Sections 25 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.
These five short sections sit under the heading "Provisions as to Registers and other Documents in the Patent Office". Section 25 keeps notice of trusts out of the registers. Section 26 opens the registers to the public and gives sealed copies. Section 27 keeps the Controller's reports private, except one. Section 28 keeps abandoned or refused applications closed. Section 29 lets the Controller correct clerical errors. Our legal consultation desk can advise if the register shows a wrong name or entry.
s.25: no notice of any trust, express, implied or constructive, is entered in a register or receivable by the Controller. s.26: every register is open to public inspection at all convenient times, and certified, sealed copies of any entry go to anyone who pays the prescribed fee; a computer register is inspected by print-out. s.27: reports of or to the Controller, other than the section 45 report, are not published or open to inspection. s.28: an abandoned or refused application and its drawings and specimens are never open to inspection or published. s.29: the Controller may, on written request with the prescribed fee, correct a clerical error in the register.
Section 25: no notice of trust
"There shall not be entered in any register kept under this Act, or be receivable by the Controller, any notice of any trust expressed, implied or constructive."
Two prohibitions: nothing of the kind is entered in the register, and nothing of the kind is received by the Controller. The three kinds of trust are named: expressed, implied and constructive. The effect is that the register records the registered proprietor, not the beneficial interests behind him. A buyer or licensee reading the register cannot learn of a trust from it, and the Controller will not take notice of one. The text does not say what rights a beneficiary has elsewhere; it is silent. For recording genuine assignments, mortgages and licences, section 30 is the route; see our article on section 30.
Section 26: inspection and sealed copies
"Every register kept under this Act shall at all convenient times be open to the inspection of the public, subject to the provisions of this Act; and certified copies, sealed with the seal of the Patent Office, of any entry in any such register shall be given to any person requiring the same on payment of the prescribed fee."
| Element | What the text says |
|---|---|
| Who may inspect | "The public" |
| When | "At all convenient times" |
| Limit | "Subject to the provisions of this Act" (for example, section 28 on abandoned applications) |
| Copies | Certified, sealed with the seal of the Patent Office, of "any entry", to "any person requiring the same" |
| Fee | The prescribed fee |
Proviso. "Where such register is maintained wholly or partly on computer, the inspection of such register under this section shall be made by inspecting the computer print out of the relevant entry in the register so maintained on computer." So inspection of a computer register is by print-out of the relevant entry. Section 10 describes the register.
Do not confuse section 26 with section 17, which concerns inspecting a design (during copyright) and obtaining a certified copy of a registered design. Section 26 concerns entries in registers.
Section 27: privilege of reports
"Reports of or to the Controller made under this Act other than the report referred to in section 45 shall not in any case be published or be open to public inspection."
Two points. First, the bar is wide: "in any case". Second, there is one exception: the report referred to in section 45. We cover that in our article on sections 45–46. The examiner's report under the proviso to section 5(1) is a report "to the Controller" and, on the words of section 27, is not open to public inspection. The text does not say whether the applicant himself may see it; it is silent, and the Rules govern the communication of objections.
Section 28: abandoned or refused applications
"Where an application for a design has been abandoned or refused, the application and any drawings, photographs, tracings, representations or specimens left in connection with the application shall not at any time be open to public inspection or be published by the Controller."
- It applies where an application has been abandoned (for example, under section 5(5)) or refused (under section 5(4) or section 35).
- It protects the application and the drawings, photographs, tracings, representations or specimens.
- It says "at any time", so there is no later date when they open.
- It binds the Controller: they shall not be "published by the Controller".
For a designer, the value is clear. An application that fails is not turned into a public disclosure by the Controller's own act. Whether the applicant's earlier disclosures elsewhere affect novelty is a different question, addressed by sections 4, 16 and 21.
Section 29: correction of clerical errors
"The Controller may, on request in writing accompanied by the prescribed fee correct any clerical error in the representation of a design or in the name or address of the proprietor of any design, or in any other matter, which is entered upon the register of designs."
| Element | What the text says |
|---|---|
| Who acts | The Controller ("may") |
| Trigger | A request in writing |
| Fee | The prescribed fee must accompany it |
| What can be corrected | A clerical error in the representation of a design, in the name or address of the proprietor, or in any other matter entered on the register |
| Where | The register of designs |
Three observations. The correction is limited to clerical errors; the text does not define "clerical". The correction is at the Controller's discretion ("may"). And it touches the register; a wider remedy for entries made without sufficient cause or wrongly remaining on the register is rectification under section 31, with an appeal to the High Court. See our article on section 31. The Designs Rules, 2001 prescribe the form of request and the fee; we state no fee.
Quick comparison
| Need | Section |
|---|---|
| Record a trust | None: section 25 bars it |
| Look at the register | 26 |
| Get a sealed copy of an entry | 26 |
| See a Controller's report | 27 bars it (except the section 45 report) |
| See an abandoned or refused application | 28 bars it |
| Fix a typo in the register | 29 |
| Fix a wrong or missing entry of substance | 31 |
Illustration (invented)
Greenleaf Utensils has a registered design, but the register shows its address as "Plot 14, Phase II" instead of "Plot 41, Phase II". Greenleaf writes to the Controller, pays the prescribed fee and asks for a correction under section 29. If the error is clerical, the Controller may correct it.
Separately, a rival, Sundial Steel, wants to see why Greenleaf's competitor, Ocean Pots, failed to register a similar design. Sundial asks to inspect Ocean's file. Under section 28, because that application was refused, the application and any drawings or specimens are not open to inspection. Sundial can still inspect the register itself under section 26 for entries of registered designs.
Need help with a wrong register entry?
If the register carries a wrong name or address, or your assignment is not shown, the route (section 29, section 30 or section 31) depends on the nature of the error. Our legal consultation team can read the entry with you and prepare the request.
Key takeaways
- No notice of any trust is entered in the registers or received by the Controller.
- The registers are open to public inspection at all convenient times, subject to the Act, and sealed certified copies of entries are available on payment of the prescribed fee.
- Controller reports are not published or open to inspection, except the report referred to in section 45.
- Abandoned or refused applications and their drawings and specimens are never open to inspection or published by the Controller.
- The Controller may correct clerical errors in the register on written request with the prescribed fee.
Read next
- Section 30: entry of assignments, transmissions and licences in the register
- Section 31: rectification of register
- Sections 17–18: inspection of registered designs and information on copyright
- Rules 27–28: inspection of designs and search under section 18
Disclaimer: Based on the Designs Act, 2000 as enacted, as consulted on 1 October 2026. Forms, fees and procedure are set by the Designs Rules, 2001 as amended from time to time. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.