Rule 34 of the Patents Rules, 2003
Manner in which a claim under section 20(1) shall be made
Explains how a person claiming a pending patent application under an assignment or agreement must put that claim 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.
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
Applications change hands. A founder assigns an invention to the company she has just incorporated, a contract research organisation transfers results to the client who paid for them, or a business unit is sold with its filings. The Act allows the Controller to let a pending application proceed in the new owner's name. Rule 34 is the procedural half of that power: it tells the claimant what to file and what to prove.
The claim is made on the prescribed form, Form 6, and the fee in the First Schedule applies. Crucially, the form is not enough on its own. The claimant has to produce the document the claim rests on, which is normally the assignment or the written agreement, together with proof that it was properly executed. Where the claim rests on the operation of law rather than a signed deed, such as a court order or a scheme of amalgamation approved by a tribunal, the corresponding order or certified document is what has to be produced.
The Controller reads the document to see whether it really transfers what the claimant says it transfers. Two points come up again and again. First, timing: the written instrument the Act contemplates for this route is one made before the application was filed, so an assignment signed afterwards may not fit and a different route may be needed. Second, scope: an agreement about "all intellectual property" may not clearly cover a specific pending application, and a schedule listing the application number removes the argument entirely.
If the Controller is satisfied, a direction can be made that the application proceed in the claimant's name, or in the joint names of the claimant and the original applicant. The Controller may ask for further evidence, and may hear the existing applicant before deciding, because the direction affects that person's position. Where there is a genuine dispute about title, the Controller will normally leave it to a competent court rather than resolve it on paper.
Why this rule matters
Companies acquiring inventions from founders, employees or contractors, buyers of a business, and anyone taking an assignment of a pending application.
After filing and before grant, usually at incorporation, at a funding round, or when a business or research contract changes the owner of the rights.
A defined route, with a form and evidence, for asking the Controller to substitute or add an applicant on a pending application.
The patent is granted in the wrong name, and the intended owner cannot licence, enforce or cleanly sell it without a later correction.
How it works in practice
The assignment that arrived with a schedule
Meera Iyengar, a materials scientist in Bengaluru, filed a complete specification in her own name for a coating that stops rust on coastal steel railings. Four months later she incorporated Saltline Materials Pvt Ltd and executed an assignment of the invention to the company, backed by a written agreement she had signed with her two co-founders before the filing date recording that any invention in this field would belong to the company once formed. The company filed Form 6 with the prescribed fee, attached the pre-filing agreement, the executed assignment and the incorporation certificate, and included a schedule naming the application number and its filing date. The Controller had no difficulty identifying what had been transferred and directed that the application proceed in the company's name. A neighbouring start-up in the same building filed the same form with a two-line email as proof. It was asked for further evidence, and lost five months it could not spare before a funding round.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- The claim is made on Form 6 with the fee prescribed in the First Schedule.
- Proof of the assignment, agreement or legal event must be filed with the form.
- The written instrument relied on for this route is normally one made before the application was filed.
- Naming the application number in a schedule to the assignment avoids arguments about scope.
- The Controller may call for further evidence and may hear the existing applicant.
- This route is for pending applications; a granted patent is dealt with through the register.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Filing the form and expecting the Office to take the claim on trust. Without the underlying document the request goes nowhere.
- Relying on an oral or informal understanding between founders. The Act looks for a written instrument, and messages are rarely accepted as one.
- Assuming a general intellectual property clause automatically covers a specific pending application. Identify the application by number.
- Leaving the change until just before grant, when there is no time left to answer a request for further evidence.
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
Forms used under the Patents Rules are prescribed in the Second Schedule. They are revised when the Rules change, so download the current version from the Patent Office website rather than reusing a copy saved earlier.
- A claim under this route can only be made while the application is still pending. Once the patent is granted, a change of ownership has to be recorded in the register of patents instead.
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
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 34
How do I change the applicant on a pending Indian patent application?
File Form 6 with the fee prescribed in the First Schedule, and attach proof of the assignment, agreement or legal event that transfers the rights. The Controller checks that the document actually covers the application in question and that it was properly executed. If satisfied, the Controller can direct that the application proceed in the new owner's name, or in joint names. Where the title is genuinely disputed, the Office will usually expect a court to decide first.
What documents prove an assignment of a patent application?
Usually the executed assignment deed itself, signed by the assignor, together with anything that shows authority to sign for a company. A written agreement made before the filing date can also support the claim, especially where it records that inventions in a defined field belong to the company. Where the transfer happened by law, such as through an approved merger or a court order, the certified order or scheme is what should be filed.
Can a start-up move a founder's application into the company's name?
Yes, and it is common. The company files Form 6 with proof of the transfer from the founder. The cleanest position is a written agreement signed before the application was filed, followed by a formal assignment naming the application number. Doing this early matters, because investors and acquirers check whether the filings sit with the company rather than with an individual, and a gap in the chain is expensive to explain later.
Moving a pending application into your company's name?
MYCrave Consultancy prepares the assignment paperwork and files the substitution request with the evidence the Controller expects.
You will be speaking with MYCrave Consultancy & Services, the firm that operates this platform. General questions are answered free; matter‑specific work is quoted before anything is done.