Rule 91 of the Patents Rules, 2003
Presentation of assignment, etc., of patent to Controller
Requires the original assignment, licence or other document to be produced to the Controller with a copy, so title can be verified.
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
An application to register title is only as good as the document behind it. Rule 91 deals with that document. When registration of an assignment, licence, mortgage or similar instrument is sought, the original must be produced to the Controller together with a copy, so the office can compare the two and satisfy itself that the copy is a true one before the original is returned.
The Controller may also call for further proof. This is where practical problems surface. Documents signed abroad may need notarisation or legalisation. Documents in a language other than English need a verified translation. Stamping and execution requirements under Indian law apply to instruments transferring property, and a deed that was not properly executed or attested can be questioned. The office is checking that the person claiming an interest really has one.
Confidentiality is a common worry, because commercial agreements often contain royalty rates, territory limits and settlement terms that parties do not want in a public file. The usual approach is to produce what is needed to establish the nature and existence of the interest, and to seek the Controller's guidance on the extent of material that must go on record. What cannot be done is to ask for an entry without supplying enough to prove title.
Rule 91 also protects the party handing over the document. Producing an original assignment deed to a government office is a real risk for a company that may need the same original for a court case or a bank. Because the rule contemplates the original being seen and returned with a certified copy retained, the party keeps its instrument while the office keeps a reliable record.
Why this rule matters
Assignees, licensees and mortgagees seeking registration, and the agents preparing their supporting papers.
At the time of applying for registration of a title or interest, and whenever the Controller asks for further proof.
An obligation to produce the instrument creating the interest, with a copy, and to satisfy the Controller as to its authenticity.
The registration application stalls or is refused, and the applicant's title stays off the register while queries are answered.
How it works in practice
A deed signed in Singapore
Tanvi Bhat, an inventor now working in Singapore, assigns her Indian patent on a compact desalination filter to a Chennai company. The deed is signed in Singapore and countersigned in Chennai. When the company applies to register the assignment, the Controller asks it to produce the original instrument along with a copy for the record, and raises two queries. First, the signature page identifies the company signatory only by name and not by designation, so the office asks for proof that he was authorised to sign. Second, one schedule refers to the patent by an application number rather than the granted patent number, creating doubt about which right was transferred. The company produces the original deed with a copy, files a board resolution authorising the signatory, and files a short confirmatory deed clarifying the patent number. The original is returned, the copy stays on record, and the entry is made. The whole exercise takes six weeks that a carefully drafted deed would have avoided.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- The instrument creating the interest must be produced to the Controller with a copy.
- The office compares the two and returns the original once satisfied.
- Further proof may be required, including authority to sign and verified English translations.
- Execution, attestation and stamping problems in the deed will surface at this stage.
- Well-drafted deeds that identify the patent by its correct number avoid most queries.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Filing only a plain photocopy and expecting the entry to be made without producing the original for verification.
- Assuming a document executed abroad needs no notarisation, translation or other authentication.
- Identifying the patent loosely, for example by title alone or by an application number after grant, which creates doubt about what was transferred.
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
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.
- Documents and further proof must be produced within the time the Controller allows in the query or notice; delay simply holds up the registration.
Open the deadline calculator — and have every date confirmed against the current Rules before you rely on it.
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.
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 91
Do I have to give the Patent Office my original assignment deed permanently?
No. The scheme is that the original is produced so that the office can verify it against a copy, and the original is returned once the office is satisfied, with the copy retained for the record. Keep the original safely afterwards, because you may need it for a court case, a bank or a later transaction. If parting with an original is genuinely impractical, ask the office what form of certified or notarised copy it will accept before filing.
Does the assignment have to be in English?
The Patent Office works in English and Hindi, so a document in another language should be accompanied by a verified English translation. The translation should be complete rather than a summary, and the translator's verification should be attached. A partial translation invites a query, and a query at this stage means the entry waits. If the deed was executed abroad, check whether notarisation or legalisation is also expected.
Can I keep the commercial terms of a licence confidential?
Registration requires enough material to establish that the interest exists and what kind of interest it is. Parties commonly keep detailed commercial terms such as royalty rates out of the filed material and produce the parts that establish title and the nature of the interest, subject to what the Controller requires in a given case. What you cannot do is ask for an entry while withholding the proof of title itself. Discuss the approach with your agent before filing.
Assignment documents queried by the Patent Office?
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