Rule 113 of the Patents Rules, 2003
Registration of patent agents under section 126(2)
Covers registration under section 126(2) for people already on the register before the 2005 amendment changed the qualifications.
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This explanation is written for clarity, not for citation.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
The qualifications for becoming a patent agent in India have not always been the same. Before the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005, a person could be registered as a patent agent by being an advocate within the meaning of the Advocates Act, without sitting the qualifying examination. The 2005 amendment removed that route and made a degree in science, engineering or technology together with the qualifying examination the standard path.
Changing a professional entry standard raises an obvious fairness question. What happens to people who were properly registered under the old law and have been practising for years? Section 126(2) answers it. A person who was registered as a patent agent before the commencement of the 2005 amendment is entitled to continue as a patent agent, or to be registered again where that is required, on payment of the fee prescribed for the purpose.
Rule 113 supplies the procedure for that route. The application is made on Form 22, the same form used for ordinary registration, with the fee prescribed in the First Schedule to the Patents Rules, 2003, and it identifies the applicant as coming within section 126(2) by giving the particulars of the earlier registration, including the registration number and date.
What this route does and does not do is worth stating plainly. It preserves a status already lawfully acquired; it does not create a new exception for people who were never registered. Someone who was merely eligible under the old law but never applied, or who qualified as an advocate after the amendment, cannot use it. And a person registered through this route is a patent agent on exactly the same terms as everyone else: the same rights of practice, the same duty to keep the registration alive by paying the prescribed fee, the same disqualifications, and the same exposure to removal from the register for misconduct.
For clients, this is background rather than a live concern. What matters when you engage an agent is that the entry in the register is current, not which door the person came through many years ago.
Why this rule matters
Patent agents who were on the register before the 2005 amendment took effect, including those admitted through the earlier advocate route.
When such a person needs to continue or be re-registered as a patent agent under section 126(2).
A protected continuation route, exercised on the prescribed form with the prescribed fee, without sitting the qualifying examination.
An agent who does not complete the required formality or pay the prescribed fee risks losing a registration they were entitled to keep.
How it works in practice
A long-standing practice preserved
Sudhir Ranganathan qualified as an advocate in Chennai in the early 1990s and was registered as a patent agent under the law as it then stood, without a science degree and without sitting a qualifying examination. For over a decade he built a practice advising textile machinery manufacturers in Tamil Nadu, drafting and prosecuting their applications. When the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005 removed the advocate route, a junior colleague told him he would have to sit the examination or stop practising. That was wrong. Because he had been registered before the amendment took effect, section 126(2) protected his position, and Rule 113 gave him the procedure: an application in Form 22 with the fee prescribed in the First Schedule, giving the particulars of his existing registration including his number and date of registration. His entry continued, and he went on practising. His nephew, who qualified as an advocate in 2011 and had no science degree, could not use the same route and eventually took a chemistry degree before sitting the examination.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- Section 126(2) protects people who were registered as patent agents before the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005.
- Rule 113 provides the procedure: Form 22 with the fee prescribed in the First Schedule.
- The application should give the particulars of the existing registration, including number and date.
- The route does not require the qualifying examination or the science, engineering or technology degree.
- It applies only to people already registered before the amendment, not to anyone who merely qualified under the old rules.
- Agents registered this way have the same rights, duties and disqualifications as any other registered agent.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Thinking advocates can still register as patent agents without the examination. That route closed with the 2005 amendment.
- Assuming the protection applies to anyone who was eligible under the old law, rather than to those actually on the register before the amendment.
- Believing an agent registered under section 126(2) has a lesser status. The rights of practice are identical.
- Neglecting the prescribed fee, since the protection under section 126(2) is expressed to operate on payment of that fee.
Connected provisions
A rule is subordinate legislation. It is made by the Central Government under a rule-making power in the Act and is amended by notification rather than by Parliament. The parent sections are listed on their own so that the source and the procedure are never confused.
Forms, deadlines and fees
Any form mentioned here is prescribed by the Second Schedule. Amendments to the Rules often bring new versions of forms with them, so use the version currently published by the Patent Office, not a template from a book or an old file.
Any official fee connected with this provision is fixed by the First Schedule to the Patents Rules, not by the provision itself. The amount depends on who the applicant is and on whether the filing is made online or on paper, so no figures are reproduced here. 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 Rule 113
Can advocates still become patent agents without the examination?
No. The Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005 removed the provision that allowed an advocate to be registered as a patent agent without passing the qualifying examination. Since then, every new entrant must hold a degree in science, engineering or technology from a university established under law in India or an equivalent qualification, and must pass the qualifying examination. Section 126(2) protects only those who were already on the register when the amendment came into force; it is not a continuing exception.
Is an agent registered under section 126(2) restricted in any way?
No. The rights that section 127 gives a registered patent agent, to practise before the Controller and the Patent Office, to prepare and file applications and other documents, to sign and verify them, and to appear in proceedings before the Controller, apply equally. The obligations apply equally too: the same duty to keep the registration alive by paying the prescribed fee, the same disqualifications, and the same liability to be removed from the register on the grounds the Act provides.
How does the Patent Office know I fall within section 126(2)?
Because you tell it and prove it. The application should state that it is made under section 126(2) and give the particulars of your earlier registration, principally the registration number and the date on which your name was first entered in the register. Attach whatever documentary support you have, such as your original certificate of registration or earlier correspondence from the Patent Office. Without those particulars the office cannot connect your application to the protected category.
Should a client care which route their agent came through?
Not really. What matters is whether the entry in the register is current, and whether the person has the technical and drafting ability your invention needs. An agent registered decades ago through the earlier advocate route may have deep experience in a particular industry; a recently registered engineer may be better suited to a complex electronics claim set. Verify the registration through the register, then choose on the basis of relevant technical experience and how clearly the person explains their approach.
Registered as a patent agent before 2005?
MYCrave Consultancy helps long-standing agents complete section 126(2) formalities and keep their register entry current.
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