Tools
Patent status decoder
What the status on your Indian patent application actually means — from 'awaiting request for examination' to 'deemed to be withdrawn' — and which provision it comes from.
| Status | What it actually means | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Application Filed | The application has been received and given a number. Nothing else has happened yet — in particular, it is not being examined. | Section 7 |
| Application Not Published | The application is still confidential. Publication ordinarily happens at 18 months from the priority date, unless early publication is requested. | Section 11A |
| Published u/s 11A | The application is now public. Anyone can read the specification, and the pre-grant representation window is open. | Section 11A |
| Awaiting Request for Examination | Nobody has asked for the application to be examined. Until the request is filed, the application simply sits. If the period passes, the application is treated as withdrawn. | Section 11B |
| Request for Examination Received | The request has been filed. The application now joins the examination queue in order of the request date. | Rule 24B |
| Under Examination / Awaiting Examination | The file has been referred to an examiner, or is waiting to be. No objections have been issued to you yet. | Section 12 |
| FER Issued | The First Examination Report has been issued. This is the point at which the response clock starts, and it is the tightest deadline on most Indian files. | Section 14 |
| Reply to FER Received / Amended documents received | Your response has been recorded. The Controller may accept it, raise further objections, or set the matter down for a hearing. | Rule 28A |
| Hearing Scheduled / Awaiting Hearing | The Controller has offered a hearing because objections remain. Written submissions after the hearing have their own short window. | Rule 129 |
| Pre-grant Opposition Filed / In Opposition | A representation against grant has been filed. It is decided before the application can proceed to grant. | Section 25 |
| Patent Granted | The patent has been granted, will be published and entered in the Register, and can now be enforced. Renewal fees keep it alive to 20 years from the filing date. | Section 43 |
| Application Refused | The Controller has refused the application. An appeal lies to the High Court, and a review before the Controller may be possible — both are time-bound. | Section 15 |
| Application Withdrawn | The applicant asked for the application to be withdrawn. | Rule 26 |
| Deemed to be Withdrawn | No request for examination was filed in time. This is not a decision on the merits and there is generally no way back. | Section 11B |
| Abandoned u/s 21(1) | The application was not put in order for grant within the period allowed after the FER. Also generally final. | Section 21 |
| Ceased | A granted patent whose renewal fee was not paid within the permitted period. Restoration is possible within 18 months of cessation. | Section 53 |
| Restored | A ceased patent that has been restored. Anyone who began working the invention during the lapse keeps limited protection for what they had already started. | Section 62 |
| Disposed | The Patent Office has closed the file. The status alone does not tell you whether that was by grant, refusal, withdrawal or abandonment — check the document history. | Section 43 |
The exact wording varies. The Patent Office's own status strings have changed over the years and differ between the search interface and the document history. Match the sense rather than the exact words, and always read the document history on the file itself rather than relying on a one-line status.
Status says something you did not expect?
A status like “deemed to be withdrawn” or “ceased” has a specific legal meaning and a specific, usually short, window for anything that can still be done.