Section 2 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
This is the second of three articles on section 2(1). It covers the "who and where" definitions: who owns a patent, who stands in their shoes, who administers the Act and which court is meant. The clauses are (ab), (b), (e), (f), (h), (i), (k), (n), (o), (p), (r), (s), (t) and (y). If you are buying, selling or licensing a patent, the definitions of "patentee", "assignee" and "exclusive licence" decide who has which rights, so it is worth checking them before a patent assignment is signed.
The patentee is the person for the time being entered on the register as grantee or proprietor. An assignee includes an assignee of an assignee and the legal representative of a deceased assignee. An exclusive licence shuts out everyone else, including the patentee. The true and first inventor excludes the first importer of an invention into India and a person to whom it was first communicated from outside India.
The clauses covered here
Part 1 covered invention, inventive step and the other core definitions; Part 3 covers the treaty and procedural terms. Clause (a), "Appellate Board", is omitted, and so is clause (g).
| Clause | Term | Meaning in one line |
|---|---|---|
| (ab) | assignee | Includes assignee of the assignee and legal representative of a deceased assignee |
| (b) | Controller | The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks referred to in section 73 |
| (e) | district court | As in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 |
| (f) | exclusive licence | Licence excluding all other persons, including the patentee |
| (h) | Government undertaking | Industrial undertaking carried on by the Government, a Government-owned or controlled corporation, a Government company, or an institution wholly or substantially financed by Government |
| (i) | High Court | High Court with territorial jurisdiction in the State or Union territory |
| (k) | legal representative | Person who in law represents the estate of a deceased person |
| (n) | patent agent | Person registered under this Act as a patent agent |
| (o) | patented article, patented process | Article or process in respect of which a patent is in force |
| (p) | patentee | Person entered on the register as grantee or proprietor |
| (r) | patent office | Patent office referred to in section 74 |
| (s) | person | Includes the Government |
| (t) | person interested | Includes a person engaged in, or promoting, research in the same field |
| (y) | true and first inventor | Does not include first importer or first communicatee from outside India |
Ownership and transfer
Clause (p), "patentee". "“patentee” means the person for the time being entered on the register as the grantee or proprietor of the patent". Two words matter: "entered on the register" and "for the time being". The test is the register, not who invented the product and not who paid for the filing. If a patent is assigned and the register is updated, the patentee changes. The register itself is the subject of section 67, which we cover later in this series.
Clause (ab), "assignee". "“assignee” includes an assignee of the assignee and the legal representative of a deceased assignee and references to the assignee of any person include references to the assignee of the legal representative or assignee of that person". So the word "assignee" follows the chain: A assigns to B, B assigns to C, and C is an assignee within the Act. If B dies, B's legal representative is an assignee too.
Clause (k), "legal representative". "a person who in law represents the estate of a deceased person". The Act does not name who that will be in a given case; that depends on other law.
Clause (f), "exclusive licence". "a licence from a patentee which confers on the licensee, or on the licensee and persons authorised by him, to the exclusion of all other persons (including the patentee), any right in respect of the patented invention". Note the words "including the patentee". Under an exclusive licence, even the owner steps aside for the rights licensed. A licence that merely allows the licensee to work alongside the patentee is not an "exclusive licence" in this sense. Our guide on assignment versus licence compares the two, and a sample licence agreement shows how such rights are written down.
Example. Ravi Textiles Pvt Ltd holds a patent for a loom attachment, and licenses Sundar Machines the sole right to make the attachment, with no one else, including Ravi Textiles, entitled to make it during the licence. That fits clause (f). Had Ravi Textiles kept the right to manufacture too, it would be a non-exclusive arrangement and the clause would not apply.
The administrators and the courts
Clause (b), "Controller". "the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks referred to in section 73". Section 2(2)(a), covered in Part 3, adds that a reference to the Controller includes any officer discharging the Controller's functions under section 73.
Clause (r), "patent office". "the patent office referred to in section 74". Section 2(2)(b) extends it to any branch office.
Clause (e), "district court". It "has the meaning assigned to that expression by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908)". The Patents Act does not define it separately.
Clause (i), "High Court". "in relation to a State or Union territory, means the High Court having territorial jurisdiction in that State or Union territory, as the case may be". This clause was substituted by the 2005 Amendment Act (with effect from 1-1-2005). Since the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 (with effect from 4-4-2021) removed the Appellate Board, appeals and several revocation and rectification matters now go to the High Court, which is why this definition carries weight today.
Other definitions
Clause (h), "Government undertaking". "any industrial undertaking carried on— (i) by a department of the Government, or (ii) by a corporation established by a Central, Provincial or State Act, which is owned or controlled by the Government, or (iii) by a Government company as defined in section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), or (iv) by an institution wholly or substantially financed by the Government". Sub-clause (iv) was added from 1-1-2005, and the 2005 Act also omitted a sentence that had named the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and the institutions it finances. The Act cites the Companies Act, 1956 as printed; check how that reference is read today before relying on it in a company-specific question.
Clause (n), "patent agent". "a person for the time being registered under this Act as a patent agent". Registration is dealt with in sections 125 to 132. See also who can practise as a patent agent.
Clause (o), "patented article" and "patented process". "respectively an article or process in respect of which a patent is in force". The words "in force" matter: a lapsed or expired patent produces no "patented article".
Clause (s), "person". "includes the Government". So wherever the Act says "person", the Government is in.
Clause (t), "person interested". "includes a person engaged in, or in promoting, research in the same field as that to which the invention relates". The word "includes" means the list is not closed, and the clause does not say who else qualifies.
Clause (y), "true and first inventor". "does not include either the first importer of an invention into India, or a person to whom an invention is first communicated from outside India". If you bring a foreign invention into India, or someone abroad tells it to you, you are not the true and first inventor on that ground alone.
Example. Kavya reads about a fictional "self-cleaning solar panel coating" at a conference overseas, buys the sample, and applies for an Indian patent in her own name as inventor. Under clause (y) she cannot call herself the true and first inventor merely as the first importer or as the person to whom it was first communicated from outside India.
What this part does not say
- The text gives no definition of "industrial undertaking", "Government company" beyond the cross-reference, or "proprietor".
- It gives no list of persons who are "persons interested".
- It states no fees, forms or procedure; those are under the Patents Rules, 2003.
Need help with ...?
If you are about to transfer or acquire a patent, check who is entered on the register and whether any earlier assignee or licence affects the title. Our team can help review the chain and prepare the paperwork under patent assignment services.
Key takeaways
- The patentee is whoever is entered on the register as grantee or proprietor, for the time being.
- "Assignee" follows the chain of assignees and includes the legal representative of a deceased assignee.
- An exclusive licence excludes all others, including the patentee.
- The true and first inventor is not the first importer or the first person told of it from abroad.
- "High Court" is now the forum for matters earlier before the Appellate Board.
Read next
- Section 2 (Part 1): invention, inventive step and industrial application
- Section 2 (Part 3): convention, PCT, priority date and interpretation
- Section 6: who can apply for a patent
- Patent assignment deed: draft template
Disclaimer: Based on the Patents Act, 1970 as amended up to the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, as consulted on 1 October 2026. Forms, fees and time limits under the Patents Rules, 2003 change from time to time and are not covered here. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.