Section 133 of the Patents Act, 1970
Convention countries
Lets the Central Government notify countries, groups of countries or intergovernmental organisations as convention countries for priority purposes.
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.
Read this as a plain-language summary. If it and the official text, or a relevant Gazette notification, say different things, the official text and the notification are what count.
What this section says, in plain language
International priority only works if the law names the countries it applies to. Section 133 is that naming power. The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare a country, a group of countries, a union of countries or an intergovernmental organisation to be a convention country for the purposes of the Act, where arrangements exist for reciprocal protection of inventions. The wording is broad on purpose, because patents today are also filed through regional offices and treaty systems, not only through single national offices.
The effect of a notification is felt in section 135. Once a country carries convention status, a first application filed there can serve as the basis for a later Indian application, and the claims of that Indian application can take the earlier date. That earlier date is what protects the applicant against publications and third-party filings that appear in the gap between the first filing abroad and the Indian filing.
In practice the position is settled and generous. India joined the Paris Convention and the Patent Cooperation Treaty in December 1998, and members of that international system are treated as convention countries. So an applicant who first filed in the United States, Japan, China, or through the European Patent Office, can claim priority in India in the ordinary way. The formal source of that ability is still a notification under this section, which is why the section is worth understanding rather than skipping.
For an Indian applicant the reasoning runs in the opposite direction. A first filing in India creates a priority right that can be carried into other convention countries within the international priority period. That is why the sequence of filings deserves thought before the first one is made, and why an Indian resident must also remember section 39, which requires prior permission or a waiting period before filing abroad first.
Why this section matters
Foreign applicants entering India, Indian applicants planning overseas filings, and anyone building a filing calendar around a first application.
At the very start of a filing programme, when the first application is being placed and the route into other countries is chosen.
The legal basis on which a foreign first filing can support a priority claim in India.
An applicant may assume priority is automatic from any country, or may lose the earlier date by filing in India outside the priority period.
How it works in practice
A Munich first filing becomes an Indian priority claim
Alpen Sensorik GmbH, a fictional German instrument maker, files its first application for a vibration sensor at a European patent office in March. Its Indian distributor is already discussing manufacture with a Chennai contract manufacturer, so India matters commercially. In January of the following year, ten months after the first filing, the company files an Indian application with a complete specification, identifies the earlier European application as the basic application, and claims priority from it. In the intervening period a Korean competitor published a conference paper describing a similar sensor. Because the Indian claims carry the earlier priority date, that paper does not defeat novelty for the claims supported by the original disclosure. One new claim added in India, covering a temperature compensation feature that appeared in no earlier filing, gets only the Indian filing date, and the examiner tests it against the later art. The company would have had no priority claim at all if the first filing had been made in a country without convention status.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- The Central Government notifies convention countries by publication in the Official Gazette.
- A notification can cover a single country, a group of countries, a union of countries or an intergovernmental organisation.
- Convention status is what allows a first filing abroad to support a priority claim in India under section 135.
- India has been part of the Paris Convention and the Patent Cooperation Treaty since December 1998.
- Indian applicants also rely on this framework in reverse when carrying an Indian priority date abroad.
- Residents of India must separately comply with section 39 before filing outside India first.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Assuming every country in the world gives priority rights in India. The status comes from notification, and the international treaty framework is what makes it near universal in practice.
- Believing convention status extends the time to file in India. It sets the basis for priority, not a longer period.
- Overlooking regional and treaty routes. The section is drafted widely enough to cover them, and applicants often file first through such an office.
- Forgetting that an Indian resident filing abroad first needs to deal with section 39, whatever the convention position.
Connected provisions
- ActSection 134Notification as to countries not providing for reciprocity
- ActSection 135Convention applications
- ActSection 136Special provisions relating to convention applications
- ActSection 139Other provisions of Act to apply to convention applications
- ActSection 39Residents not to apply for patents outside India without prior permission
- ActSection 11Priority dates of claims of a complete specification
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
The Second Schedule to the Patents Rules contains the prescribed forms. A form that has been amended will not match an older saved copy, so take a fresh download from the official site before you fill anything in.
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 summaries are published only after a qualified reviewer has checked the judgment, the citation and the way the holding is described. Nothing has cleared that review for this provision yet, so nothing is listed here. We would rather show no case note than one that misstates what a court decided. How case notes are prepared.
Questions people ask about Section 133
What is a convention country under the Patents Act?
It is a country, group of countries, union of countries or intergovernmental organisation that the Central Government has declared as such by notification in the Official Gazette, on the basis that reciprocal arrangements exist for the protection of inventions. The practical significance is priority: a first application filed in a convention country can support a later Indian application claiming the earlier date. India has been part of the Paris Convention and the Patent Cooperation Treaty since December 1998, so the network is very wide.
Can I claim priority in India from a European or regional application?
Yes, this situation is squarely within the framework. Section 133 allows notification of a group or union of countries and of an intergovernmental organisation, which covers applications filed through regional patent offices. The Indian application must identify the basic application, be filed within the priority period, and be accompanied by a complete specification. Where required, a certified copy of the basic application and a verified English translation have to be furnished.
Does convention status give me longer to file in India?
No. Convention status is about the legal basis for claiming an earlier date, not about extending time. The application in India still has to be made within the international priority period of twelve months from the earliest basic application, and the claims that are entitled to priority are those supported by what was disclosed in that earlier filing. Anything new added in India is judged from the Indian filing date.
How does this affect an Indian startup filing abroad?
It works in the same way in reverse. A first Indian filing creates a priority right that can be carried into other convention countries within the priority period, which is why many Indian startups file in India first and then decide on foreign coverage later. Before filing abroad first, an Indian resident has to consider section 39, which requires either written permission from the Controller or the expiry of the waiting period after an Indian filing.
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