Rule 70 of the Patents Rules, 2003
Mention of inventor
Says where and how the name of an inventor, once the Controller has directed it, actually appears in the patent and the records.
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.
This explanation is written for clarity, not for citation. The official statutory text and any Gazette notification in force on your date govern, and they prevail over anything said here.
What this rule requires, step by step
A direction that a person be mentioned as an inventor is worth little unless the mention appears somewhere the public can see. Rule 70 closes that gap. It deals with the mechanics of the mention: where the inventor's name is carried once section 28 has been satisfied, so that the credit is visible on the documents that matter rather than buried in a file.
In ordinary practice, the names of the inventors enter the system much earlier, at filing. The applicant furnishes a declaration as to inventorship on Form 5 where a complete specification is filed, and the names given there flow through to publication, to the patent and to the Patent Office records. Rule 70 matters most where that original list is wrong or incomplete and a section 28 direction has to be carried into the documents afterwards.
The effect is public and permanent. Once the mention is made, anyone searching the patent, reading the published specification or inspecting the records sees the inventor's name. That visibility is the whole point for individual inventors. It is what supports an entry on a curriculum vitae, an internal reward under a company's invention incentive scheme, credit in an academic promotion file, or recognition in an institution's annual research report.
What the mention does not do is change any legal right in the invention. It does not transfer a share of the patent, does not create a claim to royalties, and does not entitle the named person to sue an infringer. Those rights belong to the patentee. Rule 70 records the truth about who created the invention; the commercial rights continue to be governed by the application, the assignments and the employment or research agreements behind it.
Why this rule matters
Named inventors who want visible credit, and applicants who need their patent documents and records to be accurate.
Immediately after the Controller directs a mention under section 28, and at filing when the inventorship declaration is made.
An obligation to carry the inventor's name into the patent documents and records, making the credit publicly verifiable.
A direction that never reaches the documents leaves the inventor with a decision on paper but no public recognition.
How it works in practice
A name that finally shows up in a search
Dr Sunitha Menon works at a public research laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram and is directed by the Controller to be mentioned as an inventor on a patent for a solar drying unit, after a claim under section 28. Two months later she runs a search on the Patent Office portal and finds her name listed on the patent record alongside the two other inventors. That matters immediately and practically. Her institute's promotion committee accepts patents as a research output only where the applicant's own records show the candidate as an inventor, and a printout of the patent record is what the committee asks for. She attaches it to her file. The laboratory continues to own the patent, licenses it to a Kerala equipment maker and receives the royalty, while Dr Menon receives the inventor's share provided by the institute's own incentive policy, which is triggered by being named on the patent.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- The mention of an inventor is carried into the patent documents and the Patent Office records, not kept in an internal file.
- At filing, inventorship is declared on Form 5 when a complete specification is filed.
- Public visibility is what makes the credit useful for careers, promotions and incentive schemes.
- Being named creates no ownership, no royalty right and no right to sue.
- Where the original list is wrong, section 28 is the way to have the record corrected.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Believing that a company's internal inventor list is enough. Only the Patent Office record and the patent itself count as public proof.
- Confusing the applicant with the inventor when reading a patent. The applicant owns it; the inventor devised it, and both are shown separately.
- Expecting the mention to appear instantly. The change follows the Controller's direction and the Office's processing, so allow time before checking again.
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 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.
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 70
Where does an inventor's name appear on an Indian patent?
The inventors are identified in the Patent Office records for the application and are carried on the patent documents themselves, so a person searching the published application or the granted patent can see who is credited. The names normally come from the declaration as to inventorship filed with the application on Form 5. Where a name is added or corrected later under section 28, Rule 70 is what makes sure the change is reflected in the documents rather than staying inside the file. That public visibility is what employers, universities and funding bodies look for.
Can a company be named as an inventor in India?
No. Under Indian practice an inventor is a natural person, because only human beings devise inventions. A company, a university or a research institute can be the applicant and the patentee, and in most cases it is, but it is shown as the owner and not as the inventor. This is why a patent record usually shows an organisation as applicant and one or more individuals as inventors. If a filing lists a company where an inventor should be, that is an error worth correcting under section 28.
Does my name stay on the patent if I leave the company?
Yes. The mention of an inventor records a historical fact about who created the invention, and it does not depend on your continuing to work anywhere. Leaving your employer, retiring or moving abroad does not remove your name. Equally, staying with the employer does not give you any ownership in the patent. If your name was recorded correctly, it remains; if it was left out and you did contribute, section 28 and Rule 67 give you a way to have it added even after you have moved on.
Want your name recorded on the patent you invented?
MYCrave Consultancy checks your inventor records and gets the Patent Office documents corrected where they are wrong.
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