Rule 84 of the Patents Rules, 2003
Restoration of patents
Sets out how to apply for restoration of a lapsed patent and how the Controller decides whether a prima facie case exists.
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.
Read this as a plain-language summary. If it and the official text, or a relevant Gazette notification, say different things, the official text and the notification are what count.
What this rule requires, step by step
A patent lapses if a renewal fee is not paid in time, including within the extension the Rules allow. Section 60 gives the patentee a second chance: an application for restoration may be made within eighteen months from the date on which the patent ceased to have effect. Rule 84 is the procedure that carries that right into practice.
The application is made on Form 15 with the fee prescribed in the First Schedule, and it must be supported by evidence explaining the failure to pay. The legal test in section 60 is that the failure was unintentional. That is a factual question, so the supporting statement should set out what actually happened: who was responsible for the renewal, what system was in place, when the lapse was discovered and what was done on discovering it. Vague assertions of oversight rarely persuade.
Rule 84 then creates a filter. The Controller first considers whether a prima facie case for restoration has been made out, meaning whether the papers, taken at face value, could justify restoration. If the Controller is not satisfied, the applicant is told so, and unless the applicant asks to be heard within the short period fixed by the Rules, the application is refused. If a hearing is asked for, it is given before any refusal.
If a prima facie case is made out, the application is published so that the public knows a lapsed patent may come back to life. That matters because businesses may have started using the invention while the patent was dead. Publication opens the door to opposition under section 61, and the rights of anyone who began using the invention during the lapse are protected separately by section 62.
Why this rule matters
Patentees who have missed a renewal payment, their legal representatives, and businesses that started using an invention while the patent was lapsed.
After a patent has ceased to have effect for non-payment of a renewal fee, within the statutory restoration window.
A right to apply for restoration on evidence of unintentional failure, and a right to be heard before the application is refused for want of a prima facie case.
The patent stays lapsed permanently once the statutory window closes, and the invention falls into the public domain in India.
How it works in practice
A missed renewal after a change of agent
Zenara Agritech Pvt Ltd of Kochi holds a patent on a solar-powered irrigation controller. The company changes patent agents during a funding round, and the renewal reminder for the eighth year goes to the old agent's docket. The renewal fee is not paid, and the extension period passes. Eleven months after the patent ceases to have effect, a prospective licensee tells Zenara that the register shows the patent as lapsed. Zenara files Form 15 with the prescribed fee, supported by an affidavit from its finance head. The affidavit attaches the agent handover email, the docket printouts showing the reminder never reached the new agent, and proof that every earlier renewal was paid on time. The Controller finds a prima facie case that the failure was unintentional and publishes the application. No one opposes it. Zenara then pays the unpaid renewal fees with the additional fee, and the patent is restored, subject to the protection section 62 gives to anyone who began using the invention while it was lapsed.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- Restoration is applied for on Form 15 with the prescribed fee.
- Section 60 allows the application within eighteen months from the date the patent ceased to have effect.
- The applicant must show that the failure to pay was unintentional, supported by evidence.
- The Controller first tests whether a prima facie case exists before the matter goes further.
- If no prima facie case is seen, the applicant must ask for a hearing within the short period the Rules allow or the application is refused.
- Where a prima facie case is made out, the application is published and can be opposed.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Believing restoration is automatic on paying the arrears. It is a discretionary remedy that depends on evidence about why the fee was missed.
- Filing a bare statement that the lapse was an oversight. The Controller looks for a documented account of the renewal system and the failure in it.
- Waiting past the statutory window in the hope of negotiating later. Once the period under section 60 expires, the patent cannot be revived.
- Assuming a restored patent gives full rights against everyone. Section 62 protects those who acted in good faith during the lapse.
Connected provisions
The Patents Rules supply procedure and the Patents Act supplies power. This page covers the procedure, and the sections that give the Controller or the applicant the underlying right or duty are grouped separately so you can move between the two.
Forms, deadlines and fees
Prescribed forms sit in the Second Schedule to the Patents Rules. The Schedule is updated along with the Rules, so the safe practice is to download the form on the day you prepare it and check that it is the current version.
- An application for restoration must be made within eighteen months from the date the patent ceased to have effect, under section 60.
- If the Controller finds no prima facie case, the applicant must request a hearing within the short period fixed by the Rules, currently one month from the intimation. Confirm the exact period against the Rules in force.
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.
Related judgments
Case law is added slowly and deliberately. A summary is drafted, checked against the reported judgment and then reviewed before publication, because a wrong case note can mislead a reader badly. No summary for this provision has reached publication yet. How case notes are prepared.
Questions people ask about Rule 84
How long do I have to restore a lapsed Indian patent?
Section 60 allows an application for restoration within eighteen months from the date on which the patent ceased to have effect. That date is the end of the renewal period, including any extension the Rules allow for late payment of the renewal fee, not the date you discovered the lapse. The window is strict. Once it closes, the patent cannot be restored and the invention is free for anyone in India to use.
What evidence do I need for a restoration application?
You need to show that the failure to pay the renewal fee was unintentional. Useful evidence includes an affidavit from the person responsible for renewals, the docketing or reminder records, correspondence showing an agent handover or address change, bank or payment records for earlier renewals, and proof of when the lapse was discovered and how quickly you acted. A clean past record of timely renewals helps. Silence about the internal system tends to hurt.
What happens after I file Form 15?
The Controller first examines whether a prima facie case for restoration has been made out. If not, you are told and may ask for a hearing within the short period fixed by the Rules, after which the application may be refused. If a prima facie case is found, the application is published in the Official Journal, opening a window for any interested person to oppose the restoration. If no opposition succeeds, restoration follows once the unpaid renewal fees and the additional fee are paid.
Can I sue someone for using my invention during the lapse period?
No, and this is an important limit. Section 62 protects a person who began to use the invention, or made serious preparations to do so, during the period when the patent was not in force. That person may generally continue what they were doing. Restoration brings the patent back for the future but does not undo what happened while it was dead, so a long lapse can permanently reduce the commercial value of the patent.
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