Rule 133 of the Patents Rules, 2003
Supply of certified copies and certificates under sections 72 and 147
Rule 133 is the route for obtaining certified copies of Patent Office documents and certificates from the Controller under Sections 72 and 147.
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.
Treat this page as a guide. The provision as officially published, along with the Gazette notifications that apply to it, remains the governing text and overrides any simplification here.
What this rule requires, step by step
The Patent Office holds two things the outside world often needs to prove: documents filed in patent files, and entries made in the Register of Patents. Section 72 opens the register and specified documents to inspection and allows certified copies to be taken. Section 147 lets the Controller issue a certificate about any entry, matter or thing that he is authorised by the Act to make or do, and that certificate is treated as evidence of what it records. Rule 133 supplies the practical step: a request, on the form prescribed in the Second Schedule, with the fee in the First Schedule.
A "certified copy" is simply a copy authenticated by the Patent Office as a true copy of what it holds. That authentication is what gives it evidentiary value. An ordinary download from the online portal shows you the content, but it carries no official attestation, so a court, a foreign patent office or a customs authority will usually not accept it in place of a certified copy.
The most common use is foreign filing. When an applicant files abroad claiming priority from an earlier Indian application, the foreign office or the International Bureau normally wants a certified copy of that Indian priority application, sometimes called a priority document. Under the PCT this is generally required within sixteen months of the priority date, so the request to the Indian office has to be made early enough to leave room for issue and transmission. Confirm the exact period against the current PCT rules or the national law of the office concerned, because they differ.
The other uses are evidential. In an infringement suit the plaintiff may need certified copies of the granted specification, the register entry showing ownership, and the record of renewal payments. A party opposing or seeking revocation may need certified copies of the file history, including amendments and statements made during prosecution. A buyer in a diligence exercise may want a certificate under Section 147 confirming what the register shows. Rule 133 is the door to all of these, and because issue takes time, the request should be made well before the hearing or closing date that depends on it.
Why this rule matters
Applicants filing abroad, litigants and their counsel, parties to assignments and licences, and anyone who must prove a Patent Office record to a third party.
At foreign filing, before a court or tribunal hearing, during due diligence, and whenever an authenticated record is required rather than an informal copy.
A right to obtain authenticated copies and certificates from the Patent Office on request and payment of the prescribed fee.
A party may find itself at a hearing or a foreign deadline with only uncertified printouts, which may not be accepted as proof.
How it works in practice
A Bengaluru researcher secures her priority document in time
Ananya Rao files an Indian provisional application in March for a compact soil-nitrogen sensor developed at her Bengaluru laboratory. Ten months later she decides to file internationally through the PCT to keep options open in Europe and Japan. Her attorney reminds her that the receiving office will want a certified copy of the Indian application as her priority document, and that under the PCT it is generally needed within sixteen months of the priority date. Because that leaves only weeks, Ananya files the request with the Indian Patent Office as soon as the PCT decision is made rather than waiting for the international filing to be completed. The certified copy is issued and forwarded in time, and her earliest date is preserved in every country she later enters. Had she waited until the deadline was close, a delay in issue would have put her priority claim at risk, and a lost priority date can expose an application to prior art published in the intervening months.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- Rule 133 is the procedural route for the rights of access created by Sections 72 and 147.
- Requests are made on the prescribed form with the fee in the First Schedule.
- A certified copy is authenticated by the Office; an ordinary portal printout is not.
- Certified copies of an Indian priority application are needed for most foreign and PCT filings.
- Register entries, the granted specification and file-history documents can all be certified.
- Allow time for issue, because the deadline that depends on the copy will not move.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Assuming a downloaded PDF from the online portal will be accepted as a priority document. Foreign offices generally require the certified version.
- Requesting the certified copy only when the foreign deadline is days away, leaving no margin for processing.
- Confusing a certified copy of the register with a duplicate certificate under Rule 132. They are different documents with different uses.
- Thinking the certificate under Section 147 can cover anything at all. It covers entries and matters the Controller is authorised to make or do.
Connected provisions
Rules and sections are cited differently and amended differently. On a rule page the connected sections are therefore kept in a separate list, so that a reader quoting this material can attribute each requirement to the correct instrument.
Forms, deadlines and fees
- Form 31 (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.
- Where the certified copy is required as a priority document for a PCT application, it is generally needed within sixteen months of the priority date; confirm the current requirement of the PCT rules or the office concerned.
- Rule 133 itself sets no filing deadline; the timing is driven by the proceeding or foreign filing that needs the document.
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.
Amendment history
What changed in this provision, newest first. Read the footnotes in the official consolidated text for the full record.
- 2016The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2016The rule was replaced, including a route for obtaining certified copies on an expedited basis on payment of the higher fee.
Compiled from official consolidated texts and Gazette notifications. See the site-wide change log.
Related judgments
No judgment summaries appear here yet. Our process requires a legal review of each case note before publication, covering the citation, the court and the point actually decided. Until a note for this provision has passed that check, the section stays empty rather than carrying unverified material. How case notes are prepared.
Questions people ask about Rule 133
How do I get a certified copy of my Indian patent application?
File a request with the Patent Office on the form prescribed in the Second Schedule, with the fee in the First Schedule, identifying the application or patent number and exactly which documents you need certified. You can ask for the specification as filed, the register entries, or specified documents from the file. The Office then issues an authenticated copy. Because processing takes time and the request often supports a fixed foreign deadline, make it as early as you reasonably can rather than close to the date.
What is a priority document and why do I need one?
A priority document is a certified copy of the earlier application whose filing date you are claiming in a later application filed elsewhere. It proves to the second office that the earlier application exists, what it disclosed, and when it was filed. Without it, the later office may refuse the priority claim, and the application would then be judged against everything published after the earlier date. For applicants using the Indian office as their first filing, Rule 133 is how that certified copy is obtained.
Can anyone request a certified copy, or only the patentee?
Section 72 opens the register and specified documents to public inspection, so certified copies of publicly available material are not limited to the owner. That is what makes the system workable for opponents, litigants, licensees and researchers. What is not open is material the Act keeps confidential, most importantly an application before it is published under Section 11A. Until publication, the file is not public, and a request from a stranger for its contents will not be granted.
Is a certificate under Section 147 the same as a certified copy?
No, though they are often requested together. A certified copy reproduces a document or entry and attests that the copy is true. A Section 147 certificate is the Controller's own statement about an entry, matter or thing he is authorised to make or do, and it is treated as evidence of that fact. If you need to show a court what a document says, ask for the certified copy. If you need an official confirmation that a particular entry exists or a particular act was done, the certificate is the right request.
Need a certified copy or priority document from the Patent Office?
MYCrave Consultancy handles certified copy and Section 147 certificate requests, and times them around your foreign filing and hearing deadlines.
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