Rule 70A of the Patents Rules, 2003
Certificate of inventorship
Allows an inventor named on a granted Indian patent to obtain an official certificate of inventorship from the Patent Office.
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 is a simplified explanation. Where it differs from the official text of the provision, or from an applicable Gazette notification, the official text and the notification prevail.
What this rule requires, step by step
Rule 70A is one of the more people-friendly additions made by the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024. Until then, an inventor who wanted proof of their contribution had to download the patent record and hope that whoever was asking would accept it. Rule 70A creates a proper document: a certificate of inventorship, issued by the Patent Office to a person named as an inventor in a patent that has been granted.
The route is deliberately simple. The inventor makes a request to the Controller on the form prescribed for this purpose, Form 8A, with the fee set out in the First Schedule. The request identifies the granted patent and the person asking. Because the certificate only confirms what the Patent Office record already shows, there is no contest and no hearing. If the certificate is lost or damaged, the Rules also allow a duplicate to be requested.
The value is practical rather than legal. A certificate is a clean, single-page proof that an individual can attach to a promotion file, an academic dossier, a research grant application, an award nomination, an appraisal form or a visa application that asks for evidence of achievement. Universities, public laboratories and large employers increasingly ask for documentary proof of patent output, and a certificate answers that far better than a screenshot.
Two limits are worth stating plainly. The certificate is available in respect of a granted patent, so it is not a way to obtain recognition while an application is still pending or after an application has been refused or abandoned. And it certifies inventorship only. It confers no ownership, no share, no royalty and no right to deal with the patent, all of which continue to rest with the patentee.
Why this rule matters
Individual inventors, research scholars, scientists in public laboratories and engineers in companies who need documentary proof of their inventive work.
After the patent has been granted, whenever an employer, university, funding body or authority asks for evidence of inventorship.
A right for a named inventor to obtain an official certificate from the Patent Office confirming that they are an inventor on that patent.
The inventor is left proving their contribution with printouts and letters, which some institutions and authorities will not accept.
How it works in practice
Proof for a promotion file
Rakesh Barman is an assistant professor at an engineering college in Guwahati. He is one of three inventors named on a granted patent for a low-cost river water turbine; the patent is owned by his college. His university's promotion rules award points for granted patents, but the screening committee insists on an official document naming the candidate, not a portal printout. Rakesh files a request under Rule 70A on Form 8A with the prescribed fee, giving the patent number and his details as recorded. The Patent Office issues a certificate of inventorship in his name for that patent. He attaches it to his promotion file, and the committee accepts it without further questions. A year later the same certificate is used to support an application to a national innovation award. Ownership of the turbine patent, and the licensing income from the two manufacturers using it, remain entirely with the college.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- Rule 70A was introduced by the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024 to give inventors formal recognition.
- A named inventor requests the certificate on Form 8A with the fee prescribed in the First Schedule.
- It is available in respect of granted patents, not pending applications.
- A duplicate can be requested if the certificate is lost or damaged.
- The certificate proves inventorship only; it gives no ownership, share or royalty right.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Thinking the certificate makes you a co-owner of the patent. It records who invented, not who owns.
- Applying while the application is still pending. The certificate relates to a patent that has actually been granted.
- Assuming the Patent Office will decide a naming dispute at this stage. If your name is not on the record, first use section 28 and Rule 67 to have it added.
Connected provisions
Rules are made under the Act, not alongside it. That is why the connected sections appear in a block of their own. Reading the section tells you why the procedure exists, and reading the rule tells you the steps, forms and periods that put it into effect.
Forms, deadlines and fees
- Form 8A (check the current Second Schedule)
Any form mentioned here is prescribed by the Second Schedule. Amendments to the Rules often bring new versions of forms with them, so use the version currently published by the Patent Office, not a template from a book or an old file.
Where a fee is payable under this provision, the figure comes from the First Schedule. Categories of applicant are charged at different rates, and electronic filing is treated differently from paper filing, so an accurate number can only come from the Schedule in force on the day you file. 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.
- 2024The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024The rule was inserted, creating the certificate of inventorship. An inventor named in a granted patent may ask for the certificate, and for a duplicate, in the prescribed form.
Compiled from official consolidated texts and Gazette notifications. See the site-wide change log.
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 70A
What is a certificate of inventorship in India?
It is an official document issued by the Indian Patent Office confirming that a particular person is named as an inventor on a granted patent. It was introduced by Rule 70A, inserted by the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024, in response to a long-standing complaint that individual inventors had no clean proof of their contribution. The inventor requests it on Form 8A with the prescribed fee. It is a recognition document, useful for career, academic and award purposes, and it does not affect who owns the patent or who earns from it.
Can every inventor on a patent get a certificate?
Yes. Where a patent names several inventors, each of them can request a certificate in respect of that patent for themselves. The Patent Office is simply certifying what its own record shows, so there is no competition between co-inventors and no hearing. Each request is made separately with its own fee. If someone believes they should be named but does not appear on the record, the certificate route will not help them; they must first have the record corrected under section 28, using the claim procedure in Rule 67.
Does a certificate of inventorship give me any money or rights?
No. The certificate confirms a fact about creation, not a title to property. All rights in the patent, including the right to licence it, assign it, sue infringers and collect royalties, remain with the patentee, which is often the employer or institution. What the certificate can do is trigger benefits that depend on being a named inventor, such as an employer's invention reward scheme, an institutional incentive policy, promotion credit or an award nomination. Read your employment or research agreement to see what being named entitles you to internally.
Want official proof that you are the inventor?
MYCrave Consultancy files certificate of inventorship requests and helps inventors correct the record before applying.
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