Section 153 of the Patents Act, 1970
Information relating to patents
Section 153 gives any person the right, on request and payment of the fee, to obtain prescribed information about a specified patent or application.
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.
This explanation is written for clarity, not for citation. The official statutory text and any Gazette notification in force on your date govern, and they prevail over anything said here.
What this section says, in plain language
Section 153 turns the Patent Office from a passive archive into a service you can ask questions of. A person who makes a request in the prescribed manner for information relating to prescribed matters, in respect of a patent or an application identified in the request, is entitled to be supplied with that information on payment of the prescribed fee. The right belongs to any person; there is no need to show an interest in the patent.
Two limits define the right. The first is that the request must specify the patent or application. This is not a general search service and it is not a fishing expedition into an unnamed competitor's portfolio. You identify the number and ask about that file. The second limit is that only prescribed matters can be asked about. Rule 134 sets out the categories, which cover the kind of status facts a person needs in order to act: whether a request for examination has been filed, whether the application has been published, refused, withdrawn or abandoned, whether a patent has been granted or has ceased, whether renewal fees have been paid, whether an amendment or a compulsory licence application is on record, and similar procedural facts.
The information right sits alongside the confidentiality rules rather than overriding them. Section 143 keeps the specification and documents closed before publication, and Section 144 protects the examiner's internal report. Section 153 does not open those doors. What it gives you is the procedural status of a specified file, which is exactly what a person needs before deciding whether to file a pre-grant representation, to design around, to approach the owner for a licence, or to launch a product.
For businesses the everyday use is freedom to operate work. Before committing to tooling or a launch, a company identifies the Indian patents and pending applications that might read on its product and then establishes, file by file, whether each is alive, lapsed, withdrawn or still pending examination. A patent that has ceased for non-payment of renewal fees is not a barrier, but you need reliable information before you make that call, and an online status page read six months ago is not reliable.
The same information can also be obtained in more formal shape where it will be used in court or in a transaction, through inspection of the register under Section 72 and certified copies under Rule 133, which Section 147 then makes admissible without further proof.
Why this section matters
Competitors, freedom to operate teams, potential licensees, investors doing diligence, researchers and anyone deciding whether an Indian patent stands in their way.
Before a product launch, before a licensing approach, during due diligence, and whenever the status of a specific application or patent has to be confirmed.
A right in any person to be supplied with prescribed information about an identified patent or application, on request and on payment of the prescribed fee.
Decisions get made on stale or second-hand status information, and a company either respects a patent that has long since lapsed or launches against one that is very much alive.
How it works in practice
A freedom to operate check before tooling
Mahalakshmi Pumps Pvt Ltd of Rajkot planned to launch a submersible pump with a modified impeller profile and had already quoted for dies costing a substantial sum. Its search threw up two Indian patents and one pending application that arguably covered the profile. Rather than guessing from a status page, the company made requests under Section 153 for prescribed information on each of the three identified files. The answers were decisive. One patent had ceased because renewal fees had not been paid and no restoration application was on record. The second was in force and had to be respected. The pending application had been published but no request for examination had been filed, and the period for filing one had expired, so it stood withdrawn. Mahalakshmi redesigned only around the second patent instead of around all three, which saved a full redesign cycle and let the die order proceed. The cost of the requests was trivial against the cost of the tooling.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- Any person may ask the Controller for information about a patent or application, without showing an interest in it.
- The request must identify the specific patent or application; it is not a general search facility.
- Only the matters prescribed by Rule 134 can be asked about, and they are procedural status facts.
- The prescribed fee is payable with the request.
- The right does not override the confidentiality of unpublished files under Section 143 or of examiner reports under Section 144.
- For formal use in court or a transaction, obtain certified copies under Rule 133 instead, which Section 147 makes admissible.
- It is the least expensive reliable step in freedom to operate work before a launch.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Expecting this section to deliver a competitor's entire portfolio or the contents of an unpublished application. It answers questions about a file you name.
- Relying on a status screen viewed months earlier. A patent can lapse, be restored, or be granted in that time.
- Assuming a lapsed patent is permanently gone. A lapsed patent can be restored under Section 60, and restoration carries consequences for acts done in between under Section 62.
- Using an informal reply where a court will expect a certified copy from the register.
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
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
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 153
Can I find out the status of someone else's Indian patent application?
Yes. Section 153 entitles any person to be supplied with prescribed information about a patent or application identified in the request, on payment of the prescribed fee, and Rule 134 sets out what can be asked. You do not have to show any interest in the patent. The matters covered are procedural status facts, such as whether examination has been requested, whether the application is published, refused, withdrawn or abandoned, and whether a granted patent is still in force.
Does this let me see an unpublished patent application?
No. Section 143 keeps an application and its specification confidential until publication under Section 11A, and Section 144 protects the examiner's report to the Controller. Section 153 does not cut across either. What it gives is prescribed information about a file you identify, which is essentially its procedural status. If the application has not yet been published, the technical content stays closed and only limited bibliographic facts are available.
How is this different from inspecting the register?
Section 72 read with Rule 95 lets you inspect the register of patents and take extracts, and Rule 133 lets you obtain certified copies which Section 147 makes admissible in court without further proof. Section 153 is a request for prescribed information about a specified file, which is quicker and aimed at practical decision making. Use the information route for commercial checks and the register and certified copy route where the document will be filed in court or relied on in a transaction.
Is a lapsed Indian patent safe to work around?
Not automatically, and you should take advice on your own facts. A patent that has ceased for non-payment of renewal fees can be restored under Section 60 if an application is made within the period the Act allows, and Section 62 protects, on terms, certain acts done in the interval. So a lapse is a fact to be checked carefully rather than a green light. Confirm both the lapse and whether any restoration application is on record before committing to a launch.
Need to know if an Indian patent blocks your product?
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