Section 124B of the Patents Act, 1970
Appeal
Gives a person penalised by an adjudicating officer under the Patents Act the right to appeal to a designated appellate authority.
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.
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
Some breaches of the Patents Act used to be treated as criminal matters, decided by a magistrate. The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 changed that approach. Certain contraventions were decriminalised and moved to an administrative route: an adjudicating officer appointed by the Central Government hears the matter and, if the breach is proved, imposes a money penalty. Section 124B is the balancing half of that system. It says that a person who is unhappy with the adjudicating officer's order does not have to accept it, and can take the matter to a higher officer for a fresh look.
The appeal goes to an appellate authority named by the Central Government. That authority is a senior officer who did not decide the case in the first round, so the review is independent of the officer who imposed the penalty. The appeal has to be presented in the form and manner set out in the rules, with the fee prescribed in the First Schedule, and within the time allowed after the order reaches the person. Because that period and the form can be changed by notification, both should be checked against the current rules before filing.
At the appeal stage the appellate authority gives the appellant a chance to be heard. It can agree with the adjudicating officer, reduce or increase what was ordered, or set the order aside completely. This is an administrative appeal, not a criminal appeal. The questions are simpler: did the contravention actually happen, was the correct provision applied, and is the penalty proportionate to what took place.
Section 124B sits only over penalty orders made in adjudication. It does not touch decisions of the Controller on patent applications. If the Controller refuses an application, decides a post-grant opposition or orders something similar, the route is an appeal to the High Court under section 117A. Keeping the two channels apart matters, because filing in the wrong forum wastes the limited time available in both.
Why this section matters
Businesses, patentees, applicants, agents and individuals who receive a penalty order from an adjudicating officer under the Patents Act.
Immediately after an adjudication order is served, when the person wants the finding or the amount reconsidered.
A statutory right to a second, independent hearing, and a matching duty on the appellate authority to hear the appellant before deciding.
The adjudicating officer's order becomes final, the penalty is recoverable as a debt to the Government, and the finding stays on record for any future default.
How it works in practice
A Pune device maker challenges a penalty for marking a product as patented
Meghna Devices Pvt Ltd of Pune sells a water testing kit. Its packaging carried the words Indian Patent, although only an application had been filed and no patent had been granted. A complaint reached the Patent Office. An adjudicating officer took up the matter as an unauthorised claim of patent rights, heard the company and imposed a penalty. The company accepted that the wording was wrong but argued that the packaging had been printed by an outside vendor from an old design, that the stock was recalled within two weeks, and that the penalty was heavier than the mistake deserved. It filed an appeal under section 124B in the prescribed form with the fee, and attached the recall notice, the corrected artwork and the vendor's letter. The appellate authority heard both sides, agreed that the marking was wrong but accepted that the correction was quick and honest, and reduced the penalty. The finding still stands, so the company now runs all packaging text past its patent adviser before printing.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- Section 124B provides an appeal against a penalty order passed by an adjudicating officer, not against a decision of the Controller.
- The appellate authority is a senior officer designated by the Central Government, separate from the officer who imposed the penalty.
- The appeal must be filed in the prescribed form, with the prescribed fee, within the time allowed after the order is received.
- The appellate authority hears the appellant before confirming, changing or setting aside the order.
- Appeals from the Controller's own decisions in patent matters go to the High Court under section 117A instead.
- This appeal route came in with the 2023 decriminalisation reforms, which replaced prosecution with money penalties for several contraventions.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Assuming that because the offence was decriminalised there is nothing to worry about. The penalty is still enforceable and recoverable, and the record of default remains.
- Filing the challenge in the High Court under section 117A. That section covers appeals from the Controller's decisions, not from adjudication penalty orders.
- Waiting for a demand notice before acting. Time for the appeal runs from service of the order, not from the day payment is demanded.
- Treating the appeal as a place to introduce a completely new business story. The appellate authority looks at the same contravention, so evidence should explain the record, not replace it.
Connected provisions
You will find the related rules grouped below rather than inside the explanation. The separation is deliberate. The Act and the Rules are distinct legal instruments, and mixing them can lead a reader to attribute a procedural requirement to the statute itself.
Forms, deadlines and fees
- An appeal under section 124B has to be filed within the period allowed after the adjudicating officer's order is received; the exact number of days is fixed by the rules and must be checked in the current version before relying on it.
- The appellate authority is expected to dispose of the appeal within the period stated in the rules made for adjudication and appeals.
Open the deadline calculator — and have every date confirmed against the current Rules before you rely on it.
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.
- 2023The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023The section was inserted, giving a right of appeal against the order of an adjudicating officer to the appellate authority within the period allowed.
Compiled from official consolidated texts and Gazette notifications. See the site-wide change log.
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 124B
Who hears an appeal under section 124B of the Patents Act?
An appellate authority designated by the Central Government hears it. This is a senior officer who was not involved in passing the original order, so the appellant gets a genuinely fresh look at the case. The authority can confirm the order, change the amount, or set the order aside. It is an administrative appeal within the Government machinery, so the procedure is simpler than a court appeal, but the appellant is still entitled to be heard before any decision is made.
What is the difference between section 117A and section 124B?
Section 117A deals with appeals to the High Court against decisions and orders of the Controller in patent matters, such as refusal of an application or the outcome of a post-grant opposition. Section 124B deals only with appeals against penalty orders passed by an adjudicating officer for contraventions such as unauthorised claim of patent rights or failure to supply information. Different orders, different forums. Choosing the wrong one usually means losing time that cannot be recovered.
Can a penalty under the Patents Act send someone to jail?
For the contraventions moved into the adjudication system by the 2023 reforms, the outcome is a money penalty rather than imprisonment. That is the point of decriminalisation: ordinary compliance slips are handled administratively instead of through criminal courts. Serious matters that the Act still treats as offences, such as breach of secrecy directions, are outside this system. Anyone facing a notice should check which provision is being applied before assuming what the consequence is.
Does filing an appeal stop recovery of the penalty?
It depends on what the appellate authority orders. Filing an appeal does not automatically wipe out the order, so the safe course is to ask the appellate authority for interim relief on recovery while the appeal is pending, and to say clearly why recovery should wait. If no such request is made and no direction is given, the department may proceed on the basis that the original order stands.
Received a penalty order under the Patents Act?
MYCrave Consultancy helps you assess the adjudicating officer's order, build the record and prepare a section 124B appeal within time.
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