Rule 118 of the Patents Rules, 2003
Alteration of names, etc., in the register of patent agents
Requires a registered patent agent to have changes in their name, address or other register particulars corrected in the register.
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.
Nothing here replaces the statute. The official wording of the provision, together with any Gazette notification that applies to it, governs. This page only explains that material in ordinary language.
What this rule requires, step by step
The register of patent agents carries a set of particulars for each agent, listed in Rule 108: name, address, qualifications, date of registration and similar details. Those particulars are only useful if they are current. Rule 118 is the housekeeping rule that lets the register be updated when something in the real world changes.
The rule works on request. If an agent changes their name after marriage, moves office from one city to another, changes the address at which they wish to receive communications, or acquires a further qualification that the register records, they ask the Controller in writing to alter the entry. The request should identify the existing entry, state exactly what has changed, and enclose whatever proof supports the change. Where the Rules prescribe no special form for a request, the general-purpose form under Rule 8 is used, and any fee for the alteration is the one set out in the First Schedule.
The Controller alters the entry once he is satisfied that the change is genuine. This is a verification step, not a rubber stamp. A change of name supported by nothing is likely to attract a query, whereas one supported by a gazette notification or a marriage certificate will not.
Keeping the entry current matters for a practical reason. The Patent Office sends communications to the address recorded for an agent, and clients and members of the public rely on the published list of agents to find and check them. An agent who has moved but not updated the register can miss correspondence, and a client trying to verify their agent may not find them under the new name. Note that this rule concerns the agent's own entry in the register of patent agents. Changing the address for service on a particular patent application or the address of a patentee is a different exercise, handled under Rule 5 and Rule 94.
The safest practice is to treat an office move or a name change as a checklist item with three parts: update the register of patent agents under Rule 118, update the address for service on live matters, and tell clients.
Why this rule matters
Registered patent agents who move, change their name, or add a qualification recorded in the register.
As soon as the change happens, and before the Patent Office needs to reach the agent at the old details.
A route to keep the agent's register entry accurate, and a practical expectation that agents will use it promptly.
Official communications go to the old address, the published list is misleading, and deadlines can be missed as a result.
How it works in practice
A move from Shillong to Guwahati
Nikhil Barua practised as a patent agent from a small office in Shillong for six years and then joined a firm in Guwahati. He told his clients, changed his email signature and updated his website. What he did not do was ask the Controller to alter his address in the register of patent agents. Four months later the Patent Office sent a communication in a matter where he was on record, addressed to the Shillong office. The building had a new tenant and the letter was returned. Nikhil learned about the communication only when a client checked the application status online and asked him about a pending requirement. He then filed a written request to alter his particulars, enclosing proof of the new office address, and the register was updated. Since then he has treated the register entry as part of moving offices, alongside the address for service recorded on each live matter under Rule 5.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- Rule 118 lets the particulars of an agent in the register of patent agents be altered when they change.
- Typical changes are name, office address, address for communications and additional qualifications.
- The request is made in writing to the Controller with supporting proof, and any prescribed fee is paid.
- Where no specific form is prescribed, the general-purpose form under Rule 8 is used.
- The Controller alters the entry only when satisfied the change is genuine.
- Updating the register is separate from updating the address for service on individual applications.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Assuming that telling one examiner or one section of the Patent Office about a new address updates the register of patent agents. It does not.
- Updating the register entry but leaving the old address for service on live applications, so office letters still go to the wrong place.
- Sending a bare request with no supporting document for a name change, which usually leads to a query and delay.
Connected provisions
Because this page covers a rule rather than a section, the related Act provisions are shown in their own list. The section tells you what the law requires. The rule, explained above, tells you how the Patent Office expects that requirement to be met.
Forms, deadlines and fees
- There is no long grace period built into this rule: an alteration should be requested as soon as the change occurs, because official communications continue to go to the recorded address until the register is changed.
Open the deadline calculator — and have every date confirmed against the current Rules before you rely on it.
This site does not carry a fee table. The First Schedule to the Patents Rules is the source, the rates vary with the applicant's category and with the mode of filing, and a figure quoted second-hand goes out of date quietly. 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 118
How does a patent agent change their address in the register?
By writing to the Controller asking for the entry to be altered, stating the existing particulars and the new ones, and enclosing proof of the new address. Where the Rules prescribe no special form, the general-purpose form under Rule 8 is used, together with any fee in the First Schedule. Do it as soon as the move happens. Until the register is altered, the Patent Office is entitled to send communications to the address it has, and letters that go astray do not extend any deadline.
Does changing my name in the register change it on my pending cases?
No. Rule 118 alters the agent's own entry in the register of patent agents. Each pending application separately carries an address for service and details of the agent on record. If you change your name or move, you also need to make sure the details on record in individual matters are updated, which is done through the address-for-service machinery in Rule 5 and, for patentees, Rule 94. Treat them as two distinct steps that both have to be completed.
Do I need to update the register if I add a new degree or qualification?
If the qualification is one of the particulars the register records under Rule 108, then yes, and it is worth doing because the published list is what clients see. If it is a qualification the register does not record, there is nothing to alter. When in doubt, look at what your existing entry shows and ask the office. Adding a qualification does not change your rights as an agent under section 127, which flow from registration itself rather than from any extra degree.
Changed your name, firm or office address?
MYCrave Consultancy handles register updates for patent agents and makes sure the address for service on every live matter matches.
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