Rule 38 of the Patents Rules, 2003
Omitted provision
A rule that once closed the publication and examination chapter of the Patents Rules and has since been omitted, leaving the number unused.
Official legal text
When a provision is removed, the rest of the statute is not renumbered. The number stays in place, marked as omitted, so that everything after it keeps its familiar citation. That is why this number still appears, and why older files, textbooks and judgments continue to refer to it.
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
Rule 38 stood at the end of the chapter of the Patents Rules, 2003 that deals with publication and examination of applications. That chapter now runs from the rules on publication and the request for examination through the search and hearing procedures, the section 20 substitution rules and the numbering of patents on grant. Rule 38 was removed by amendment, so it has no effect today and nothing needs to be done under it. The live procedure for publication and examination is found in the rules that remain in the chapter, chiefly the rules on publication, on requesting examination, on the examination report and on the procedures that follow an objection.
Readers often ask why the number was not reused. Indian subordinate legislation is amended by omitting a rule rather than renumbering everything after it. Renumbering would break every citation in earlier judgments, office practice notes, textbooks and case files. So the number stays in the sequence with the word omitted against it, and the gap itself is a piece of history: it tells you a step existed once and was taken out. If you are working with an old file, an old office order or an older edition of a commentary that cites this rule, treat it as a pointer to the version of the Rules in force at that time, and check the current consolidated Patents Rules on the Indian Patent Office website for what applies now.
Why this rule matters
Anyone reading older commentaries, prosecution files or office practice notes that cite this rule number.
Only when tracing historical procedure. It has no application to a filing made today.
Nothing. The number is retained in the sequence for citation continuity, with no operative content.
Time wasted looking for a requirement that no longer exists, or reliance on an outdated commentary.
How it works in practice
A gap in the numbering, explained
Ishaan Kulkarni, a first-year associate at a Nagpur firm, was asked to prepare a checklist of every step between publication and grant for a client's dashboard. He worked through the Patents Rules in order and stopped when he reached a rule marked as omitted in the middle of his sequence. Assuming his downloaded copy was corrupted, he spent an afternoon hunting for the missing text in three different PDFs. His supervising partner explained the drafting convention in two minutes: rules are removed by omission, not by renumbering, so a blank number simply records that a step was taken out at some point. Ishaan rebuilt the checklist from the rules actually in force, marked the omitted number as historical, and added a note telling future users to verify every rule against the consolidated version on the Patent Office website rather than against a saved PDF. The checklist has been reused on every file in the practice since.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- This rule has been omitted and imposes no requirement today.
- Indian rules are amended by omission rather than renumbering, so citations in older material stay accurate.
- For current publication and examination procedure, read the rules that remain in that chapter.
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
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.
Amendment history
What changed in this provision, newest first. Read the footnotes in the official consolidated text for the full record.
- 2005The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2005The rule was omitted in the reorganisation of the publication and examination chapter. The number was left empty rather than reused.
Compiled from official consolidated texts and Gazette notifications. See the site-wide change log.
Related judgments
Court decisions shape how this provision is applied, but a summary is useful only if it is right. Every case note on this site is read by a legal reviewer before it goes live, and none has been completed for this provision so far. This section will fill in as those reviews finish. How case notes are prepared.
Questions people ask about Rule 38
Why does Rule 38 of the Patents Rules show as omitted?
Because it was removed by an amendment to the Rules. When Indian subordinate legislation is changed, a rule that is no longer wanted is omitted and the number is left in place rather than the whole sequence being renumbered. That keeps every earlier citation in judgments, practice notes and case files accurate. The blank number simply records that something once sat there. What applies today is set out in the rules that remain in force in the same chapter.
Which rules govern publication and examination now?
The chapter still contains the working rules. Publication of an application and requests for early publication are dealt with there, as is the request for examination and the timeline that follows it, along with the procedures for answering objections, amending a specification, substituting applicants and numbering a patent on grant. Always read them from the consolidated Patents Rules published by the Indian Patent Office, since amendments in recent years have changed several timelines.
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