Section 113 of the Patents Act, 1970
Certificate of validity of specification and costs of subsequent suits for infringement thereof
Lets a court certify that a patent claim was contested and upheld, which gives the patentee stronger costs protection in later proceedings.
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.
This is a simplified explanation. Where it differs from the official text of the provision, or from an applicable Gazette notification, the official text and the notification prevail.
What this section says, in plain language
Defending a patent is expensive. If a patentee successfully defeats a validity attack once, and then faces the same attack from a different opponent, it has to spend all over again. Section 113 gives partial protection. Where the validity of a claim is contested in a proceeding before the High Court and that claim is found to be valid, the court may certify that the validity of that claim was contested and upheld.
The certificate does not make the claim unchallengeable. Another party, with different prior art or a different argument, can still attack it. What the certificate changes is the cost consequence. If the patentee relies on the validity of that claim in a later infringement suit or in a subsequent proceeding for revocation, and obtains a final order or judgment in its favour, it becomes entitled to its full costs, charges and expenses on the higher basis applied between a lawyer and the client, unless the court directs otherwise. That is considerably more generous than ordinary party and party costs.
The practical effect is deterrence. A potential challenger who sees that the same claim has already been contested and upheld, and who knows that losing may mean paying the patentee's actual legal bill, will think harder before running a weak challenge. This is why certification is worth asking for at the time judgment is delivered rather than being remembered later.
There are limits. The costs benefit does not extend to the costs of an appeal, and the court retains a discretion to direct otherwise. The certificate is also claim-specific: it attaches to the particular claims whose validity was contested and upheld, not to the whole patent. A patent with five claims may end up with a certificate covering only two of them.
One consequence of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 is worth noting. Certification was previously available in proceedings before the Appellate Board as well. With the Board abolished and its patent jurisdiction transferred, the High Court is the forum where revocation petitions and infringement counter-claims are decided, and therefore the forum where certificates of validity now arise. A patentee that has come through a hard-fought validity contest should make sure the certificate is recorded, and should refer to it in any later notice or pleading.
Why this section matters
Patentees who have survived a validity challenge, exclusive licensees relying on the same claims, and parties considering a fresh attack on a patent.
At the conclusion of a contested validity proceeding, and again in any later suit or revocation proceeding on the same claims.
A judicial certificate that the claim was contested and upheld, and an entitlement to costs on the solicitor and client basis in later successful proceedings.
A patentee that does not ask for the certificate loses a valuable deterrent and a costs advantage that cannot easily be recovered afterwards.
How it works in practice
A certificate discourages a second challenge
Suryodaya Energy Systems Pvt Ltd of Jaipur holds a patent on a solar tracker linkage. A competitor files a counter-claim for revocation in an infringement suit, relying on two prior publications and an obviousness argument. After a full trial the High Court holds claims 1 and 4 valid and infringed, and rejects the attack on those claims. Suryodaya's counsel asks the court to certify under Section 113 that the validity of claims 1 and 4 was contested and upheld, and the court does so. Two years later a different manufacturer in Coimbatore begins selling a similar linkage and, when sued, threatens to challenge validity on largely the same prior art. Suryodaya's notice sets out the certificate. The Coimbatore manufacturer takes advice and learns that if it loses, Suryodaya will be entitled to its full costs, charges and expenses as between solicitor and client rather than the usual scaled costs. It abandons the validity challenge and negotiates a licence instead. Note that the certificate covers only claims 1 and 4; the remaining claims carry no such protection.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- A certificate is granted where the validity of a claim was contested before the High Court and the claim was upheld.
- It applies only to the specific claims that were contested and upheld.
- In a later successful suit or revocation proceeding, the party relying on validity is entitled to full costs, charges and expenses as between solicitor and client.
- The court may still direct otherwise, and the benefit does not extend to appeal costs.
- A certificate does not prevent a fresh challenge; it changes the cost of losing one.
- Ask for certification when judgment is delivered, not months later.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Thinking a certificate makes a patent unchallengeable. It does not; new prior art can still be raised.
- Assuming it covers the whole patent when it covers only the claims actually contested and upheld.
- Forgetting to request certification at the time of judgment.
- Expecting the enhanced costs to apply to appeals, which are outside the benefit.
Connected provisions
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
Any official fee connected with this provision is fixed by the First Schedule to the Patents Rules, not by the provision itself. The amount depends on who the applicant is and on whether the filing is made online or on paper, so no figures are reproduced here. How Indian patent fees work.
Amendment history
What changed in this provision, newest first. Read the footnotes in the official consolidated text for the full record.
- 2021The Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021References to the Appellate Board were removed, so the certificate of validity and the costs consequences are dealt with by the court.
- 2005The Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005The provisions on certifying validity and on costs in later infringement suits were adjusted to fit the appellate forum then created. Attribution pending reviewer confirmation.
Compiled from official consolidated texts and Gazette notifications. See the site-wide change log.
Related judgments
You will not find case summaries under this heading today. Each one must pass a legal review before it appears, and that work has not been completed for this provision. If you are researching decided cases, use a law report or a court database in the meantime. How case notes are prepared.
Questions people ask about Section 113
What is a certificate of validity in Indian patent law?
It is a finding recorded by the High Court under Section 113 that the validity of a particular claim was contested and upheld. The claim survived an actual challenge, and the court certifies that fact. The main benefit comes later: if the patentee relies on the same claim in a subsequent infringement suit or revocation proceeding and obtains a final order in its favour, it is entitled to full costs, charges and expenses as between solicitor and client unless the court directs otherwise.
Does a certificate of validity stop others from challenging my patent?
No. Anyone with standing can still seek revocation under Section 64 or counter-claim in an infringement suit, and may succeed with prior art or arguments that were not before the earlier court. What the certificate does is raise the stakes for a challenger, because losing can mean paying your actual legal costs rather than a scaled figure. In practice this discourages repeat challenges built on material that has already been tried and rejected.
How do I obtain a certificate of validity?
Ask the court for it when validity has been contested and your claims have been upheld. It is a matter for the court's discretion, so counsel should specifically request certification in submissions and in the prayer, identifying the claims concerned. Once granted, record it carefully, note the claim numbers covered, and refer to it in later correspondence, notices and pleadings. A certificate that nobody knows about provides none of the deterrent value that makes it worth having.
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