to secure a Gold tier position.
The firm is ranked in the Bronze tier for Firms: litigation in India, and Associate Partner Renu Bala Rampal is ranked Silver for Individuals: prosecution.
The IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals is IAM’s annual guide to leading private practice patent firms and individuals across dozens of jurisdictions. The 2026 edition is its fifteenth.
IAM runs a five-month research process involving thousands of interviews with private practice lawyers, patent attorneys and in-house counsel, and its research team analyses those interviews alongside written submissions and client feedback
The 2024 Rules, notified on 15 March 2024, cut the deadline for requesting examination from 48 to 31 months for applications filed on or after that date, tied the Form 3 filing on foreign applications to the First Examination Report, moved the working statement in Form 27 to once every three financial years, and introduced a certificate of inventorship.
It covers patentability, prior art, freedom to operate and landscape searches, drafting and filing in India and abroad, PCT national phase entry, examination strategy and replies to First Examination Reports, hearings, oppositions, and portfolio maintenance, across pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, electronics, software and AI, mechanical engineering and clean technology.
Write to info@ssrana.com with a short description of your matter, and the firm will connect you with the right team.
The profile is available on IAM at https://www.iam-media.com/directories/patent1000/firms/ss-rana-co.
Closing
We congratulate our patent team on this recognition and thank our clients, colleagues and peers in India and abroad for their continued trust.
For more information on Patent Searches, Patent FTO search, Patent Prior Art Search, Patent Novelty search, Patent Landscape search, Patent Invalidation Search, Patent Invention Disclosure, Patent filing, Patent registration, Patent of Addition, Divisional Patent, PCT Patent filing, Convention Patent filing, National Phase Patent Filing, Patent Grant, Patent First Examination Report, Patent Objection Reply, Patent Hearing, Patent Pre grant Opposition, Patent Post Grant Opposition, Patent Publication, Patent Request for Examination, Patent Expedited Examination, Patent Renewal, Patent Annuity, Patent Maintenance, Patent Invalidation, Patent Cancellation, Patent Rectification, Patent Infringement, Patent Litigation, Patent Licensing, Patent Assignment, Patent Working Statement, etc. in India
write to us at info@ssrana.com