Rule 127 of the Patents Rules, 2003
Exhibits
Governs how documents and articles referred to as exhibits in affidavits are supplied to the other side and produced before the Controller.
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.
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
Affidavits rarely stand alone. A witness who says a product was on sale in 2016 will refer to an invoice; a witness proving a publication will refer to the printed page; a witness describing a machine may refer to photographs or a physical sample. These attachments are exhibits. Rule 127 deals with how they move between the parties and how they reach the Controller.
The basic obligation is disclosure. Where an exhibit is referred to in an affidavit filed in a proceeding, copies or impressions of it are supplied to the other side, so that the opposing party can read the same material the Controller will read. Where the exhibit cannot sensibly be copied, because it is a physical object or a sample, it is left with the Controller for the other party to inspect, and the original is produced at the hearing.
The reason is basic fairness. A party cannot be expected to answer evidence it has not seen. If an opponent relies on a catalogue to prove prior publication, the patentee must be able to examine that catalogue, check its date, its printing details and whether the relevant page belongs to it at all. Many arguments about prior art turn precisely on such details, and they cannot be tested from a description in an affidavit.
Practical handling matters. Exhibits should be marked and numbered so that each one can be identified from the affidavit text, for example by a short code and a serial number, and each exhibit should carry a note identifying the affidavit it belongs to. Copies should be legible, complete and in the same order as they are referred to. Where a physical article is involved, arrangements to leave it with the office and to bring it to the hearing need to be made in advance, not on the morning of the hearing.
Rule 127 works with Rule 126 on the form of affidavits, with Rule 61 on supplying copies of documents in opposition proceedings, and with section 77, under which the Controller has powers of a civil court in matters such as receiving evidence and requiring the production of documents.
Why this rule matters
Any party filing evidence before the Controller, particularly in opposition, revocation-related and compulsory licence proceedings.
At the point of filing affidavit evidence and again at the hearing when originals are produced.
An obligation to share exhibits with the other side and to make originals available for inspection and production.
Exhibits may not be taken into account, and the other side can complain that it was unable to answer the evidence.
How it works in practice
A fabric sample and a dated invoice
In an opposition over a patent for a moisture-wicking weave, the opponent, a Tiruppur knitwear exporter, filed an affidavit saying that fabric made by the same construction had been sold two years before the priority date. The affidavit referred to three exhibits: an invoice, a shipping document, and a physical fabric swatch retained in the company's sample room. Legible copies of the invoice and shipping document were supplied to the patentee with the affidavit, each marked and numbered so it matched the paragraph that mentioned it. The swatch could not be copied, so it was left with the Controller for inspection and the original was produced at the hearing, sealed and labelled with the same exhibit number. The patentee's technical witness examined the swatch, measured the yarn count and argued that the construction was different from the claimed weave. Both sides were arguing about the same physical object, which is exactly what Rule 127 is designed to make possible.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- Rule 127 covers exhibits referred to in affidavits filed before the Controller.
- Copies of documentary exhibits are supplied to the other party with the affidavit.
- Exhibits that cannot be copied are left with the Controller for inspection.
- Originals are produced at the hearing.
- Exhibits should be clearly marked, numbered and tied to the affidavit that refers to them.
- The rule exists so the other side can actually test the evidence relied on.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Referring to a document in an affidavit but not attaching or serving it, which leaves the assertion unsupported.
- Filing partial or illegible copies, so the date or source of a publication cannot be checked.
- Turning up at the hearing with a physical article that the other side has never been given a chance to inspect.
- Failing to number exhibits, so that neither the Controller nor the opposing party can match an exhibit to the paragraph relying on it.
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
- Exhibits travel with the affidavit they support, so they must be ready by the date fixed for filing that evidence.
Open the deadline calculator — and have every date confirmed against the current Rules before you rely on it.
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 127
Do I have to give the other side copies of my exhibits?
Yes, where the exhibit is capable of being copied. Rule 127 is built on the idea that a party must be able to answer the evidence against it, and that is impossible if the underlying documents stay with the party that filed them. Supply legible, complete copies at the same time as the affidavit, marked so each copy can be matched to the paragraph that mentions it. Where the exhibit is a physical article that cannot be copied, it is left with the Controller so the other side can inspect it.
Can I file a physical sample or a product as evidence?
Yes, and in prior use cases it is often the most convincing material available. Because a sample cannot be photocopied, it is left with the Controller for inspection by the other party, and the original is produced at the hearing. Label it clearly with the exhibit number used in the affidavit, describe it in the affidavit so there is no doubt what it is, and record where it has been kept, since the other side may question whether the article is really what it is said to be.
What if an exhibit is confidential?
Say so and explain why, rather than simply withholding it. Commercial documents such as pricing annexures often contain material a party is reluctant to disclose, but evidence the other side cannot see is evidence the Controller can give little weight to. In practice parties file the document with sensitive commercial information limited to what is genuinely irrelevant to the issue, and make the case for any protection openly. Decide early which documents you are actually willing to put in.
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