Section 121 of the Patents Act, 1970
Wrongful use of words “patent office”
Section 121 once punished suggesting that a place of business was officially connected with the patent office; it has been omitted.
Official legal text
An omitted provision keeps its slot in the statute. The alternative, renumbering everything that follows, would make older judgments and office records hard to follow. The number therefore survives as a marker, and readers tracing historical documents still need an explanation of what once stood here.
Nothing here replaces the statute. The official wording of the provision, together with any Gazette notification that applies to it, governs. This page only explains that material in ordinary language.
What this section says, in plain language
The patent office is a government institution, and its name carries authority. Section 121 protected that name. It made it an offence to use on a place of business, or on any document issued from it, or otherwise, words suggesting that the place was an official patent office or was officially connected with the patent office. The target was the private agency that styles itself as an official body so that inventors believe they are dealing with the government rather than with a commercial service provider.
The provision was omitted by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, which removed or converted a number of minor offences across many Indian statutes in order to reduce criminal liability for business conduct. Misleading use of official names is still not permitted; it simply has to be addressed through other laws. Depending on the facts, that can include the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950, general criminal law on cheating and impersonation, consumer protection law on misleading advertisements, and trade mark and passing-off principles. For an inventor, the safe habit remains the same: verify who you are dealing with.
Why this section matters
Inventors, students and small businesses choosing an agency to file their patents, and consultancies naming and marketing themselves.
At the point of selecting a service provider or designing a firm's branding and website.
No offence under the Patents Act today. Other laws continue to govern misleading use of official names and connections.
Applicants can be misled into paying an unregistered intermediary in the belief that they are dealing with the government.
How it works in practice
The office that was not an office
Suresh Kadam, a first-time inventor in Nashik, searches online for patent registration and finds a firm advertising itself with a name and a website design that closely resemble a government body, complete with an emblem-like logo and the phrase official patent filing centre. He pays a package fee and receives an acknowledgement that looks official. Months later he learns that the person who signed his papers is not a registered patent agent, that the specification is a two-page description with no claims, and that the fee he paid was several times the official fee prescribed in the First Schedule. Section 121, which once made this kind of naming an offence under the Patents Act, was omitted in 2023, so any complaint has to be pursued under other laws. Suresh could have avoided the whole episode with two checks: searching the official register of patent agents for the person's name, and filing through the government portal himself or through a verified professional.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- Section 121 made it an offence to suggest that a place of business was, or was officially connected with, the patent office.
- It was omitted by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 as part of a wider decriminalisation exercise.
- Misleading use of official names can still be challenged under other laws, including consumer protection and general criminal law.
- Before engaging any agency, check whether the person handling your matter is on the official register of patent agents.
Connected provisions
The Patents Act sets the requirement; the Patents Rules, 2003 set the procedure that carries it out. Parliament passes the Act and the Central Government makes the Rules, so the two are separate instruments. We list the connected rules here to take you from the principle to the paperwork.
Forms, deadlines and fees
Fees are prescribed in the First Schedule to the Patents Rules. Because the Schedule is revised from time to time, and charges different amounts to different categories of applicant and for physical as against electronic filing, this page describes the fee without stating a figure. 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.
- 2023The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023The section was omitted. Suggesting that a place of business is officially connected with the patent office stopped being a criminal offence, as part of a wider exercise reducing criminal liability for minor business defaults. The patent changes were notified into force later.
Compiled from official consolidated texts and Gazette notifications. See the site-wide change log.
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 121
How do I check whether a patent agency is genuine?
Ask for the name and registration number of the registered patent agent who will sign and file your papers, then check it against the register of patent agents maintained under Section 125 and published by the Patent Office. Ask to see the official filing receipt and application number issued by the Patent Office, which you can verify yourself on the official portal. Compare the fee quoted for official charges with the First Schedule fees on the Patent Office fee page. A genuine professional will have no difficulty answering any of these questions in writing.
If Section 121 is gone, is misusing the name patent office now allowed?
No. Decriminalisation under the Jan Vishwas Act removed a specific offence from the Patents Act; it did not make deceptive conduct lawful. Passing yourself off as a government office can still attract action under laws on improper use of official names and emblems, cheating and impersonation, misleading advertising under consumer protection law, and passing off where a name or get-up is copied. Businesses should keep their branding clearly private and never suggest an official status or affiliation they do not have.
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