Section 93 of the Patents Act, 1970
Order for licence to operate as a deed between parties concerned
Makes a Controller's licence order take effect as if it were a licence deed signed by the patentee and all other necessary parties.
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This explanation is written for clarity, not for citation.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
A compulsory licence raises an obvious practical question. A licence is normally a contract, and the patentee has just been forced into it and will not sign anything. Section 93 removes that difficulty. Any order for the grant of a licence under this chapter operates as if it were a deed granting a licence, executed by the patentee and by every other necessary party, and embodying the terms and conditions the Controller has settled.
The effect is that the order itself is the licence. The licensee does not have to chase the patentee for a signature, and the patentee cannot frustrate the order by refusing to execute a document or by disputing its wording later. Whatever the Controller wrote into the order, on royalty, duration, territory, supply obligations or reporting, becomes the operative contract between the parties.
It also settles who is bound. Other necessary parties, such as a person recorded on the register as having an interest in the patent, are treated as having executed the deed too. That is one reason Section 87 requires the application to be served on registered interest holders, since they will be affected by the eventual order.
For the licensee, this matters commercially. The order can be shown to bankers, distributors, regulators and procurement agencies as proof of the right to make and sell the product, in the same way a signed licence agreement would be. It is also the document by which either side enforces the licence, so its terms should be read as carefully as any negotiated agreement.
The section does not make the licence permanent or unchallengeable. The order remains open to appeal to the High Court under Section 117A, the terms can be revised in the limited circumstances allowed by Section 88, and the licence can be terminated under Section 94 if the circumstances that justified it disappear.
Why this section matters
Compulsory licensees, patentees, registered licensees and assignees, and third parties such as lenders and buyers who need proof of rights.
From the moment the Controller's order granting a licence is made.
A deemed licence deed, binding the patentee and other necessary parties on the terms the Controller settled, without any signature.
Waiting for a signed agreement wastes time; equally, a licensee who does not read the order carefully may breach terms it never negotiated.
How it works in practice
A bank asks to see the licence agreement
Sanchari Diagnostics Pvt Ltd is granted a compulsory licence over a patented test-strip chemistry. It approaches a bank in Pune for working capital to expand its line. The credit team asks for the executed licence agreement. The patentee, unhappy with the order, has refused to sign anything and has told Sanchari it will appeal. Under Section 93, none of that stops the licence from existing. The Controller's order operates as if it were a deed executed by the patentee and by the company recorded on the register as an interested party, embodying the royalty rate, the supply obligations and the term the Controller fixed. Sanchari gives the bank a certified copy of the order. The bank treats it as the licence document, because that is exactly what the Act says it is. Sanchari's counsel also flags that the order is under appeal and that the terms could be revisited, which the bank factors into its covenants.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- A licence order under Chapter XVI takes effect as a deed executed by the patentee and other necessary parties.
- No signature from the patentee is needed for the licence to be valid and enforceable.
- The terms the Controller settled are the contract terms; there is nothing further to negotiate.
- Registered interest holders who were parties to the proceeding are bound as well.
- A certified copy of the order serves as the licence document for banks, regulators and buyers.
- The order can still be appealed, revised under Section 88, or terminated under Section 94.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Waiting for the patentee to execute a separate agreement. The order already does that job.
- Assuming the order cannot be changed. Appeal, revision of terms and termination all remain possible.
- Skimming the order. Because it is the contract, obligations such as reporting, pricing and supply are binding exactly as written.
- Forgetting to record the licence particulars where the register requires it, which can cause problems later when proving rights.
Connected provisions
A section tells you what the law is. A rule tells you how the Patent Office runs it from day to day. The two are kept apart here so that a reader can quote the section accurately and then look up the current rule for the practical steps.
Forms, deadlines and fees
The official fee for anything described on this page is set out in the First Schedule to the Patents Rules. It is not the same for every applicant, and it is not the same for online and physical filing, which is why no amount is stated here. How Indian patent fees work.
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 93
Does the patentee have to sign the compulsory licence?
No. That is the whole point of Section 93. The Controller's order for the grant of a licence has effect as if it were a deed granting a licence, executed by the patentee and by all other necessary parties, and embodying the terms and conditions settled by the Controller. A patentee who refuses to sign or who says it does not agree cannot affect the licensee's rights. The licensee works from a certified copy of the order, which functions as the licence document for every practical purpose.
Can I use the Controller's order to prove my rights to customers?
Yes. Because the order is treated as an executed licence deed, a certified copy is the natural document to produce to distributors, hospitals, tender authorities, lenders and regulators when they ask what authorises you to make and sell the patented product. Do check whether the order restricts what you may disclose, and remember that its terms, such as pricing, quantity or supply direction, apply to those transactions as well. If the order is under appeal, it is fair to say so.
What if the patentee ignores the terms of the order?
The order binds both sides. If the patentee obstructs the licence, for example by refusing to hand over information the order requires it to supply, the licensee's remedy is to go back to the Controller, and to the High Court on appeal under Section 117A, rather than to renegotiate. Keep a clear record of what was requested and refused. Equally, if the licensee breaches its obligations, the patentee can rely on the same order and may seek termination under Section 94.
Is your Controller order enforceable as a licence?
MYCrave reads the order as the contract it is and advises on obligations, evidence of rights and next steps under Sections 88 and 94.
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