Section 148 of the Patents Act, 1970
Declaration by infant, lunatic, etc.
Section 148 lets a guardian or court-appointed person act under the Patents Act for someone legally incapable of acting for themselves.
Official legal text
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What this section says, in plain language
The Patents Act constantly asks people to do things: sign an application, make a declaration of inventorship, verify a statement, execute an assignment, respond to an examination report. Section 148 answers a simple question. What happens when the person who must do that thing is legally incapable of doing it, because they are a minor or because of mental illness or another disability? The language of the section is old, using words such as infant and lunatic that Indian law has since moved away from, but the mechanism is straightforward and still in use.
The section allows the lawful guardian, committee or manager of the person under the disability to make the statement or do the act in that person's name and on their behalf. If the statement cannot be made exactly as the Act requires, the guardian may make a statement that corresponds as nearly as circumstances permit. Where there is no guardian, committee or manager, any person appointed by a court that has jurisdiction over the property of the person under the disability may act instead.
The section also provides how that appointment is obtained. A court may make the appointment on the petition of a person acting on behalf of the person under the disability, or on the petition of any other person interested in the statement being made or the thing being done. That second route matters commercially. If a minor is a joint applicant and the other joint applicant cannot progress the application without the minor's signature, the other applicant has standing to ask the court to appoint someone.
It is worth being clear about what the section does not do. It does not stop a minor from being an inventor. Under Section 6 an application may be made by any person claiming to be the true and first inventor, and a school or college student who genuinely devises an invention is the inventor and must be named under Section 28 and the inventorship declaration. What the section addresses is legal capacity to make binding statements and to deal with property, not the factual question of who invented.
The practical trigger points are filing, verification and transfer. An application filed for a minor should be signed by the guardian in that capacity and the position should be clear on the face of the form. An assignment of a patent or an application belonging to a minor must be executed by the guardian, and Section 68 requires assignments to be in writing and duly executed. Recording that transfer under Section 69 will need the guardian's authority to be evident, or the entry may be questioned later.
Why this section matters
Minors who invent, families and guardians handling a young inventor's application, persons acting for someone with a mental illness or disability, and co-applicants and assignees dealing with them.
At filing and verification, when responding to office actions, and at any assignment, licence or renewal involving a person who cannot legally act.
Authority for a guardian, committee, manager or court-appointed person to act under the Act in the name of the person under the disability.
Documents signed by someone without proper authority can be treated as defective, causing objections at the Patent Office and creating a weak chain of title that surfaces during due diligence or litigation.
How it works in practice
A school inventor and a properly signed application
Fourteen year old Meera Iyer of a school in Thrissur designed a foot operated hand wash dispenser that avoids back pressure in low water pressure areas. Her physics teacher and a local incubator wanted to file a patent application and later licence the design to a sanitaryware manufacturer. Meera is the true and first inventor and had to be named as such. But a fourteen year old cannot bind herself by contract or by verified statement. Using Section 148, her father as her lawful guardian signed the application and the verification in his capacity as guardian, and the form recorded that clearly. When the licence was negotiated two years later, the manufacturer's due diligence checked exactly this point: who signed, in what capacity, and whether the chain of authority was documented. Because the guardian's capacity had been stated on the file from the beginning, the licence went through. Had the teacher simply signed on Meera's behalf without authority, the manufacturer would have insisted on a court appointment before paying.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- Where a person cannot legally act because of minority, mental illness or another disability, a lawful guardian, committee or manager may act in their name.
- If no such person exists, a court with jurisdiction over the person's property can appoint someone to act.
- The court can make that appointment on the petition of a person acting for the individual or of any other interested person.
- A statement that corresponds as nearly as circumstances permit is acceptable where the exact statement cannot be made.
- The section is about legal capacity to act, not about who is the inventor; a minor can still be the true and first inventor.
- Assignments and licences involving such a person must be executed by the authorised person, or the chain of title becomes doubtful.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Assuming a minor cannot be named as an inventor. Inventorship is a question of fact and must be stated truthfully; it is capacity to act that is supplied by the guardian.
- Leaving a guardian's capacity off the form. If the file does not show who signed and in what capacity, later assignees and investors will question the title.
- Believing any relative can sign. The section refers to a lawful guardian, committee or manager, or a person appointed by a competent court.
- Treating the archaic wording of the section as meaning it no longer applies. The provision is live and is the correct route in these situations.
Connected provisions
This page explains a section of the Patents Act, 1970. The working detail that goes with it lives in the Patents Rules, 2003. The connected rules appear in their own block so that the statutory duty and the procedural steps stay clearly distinguishable when you cite either one.
Forms, deadlines and fees
Forms are not set out in the Act. They are prescribed in the Second Schedule to the Patents Rules and are revised from time to time, so obtain the current version from the official website before filing.
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
This part of the page is reserved for summaries of decided cases. They are added one at a time, after review by a person qualified to confirm that the summary matches the judgment. Nothing has been cleared for this provision so far, so there is nothing to show. How case notes are prepared.
Questions people ask about Section 148
Can a minor apply for a patent in India?
A minor can be the true and first inventor and must be named as inventor if that is the fact. What a minor cannot do is make the binding statements and verifications the Act requires, or execute contracts such as assignments. Section 148 solves that by allowing the lawful guardian, committee or manager to make the statement and do the act in the minor's name. Where there is no such person, a court having jurisdiction over the minor's property can appoint someone to act.
Who can act for a person with a mental illness in patent matters?
The lawful guardian, committee or manager of that person may act under Section 148, doing in the person's name whatever the Act requires. Where none exists, any person appointed by a court that has jurisdiction over that person's property may act. The appointment can be sought by someone acting on behalf of the individual or by any other interested person, such as a joint applicant who cannot move the application forward. The modern statutory framework for such guardianship sits outside the Patents Act.
How should a guardian sign a patent application?
The guardian should sign in that stated capacity, so the form shows both the name of the person under the disability and the name and capacity of the person signing for them. Keep the supporting documents, such as proof of guardianship or the court order of appointment, with your records because they will be asked for at assignment, licensing or due diligence. Clarity at the filing stage avoids a costly cleanup later, when the transaction is under time pressure.
Does the guardian become the owner of the patent?
No. The guardian acts in the name and on behalf of the person under the disability. Ownership stays with the applicant or patentee. The guardian's role is to supply the legal capacity to make statements and execute documents. That is also why the guardian's authority has to be documented: an assignment executed by a guardian transfers the minor's or the disabled person's property, and a buyer will want to see that the person signing had authority to do so.
Filing a patent for a minor or on someone's behalf?
MYCrave Consultancy structures applications, verifications and assignments so that a guardian's authority is documented and the chain of title holds up.
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