Rule 122 of the Patents Rules, 2003
Correction of clerical errors
Explains how to ask the Controller to correct a clerical error in a patent, an application or a document filed with it.
Official legal text
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Read this as a plain-language summary. If it and the official text, or a relevant Gazette notification, say different things, the official text and the notification are what count.
What this rule requires, step by step
Section 78 of the Act gives the Controller power to correct clerical errors in a patent, in an application for a patent, in a specification, or in any document filed in connection with them, and to correct errors in the register. Rule 122 is the procedural side of that power: it tells you how the request is made and what has to go with it.
The request is made in writing on the prescribed form, with the fee set out in the First Schedule, and it should identify precisely where the error is and what the corrected text should read. In practice the office expects to see the document marked up so that the change is obvious, together with a clean corrected page. Explaining how the error crept in helps, because the Controller has to be satisfied that what is being fixed really is a slip.
The word clerical is doing the heavy lifting. A clerical error is a slip in recording or transcription: a misspelt inventor's name, a transposed number in an application or priority number, a wrong address, a figure reference that does not match the drawing, an obvious typing mistake. What section 78 does not permit is a change of substance dressed up as a correction. Broadening a claim, adding matter that was never disclosed, or changing a date to gain an advantage is not a clerical error, and the route for genuine amendments is section 57 with Rule 81, subject to the limits in section 59.
Where the correction is sought after the application has been published, the public has an interest in the change. Section 78 therefore allows the Controller to require the proposed correction to be advertised, and Rule 123 sets out how that advertisement is made. Anyone interested can then oppose it under Rule 124, and if the correction is allowed it is notified under Rule 125 so the public record shows the corrected position.
The practical advice is to raise a clerical error the moment it is noticed. An uncorrected error in an inventor's name or a priority number can create real difficulty years later, when the patent is assigned, licensed, or relied on in a dispute, and when the person who made the slip is no longer available to explain it.
Why this rule matters
Applicants, patentees, agents and anyone who spots a mistake in a filed document or a register entry.
As soon as an error is noticed, whether before publication, during examination, or after grant.
A route to have genuine slips corrected on the official record without going through a full amendment process.
The record stays wrong, which causes problems in assignments, licensing, litigation and foreign filings.
How it works in practice
A misspelt inventor at IIT Kanpur
A research group at IIT Kanpur filed an application for a low-cost water testing device with three named inventors. In the declaration of inventorship one name was entered as Shreya Pandey instead of Shreyasi Pandey, a slip made while transferring names from an internal form. Nobody noticed until three years later, when the institute negotiated a licence and the licensee's diligence team flagged that the inventor named in the Indian application did not match the name on the assignment deed. The institute filed a request under section 78 for correction of the clerical error, identifying the document, showing the incorrect and correct spellings, attaching the internal record and the inventor's identity proof, and paying the prescribed fee. The Controller was satisfied that this was a transcription slip and allowed the correction. Had the group instead tried to add a fourth inventor at that stage, section 78 would not have been the right route at all.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- Rule 122 is the procedure for the correction power in section 78.
- The request goes in writing on the prescribed form with the fee in the First Schedule.
- It must identify the error precisely and show the corrected text.
- Only genuine slips qualify; changes of substance belong to section 57 and Rule 81.
- After publication, the Controller may require the proposed correction to be advertised under Rule 123.
- An allowed correction is notified under Rule 125 so the public record reflects it.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Trying to use a clerical correction to widen a claim or add disclosure. That is an amendment, and section 59 restricts what is possible.
- Sending an informal letter pointing out the error instead of a proper request with the prescribed fee, and assuming the file will be updated.
- Leaving a known error alone because the application is proceeding smoothly, only to face it during a licence negotiation or a dispute.
- Forgetting that a correction made in India does not automatically fix the same error in corresponding foreign applications.
Connected provisions
Rules are made under the Act, not alongside it. That is why the connected sections appear in a block of their own. Reading the section tells you why the procedure exists, and reading the rule tells you the steps, forms and periods that put it into effect.
Forms, deadlines and fees
Where a form is required, the Second Schedule to the Patents Rules prescribes it. Superseded versions circulate widely online, so download the current form from the Patent Office and check it against the rule before use.
- There is no fixed last date for asking for a clerical correction, but where the Controller requires the proposed correction to be advertised, the opposition window under Rule 124 then applies.
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
This part of the page is reserved for summaries of decided cases. They are added one at a time, after review by a person qualified to confirm that the summary matches the judgment. Nothing has been cleared for this provision so far, so there is nothing to show. How case notes are prepared.
Questions people ask about Rule 122
What counts as a clerical error in a patent application?
A slip in writing or recording rather than a change in what was meant. Common examples are a misspelt name, a wrong address, a transposed application or priority number, a wrong reference numeral, or an obvious typographical mistake in the specification. The test is whether the correction simply makes the document say what it was always intended to say. If the change would alter the scope of protection or add something new, it is not a clerical error and section 78 will not carry it.
Can I correct an error after the patent has been granted?
Yes. Section 78 extends to a patent, to the specification, and to entries in the register, so a genuine slip can be corrected after grant. Because the granted patent is a public document, the Controller is likely to look closely at whether the correction changes anything of substance, and may require the proposal to be advertised so that interested persons can object under Rule 124. Prepare the request carefully, with proof of what the original intention was.
What is the difference between correction under section 78 and amendment under section 57?
Section 78 fixes mistakes in recording. Section 57 changes the content of an application or specification, by way of disclaimer, correction or explanation, and section 59 limits what such an amendment may do, in particular by preventing the addition of new matter or widening of the claims. Use section 78 for a slip that anyone would recognise as a slip. Use section 57 with Rule 81 where you actually want to change what the document says. Choosing the wrong route wastes the fee and the time.
Will the correction be visible to the public?
Yes, and that is deliberate. Where the correction is one that could affect third parties, the Controller may require the proposal to be advertised under Rule 123 before it is allowed, and once allowed it is notified under Rule 125. The public record of a patent needs to be reliable, so corrections are made openly rather than quietly. When you plan a correction, assume competitors will see both the original text and the change.
Need a clerical error corrected on your patent record?
MYCrave Consultancy assesses whether an error can be corrected under section 78 and prepares the request and supporting proof.
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