Rule 108 of the Patents Rules, 2003
Particulars to be contained in the register of patent agents
Specifies the particulars the Controller must record for each person in the register of patent agents.
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This explanation is written for clarity, not for citation.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 rule requires, step by step
Only certain people may act for an applicant before the Indian Patent Office. Section 125 requires the Controller to keep a register of patent agents, and Rule 108 says what has to go into it for each registered agent.
The entry is an identity card in written form. It records the agent's name and nationality, the address of the principal place of business and of any branch offices, the qualifications on the strength of which registration was granted, the date of registration, and the registration number allotted to that agent. The Controller may record such further particulars as are considered necessary, and the register is maintained by the Patent Office, in practice in electronic form and searchable through the Patent Office website.
These details are not bureaucratic decoration. Each one does a job. The registration number is how a client, an opposing party or the Patent Office confirms that a person signing documents is genuinely on the register. The address of the principal place of business matters because notices and correspondence go there, and because an agent must have a place from which they actually practise. The recorded qualifications show the basis on which the person entered the profession, which is relevant when an entry made under an older rule or an earlier version of the law is being examined.
The register is dynamic. Agents move offices, change their names, take on branch offices, fail to pay the fee that keeps the registration alive, are removed for misconduct, or are restored after removal. Separate rules deal with alterations, removal, restoration and publication of the names of registered agents, and the register is the place where all of that finally shows up.
For an inventor or a startup choosing an agent, this rule is the reason a simple verification is possible. Ask for the registration number, then check it against the register the Patent Office publishes. A person who describes themselves as a patent consultant but cannot give a registration number is not a patent agent, whatever else they may be.
Why this rule matters
Registered patent agents, applicants choosing a professional, and the Patent Office when it verifies who is acting in a matter.
From the moment a person is registered, and for as long as the registration continues.
An official public record of who is entitled to practise as a patent agent in India and on what basis.
An applicant who does not check the register may hand an invention to someone with no authority to file, sign or appear.
How it works in practice
A startup checks before it signs
Kestrel Robotics Pvt Ltd, a two-year-old company in Pune working on warehouse automation, was approached by a consultant who offered to file its patent applications at a strikingly low price. Before signing, the founder asked for the consultant's patent agent registration number. What came back was a company GST number and a certificate of an unrelated training course. The founder searched the register of patent agents maintained by the Patent Office under section 125 and Rule 108, which shows each agent's name, registration number, qualifications and address of the principal place of business, and found no matching entry. She then found a registered agent in Pune whose entry showed a mechanical engineering degree and an address a short distance from the company, verified the registration number on the same register, and engaged her instead. The drafting cost more, but the specification was signed by a person legally entitled to act, and the company avoided a filing that could have been objected to at the outset.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- Section 125 requires a register of patent agents, and Rule 108 lists what each entry must contain.
- Entries record name, nationality, principal place of business and branch offices, qualifications, date of registration and registration number.
- The Controller may record further particulars considered necessary.
- The register is maintained by the Patent Office and is publicly available, so anyone can verify an agent.
- Changes such as address alterations, removals and restorations are reflected in the register through other rules.
- Always ask a professional for a registration number and check it before sharing invention details.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Assuming any lawyer or IP consultant is automatically a patent agent. Registration under section 125 is a separate qualification.
- Relying on a certificate photograph or a website claim instead of checking the register itself.
- Believing the register records competence or quality. It records entitlement to practise, not skill in drafting.
- Forgetting that an entry can lapse or be removed, so an old check is not proof of current standing.
Connected provisions
The link between a rule and its section matters in practice, because an argument about whether a procedure is valid usually starts with the parent provision. The connected sections are listed here, apart from the explanation, so the chain of authority is easy to follow.
Forms, deadlines and fees
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
Court decisions shape how this provision is applied, but a summary is useful only if it is right. Every case note on this site is read by a legal reviewer before it goes live, and none has been completed for this provision so far. This section will fill in as those reviews finish. How case notes are prepared.
Questions people ask about Rule 108
How do I check whether someone is a registered patent agent in India?
Ask for the person's patent agent registration number and full name as registered, then check it against the register of patent agents that the Patent Office maintains and publishes. The entry will show the name, the registration number, the qualifications on which registration was granted and the address of the principal place of business. If the person cannot supply a number, or the details do not match, treat that as a serious warning before you disclose anything about your invention.
Is the register of patent agents open to the public?
Yes. The whole point of a public register is that clients, opposing parties and the Patent Office can verify who is entitled to act. The Patent Office publishes the names of registered patent agents, and Rule 120 deals specifically with publication. Inspection of official records and certified copies attract the fees prescribed in the First Schedule where they apply, but simply checking whether a person appears as a registered agent is ordinarily a straightforward search.
Does the register show if an agent has been removed or restored?
The register is meant to show the current position, so removals and restorations are reflected in it. A name can be removed for non-payment of the prescribed fee, on the agent's own request, or on disciplinary grounds, and a removed name can in some circumstances be restored. Because status changes over time, verify an agent at the point you engage them rather than relying on a check you or a colleague did some years earlier.
Why does the address of the principal place of business matter?
It is the address at which the agent actually practises and to which official correspondence is directed. It also helps a client know where the person can be found if something goes wrong. Practical convenience matters too: an agent whose principal office is in another city can still act for you, since filings are electronic, but you should be clear about who will attend hearings and how you will communicate. Any change in that address has to be reflected in the register.
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