Section 100 of the Patents Act, 1970
Power of Central Government to use inventions for purposes of Government
Lets the Central Government, or anyone it authorises in writing, use a patented invention for government purposes on agreed or court-settled terms.
Official legal text
The verbatim statutory text of this provision is reproduced from the official source and checked by our legal reviewer before it is published here. Until that check is complete for this page, read the exact wording directly from the official source linked below — it is the only version that governs.
Treat this page as a guide. The provision as officially published, along with the Gazette notifications that apply to it, remains the governing text and overrides any simplification here.
What this section says, in plain language
Section 100 gives the Central Government a standing power to use an invention that is already patented, or for which a patent application is still pending, for the purposes of Government. The phrase 'purposes of Government' is not left to guesswork. Section 99 explains it, and it covers use for the services of the Central Government, a State Government or a Government undertaking, as well as the supply of medicines and drugs to a government hospital, dispensary or similar institution. The power does not cancel the patent. It only means that a patent cannot be used to block the State from meeting a public need.
The Government does not have to do the work itself. It can authorise another person, in writing, to make or use the invention on its behalf. A public sector undertaking, or a private manufacturer holding such a written authorisation, can therefore produce the patented item for a government programme without facing an infringement suit for that supply. An authorisation can also be given after the act has already been done, so that earlier use for a government purpose is covered.
Payment is the part that matters most to inventors. As a rule the patentee is paid on terms settled between the patentee and the Central Government. If the two sides cannot agree, either of them can take the dispute to the High Court under Section 103, which then fixes the terms. There is one significant exception. If the invention was recorded by the Government, or tried by or on behalf of the Government, before the priority date of the relevant claim, and that knowledge did not come from the patentee or from anyone claiming through the patentee, the Government may use it without paying royalty.
The section also builds in transparency. The patentee must be informed of the use as soon as it is reasonably possible, and is entitled to ask for particulars of how much use has been made. Without that information a patentee could never test whether the compensation offered is fair, so this duty is what turns a bare State power into something that can be checked and, if needed, challenged.
Read Section 100 as a limit that is built into every Indian patent rather than as a penalty. It sits alongside Section 47, which attaches similar conditions at the moment of grant, and Section 102, under which the Government may go further and acquire the invention outright. For most patentees it never comes into play. For those working in defence, public health, telecommunications and energy it is a realistic possibility worth planning for.
Why this section matters
Patentees and pending applicants, especially in health, defence, energy and telecom, plus manufacturers who supply the Government and public sector undertakings.
Any time after a patent application is filed, and throughout the life of the granted patent.
A power for the Central Government and its written authorisees to use the invention lawfully, and a matching right in the patentee to be told about the use and to be paid on agreed or court-settled terms.
A patentee who does not respond to a government use notice may lose the chance to negotiate terms early and end up in a High Court reference under Section 103, while a supplier who assumes it is covered without written authority can be sued as an ordinary infringer.
How it works in practice
A patented valve used for a State oxygen programme
Vayu Medtech Pvt Ltd, a Pune company, holds an Indian patent on a low-pressure humidifier valve used in oxygen delivery systems. During a public health drive, the Central Government decides that district hospitals in several States need forty thousand units quickly. It authorises Bharat Medical Devices Ltd, a public sector undertaking, in writing to manufacture the valve for supply to government hospitals. Vayu Medtech learns of this and objects. Because the manufacture is for the purposes of Government under Section 99 and is backed by a written authorisation under Section 100, the PSU is not an infringer for that supply. The Government writes to Vayu Medtech, tells it about the use, and gives figures for the number of units made. The two sides then negotiate compensation. Vayu Medtech asks for a per-unit royalty; the Government offers a lump sum. When they cannot agree, either side may place the dispute before the High Court under Section 103. Note that Bharat Medical Devices cannot use the same tooling to sell valves to private hospitals, because that use is outside the government purpose.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- Government use can begin while the application is still pending, not only after grant.
- Anyone authorised in writing by the Central Government is covered, including public sector units and private contractors.
- The authorisation can be given even after the use has already taken place.
- Compensation is by agreement with the Central Government, failing which the High Court decides under Section 103.
- No royalty is payable if the Government had already recorded or tried the invention before the priority date, independently of the patentee.
- The patentee must be told of the use as soon as practicable and may ask for details of its extent.
- Use outside a government purpose, such as commercial sales to private buyers, is ordinary infringement.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Thinking the patent is cancelled or lost. It stays fully in force against everyone else; only the specified government use is protected.
- Assuming government use is always free. Compensation is the norm, and the royalty-free route applies only in the narrow prior-record situation.
- Believing an oral instruction from an official is enough. The authorisation under this section is a written one, and a supplier relying on a phone call takes the full risk of an infringement suit.
- Treating a purchase order from a Government department as automatic cover for every unit made, including those sold in the open market.
Connected provisions
- ActSection 99Meaning of use of invention for purposes of Government
- ActSection 101Rights of third parties in respect of use of invention for purposes of Government
- ActSection 102Acquisition of inventions and patents by the Central Government
- ActSection 103Reference to High Court of disputes as to use for purposes of Government
- ActSection 47Grant of patents to be subject to certain conditions
- ActSection 156Patent to bind Government
A section tells you what the law is. A rule tells you how the Patent Office runs it from day to day. The two are kept apart here so that a reader can quote the section accurately and then look up the current rule for the practical steps.
Forms, deadlines and fees
- The Central Government must inform the patentee of the use as soon as it is practicable; the section fixes no number of days, so notice timing is judged on the facts.
Open the deadline calculator — and have every date confirmed against the current Rules before you rely on it.
Where a fee is payable under this provision, the figure comes from the First Schedule. Categories of applicant are charged at different rates, and electronic filing is treated differently from paper filing, so an accurate number can only come from the Schedule in force on the day you file. How Indian patent fees work.
Related judgments
Case law is added slowly and deliberately. A summary is drafted, checked against the reported judgment and then reviewed before publication, because a wrong case note can mislead a reader badly. No summary for this provision has reached publication yet. How case notes are prepared.
Questions people ask about Section 100
Can the Government use my invention before my patent is granted?
Yes. Section 100 covers inventions for which an application is pending as well as granted patents. This matters because Indian patents often take several years to grant, and the State cannot be expected to wait. Your position is not lost by the delay: the same rules on notice and compensation apply, and the terms can be settled later once the scope of your granted claims is known. Keep records of the use from the first day you learn of it.
Does the Government have to pay me for using my patent?
Usually yes. The normal position is that terms, including payment, are settled between you and the Central Government. If you cannot reach agreement, either side may take the matter to the High Court under Section 103, which fixes the terms. The main exception is where the Government had already recorded the invention, or tried it on its own account, before the priority date of your claim and without any communication from you. In that narrow case use may be royalty-free.
Can a private company make my patented product under this section?
Only if the Central Government has authorised it in writing and the making is for the purposes of Government as defined in Section 99. A written authorisation protects that specific supply. It does not turn the company into a general licensee. If the same company makes extra units and sells them to private hospitals, distributors or exporters, those units fall outside the protection and you can sue for infringement in the ordinary way under Chapter XVIII.
How is government use different from a compulsory licence?
A compulsory licence under Section 84 is applied for by a private party before the Controller, after the patent has been in force for the period the Act specifies, and is decided through a hearing on grounds such as non-working or unaffordable pricing. Government use under Section 100 needs no application, no Controller order and no waiting period. It is exercised by the executive for public purposes, and the only contest is usually about how much should be paid.
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