Section 117H of the Patents Act, 1970
Power of Appellate Board to make rules
Section 117H let the Appellate Board frame its own procedural rules and was removed when the Board was abolished.
Official legal text
Indian drafting practice deletes a provision by omitting it, not by closing the gap. Renumbering would break thousands of existing citations, so the number is retained with a note. Records made while the provision was in force still cite it, which is the main reason this page exists.
The authority is the enacted text, not this page. Where our wording and the official provision, or an applicable Gazette notification, do not match, the official material prevails.
What this section says, in plain language
A tribunal needs detailed working rules that a statute cannot sensibly contain: the form of a memorandum of appeal, how many copies to file, how documents are served, how matters are listed, how adjournments and reviews are handled. Section 117H gave the Appellate Board power to make such rules for patent matters, with the approval of the Central Government, so that the Board could manage its own procedure without an amendment to the Act each time practice changed.
With the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 abolishing the Board, the rule-making power had nothing left to serve and Section 117H was omitted. Detailed procedure for patent matters in court now comes from the High Courts, which have their own constitutional and statutory rule-making powers, including under Section 158 of this Act. Delhi, Madras and Calcutta High Courts have used those powers to frame Intellectual Property Division rules that cover pleadings, expert evidence, confidentiality clubs and case management. Rules of procedure before the Controller continue to come from the Patents Rules, 2003 made by the Central Government under Section 159.
Why this section matters
Anyone looking for the detailed procedural rules that govern a patent proceeding.
At the drafting stage, when you need to know the form, copies, fees and timelines of a filing.
No current power. Procedural rules now come from High Court rules and, before the Patent Office, from the Patents Rules, 2003.
You may prepare papers to rules that no longer exist and face objections from the court registry.
How it works in practice
Two rule books, two different filings
Priyanka Menon runs a small medical device firm in Kochi with two patent problems in the same month. First, she wants to amend a claim in a pending application before the Patent Office. Second, she must appeal an earlier refusal to the High Court. Her intern finds an old guide describing the Appellate Board's own rules and tries to use it for both. That guide is obsolete. The amendment before the Controller is governed by the Patents Rules, 2003, which set out the form to use, what has to be shown, and how the request is dealt with. The appeal is governed by the High Court's rules, including its Intellectual Property Division rules where framed, which set out the format of the memorandum of appeal, the number of copies, the index and the court fee. Priyanka splits the work between a patent agent for the office filing and an advocate for the court filing, and both sets of papers are accepted without objection.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- Section 117H allowed the Appellate Board to make its own rules of procedure for patent matters, with government approval.
- It was omitted by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 along with the rest of the Board scheme.
- Court procedure in patent matters now follows High Court rules, including Intellectual Property Division rules where framed.
- Procedure before the Controller comes from the Patents Rules, 2003 made under Section 159.
Connected provisions
Indian patent law works in two layers. The Act carries the substance and the Rules carry the machinery. Because the layers are amended by different processes and at different times, they are presented in separate blocks instead of being merged into one description.
Forms, deadlines and fees
This site does not carry a fee table. The First Schedule to the Patents Rules is the source, the rates vary with the applicant's category and with the mode of filing, and a figure quoted second-hand goes out of date quietly. How Indian patent fees work.
Related judgments
Court decisions shape how this provision is applied, but a summary is useful only if it is right. Every case note on this site is read by a legal reviewer before it goes live, and none has been completed for this provision so far. This section will fill in as those reviews finish. How case notes are prepared.
Questions people ask about Section 117H
Which rules govern a patent appeal in the High Court?
The rules of that particular High Court. Every High Court has rules for appeals, and several have framed dedicated Intellectual Property Division rules that deal with patent matters specifically, covering pleadings, technical primers, expert affidavits, confidentiality clubs for sensitive documents and case management hearings. These rules also set out the format, annexures and fees for filing. Because the details differ between High Courts, check the rules of the court where you will file before preparing the papers, rather than relying on a general template.
Do the Patents Rules, 2003 apply in court proceedings?
The Patents Rules mainly govern what happens before the Controller: forms, timelines, publication, examination, opposition, renewal and similar steps. They can still matter in court, because a court often has to decide whether an office step was taken correctly under those Rules. But the procedure of the court itself, meaning how you plead, file, serve and prove your case, comes from the court's own rules and the Civil Procedure Code, not from the Patents Rules.
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