Section 99 of the Patents Act, 1970
Meaning of use of invention for purposes of Government
Defines when an invention counts as being used for the purposes of Government, which opens the door to the Government use provisions.
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 is a simplified explanation. Where it differs from the official text of the provision, or from an applicable Gazette notification, the official text and the notification prevail.
What this section says, in plain language
Chapter XVII allows the Central Government to use a patented invention without the patentee's consent, and to acquire a patent outright. Before any of that can apply, the Act has to say what counts as use for the purposes of Government. Section 99 is that definition, and it is where every Government use question starts.
An invention is used for the purposes of Government when it is made, used, exercised or vended for the purposes of the Central Government, a State Government, or a Government undertaking. The reach beyond the Union is important. A State department, and an undertaking that falls within the Act's definition of a Government undertaking, are covered as well, so the provision is not limited to central ministries.
The Act defines Government undertaking widely elsewhere in Section 2. In broad terms it takes in an industrial undertaking carried on by a department of Government, a corporation established by a central, provincial or state Act that is owned or controlled by Government, a Government company, and an institution wholly or substantially financed by Government. A public sector manufacturer or a Government-funded research institution can therefore fall within the definition.
The section also extends to a specific health situation. Making, using or importing a patented medicine or drug counts as use for the purposes of Government where it is for the purpose of distribution in a dispensary, hospital or other medical institution maintained by or on behalf of the Government, or in an institution the Central Government notifies for this purpose. That is how public hospitals can be supplied under the Government use route.
What this section does not do is authorise anything by itself. It only supplies the meaning. The power to use the invention comes from Section 100, the position of third parties such as existing licensees is dealt with in Section 101, acquisition of the patent itself is in Section 102, and disputes about Government use go to the High Court under Section 103.
Why this section matters
Central and State Government departments, Government undertakings and public sector companies, Government hospitals, their suppliers, and patentees whose inventions are procured by Government.
Whenever Government or a Government undertaking wants to make, use or procure a patented invention without a negotiated licence.
The statutory meaning that decides whether the Government use provisions in Sections 100 to 103 apply at all.
A supplier that assumes a Government order automatically shields it from infringement, without checking the definition and the Section 100 authorisation, is taking a real risk.
How it works in practice
A state health department procures a patented device
A State health department wants to equip district hospitals with a patented oxygen-blending device. It plans to have the device made by a State-owned engineering corporation and distributed to government hospitals free of charge. Before anything else, the department's legal cell checks Section 99. Manufacture by a corporation established by a State Act and controlled by the State Government falls within the meaning of a Government undertaking, and supply of the device to hospitals maintained by the Government is use for the purposes of Government. That answers the definitional question, and only then does the department turn to Section 100 for the authorisation itself and to the remuneration that the patentee is entitled to. A private vendor that had assumed it could copy the device simply because the buyer was a hospital would be in a very different position, since the authorisation, not the identity of the buyer, is what protects the maker.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- Government use covers the Central Government, State Governments and Government undertakings.
- Government undertaking is defined broadly in Section 2 and includes Government companies and substantially Government-financed institutions.
- Making, using, exercising or vending the invention for those purposes all fall within the definition.
- Supply of medicines and drugs for distribution in Government hospitals, dispensaries and notified medical institutions is expressly included.
- The section is definitional; the actual power to use comes from Section 100.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Thinking that selling to a Government buyer, by itself, makes a private manufacturer immune from infringement. The authorisation under Section 100 is what matters.
- Assuming Government use means the patentee is not paid. Remuneration is dealt with in the following sections.
- Reading the section as limited to the Central Government. State Governments and Government undertakings are within it.
- Overlooking the medicines limb, which is what allows patented drugs to be supplied to Government hospitals and notified institutions.
Connected provisions
- ActSection 100Power of Central Government to use inventions for purposes of Government
- ActSection 101Rights of third parties in respect of use of invention for purposes of Government
- ActSection 102Acquisition of inventions and patents by the Central Government
- ActSection 103Reference to High Court of disputes as to use for purposes of Government
- ActSection 2Definitions and interpretation
- ActSection 47Grant of patents to be subject to certain conditions
The Patents Act sets the requirement; the Patents Rules, 2003 set the procedure that carries it out. Parliament passes the Act and the Central Government makes the Rules, so the two are separate instruments. We list the connected rules here to take you from the principle to the paperwork.
Forms, deadlines and fees
We do not publish fee amounts. The First Schedule sets them, and they differ by category of applicant, such as a natural person, a startup, a small entity or another applicant, and by the mode of filing. Check the Schedule currently in force before you calculate anything. How Indian patent fees work.
Related judgments
You will not find case summaries under this heading today. Each one must pass a legal review before it appears, and that work has not been completed for this provision. If you are researching decided cases, use a law report or a court database in the meantime. How case notes are prepared.
Questions people ask about Section 99
Does Section 99 let the Government use any patented invention?
No. Section 99 only defines what use for the purposes of Government means. The power to make, use or exercise the invention without the patentee's consent comes from Section 100, which also deals with authorisation of third parties and the payment due to the patentee. Section 99 matters because if the intended use does not fall within the definition, the Government use provisions do not apply at all, and the ordinary rules on infringement and licensing govern the position instead.
Is a public sector company covered by Government use?
It can be. The Act defines a Government undertaking broadly, covering an industrial undertaking carried on by a department of Government, a corporation established by a central, provincial or state Act that is owned or controlled by Government, a Government company, and an institution wholly or substantially financed by Government. Whether a particular entity fits has to be checked against that definition and the entity's own constitution and shareholding. Being loosely described as a public body is not enough on its own.
Are patented medicines supplied to government hospitals covered?
Yes, that situation is expressly addressed. Making, using or importing a patented medicine or drug is treated as use for the purposes of Government where it is for distribution in a dispensary, hospital or other medical institution maintained by or on behalf of Government, or in an institution notified by the Central Government for this purpose. This is how the Government use route can be applied to public health supply, and it is distinct from the compulsory licence routes in Sections 84, 92 and 92A.
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