Rule 117 of the Patents Rules, 2003
Restoration of name of persons removed from the register of patent agents
Provides the route by which a person whose name was removed from the register of patent agents can have it put back.
Official legal text
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What this rule requires, step by step
Removal from the register of patent agents is serious but it is not always meant to be final. Rule 117 gives effect to the restoration power in section 130 of the Act. It allows a person whose name has been taken off the register to apply to the Controller to have it entered again, and it tells the applicant how to make that request.
The application is made on Form 23 with the fee prescribed in the First Schedule. It has to explain why the name was removed and why it should now go back. If the removal was for non-payment, the outstanding amount is cleared along with the restoration fee. If the removal was for a disqualification, the applicant has to show that the disqualification no longer applies. If it was for misconduct, the applicant has to persuade the Controller that restoration is now appropriate, which is a much heavier task.
Restoration is discretionary. The Controller is not obliged to restore a name simply because the form has been filed and the fee paid. He weighs why the name went, how much time has passed, what the person has done since, and whether restoring the name is consistent with keeping the register trustworthy. Because the decision is discretionary and can go against the applicant, section 80 and Rule 129 apply, so the applicant is entitled to be heard before a refusal.
When a name is restored it is entered in the register again and the restoration is published in the same way as an original registration, so the public list stays accurate. Restoration is not backdated in the sense of validating things done while the person was off the register. Anything signed as an agent during the gap remains open to objection, and that gap does not close retrospectively.
The sensible reading of Rule 117 is that it is a second chance, not a loophole. It exists so that an administrative slip or a disqualification that has ended does not permanently end a career, while leaving the Controller free to say no where the ground for removal was a serious one.
Why this rule matters
Former patent agents whose names have been removed, and clients waiting to know whether a familiar agent can act again.
After a removal under Rule 116, once the cause of removal has been cured or the person wishes to argue that restoration is justified.
A right to apply for restoration, and a discretion in the Controller to grant it on such terms as he thinks fit.
The person stays off the register indefinitely and cannot lawfully act as a patent agent for anyone else.
How it works in practice
Coming back after a long illness
Farida Sheikh, a patent agent in Hyderabad, spent fourteen months away from work after a serious illness. During that period the fee for keeping her name on the register fell due and was not paid, and the Controller removed her name. When Farida returned to practice she wanted to take on work for a former client, Anantha Biosciences Pvt Ltd, but discovered she could no longer sign papers as an agent. She filed an application for restoration on Form 23, paid the restoration fee together with the amount that had gone unpaid, and attached a short account of her illness with medical records. The Controller was satisfied that nothing about her fitness to practise was in question and restored her name, which was then published in the usual way. Farida could act again from the date of restoration. The four filings a colleague had made for Anantha in the meantime stood, because that colleague was herself a registered agent.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- Rule 117 is the mechanism for putting back a name removed under Rule 116.
- The application goes on Form 23 with the fee set out in the First Schedule.
- Where the removal was for non-payment, the outstanding amount is cleared along with the restoration fee.
- Restoration is discretionary; the Controller weighs the original ground and what has happened since.
- The applicant is entitled to a hearing before a restoration request is refused.
- Restoration takes effect going forward and does not validate acts done while the name was off the register.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Treating restoration as automatic on payment. The Controller has a discretion and can refuse where the original ground was serious.
- Assuming restoration wipes the gap clean. Documents signed as an agent while the name was off the register can still be objected to.
- Waiting for the Patent Office to invite a restoration application. Nothing happens until the former agent files Form 23.
Connected provisions
The Patents Rules supply procedure and the Patents Act supplies power. This page covers the procedure, and the sections that give the Controller or the applicant the underlying right or duty are grouped separately so you can move between the two.
Forms, deadlines and fees
- Form 23 (check the current Second Schedule)
Forms are not set out in the Act. They are prescribed in the Second Schedule to the Patents Rules and are revised from time to time, so obtain the current version from the official website before filing.
- Restoration is applied for by the person concerned; any time limit on making that application must be checked against the current Rules before relying on it.
Open the deadline calculator — and have every date confirmed against the current Rules before you rely on it.
Fees are prescribed in the First Schedule to the Patents Rules. Because the Schedule is revised from time to time, and charges different amounts to different categories of applicant and for physical as against electronic filing, this page describes the fee without stating a figure. 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 117
How does a removed patent agent get back on the register?
By applying to the Controller on Form 23 with the fee prescribed in the First Schedule, explaining why the name was removed and why it should now be restored. Where the removal was for non-payment, the unpaid amount is cleared at the same time. Where it was for a disqualification, the applicant shows that the disqualification has ended. The Controller then decides. Restoration is not a formality; it is a discretionary decision, and the register's credibility is part of what the Controller weighs.
Can a name removed for professional misconduct ever be restored?
Rule 117 does not shut the door, but the applicant carries a much heavier burden. The Controller looks at the seriousness of what happened, how much time has passed, whether the person has accepted responsibility, and whether the public can safely be asked to deal with that agent again. Bare payment of the fee will not be enough. In practice a detailed application supported by material about the intervening period is needed, and refusal is a real possibility.
Can I use my old registration number after restoration?
The register is restored rather than recreated, so the entry relating to you comes back into the register and the restoration is published in the usual way. Confirm the details of your entry with the office once restoration is granted, and use the number exactly as it appears in the restored entry when signing documents. Until restoration is actually granted and reflected in the register, do not sign any document in the capacity of a patent agent.
Want your name restored to the patent agent register?
MYCrave Consultancy prepares restoration applications and the supporting record the Controller expects before exercising this discretion.
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