Priority dates of claims of a complete specification
Section 11 of the Patents Act, 1970 deals with priority dates of claims of a complete specification. There shall be a priority date for each claim of a complete specification. The Act came into force on 01 Apr 1978.
(1) There shall be a priority date for each claim of a complete specification.
(2) Where a complete specification is filed in pursuance of a single application accompanied by--
(a) a provisional specification; or
(b) a specification which is treated by virtue of a direction under sub-section (3) of section 9 as a provisional specification,
and the claim is fairly based on the matter disclosed in the specification referred to in clause (a) or clause (b), the priority date of that claim shall be the date of the filing of the relevant specification.
(3) Where the complete specification is filed or proceeded with in pursuance of two or more applications accompanied by such specifications as are mentioned in sub-section (2) and the claim is fairly based on the matter disclosed--
(a) in one of those specifications, the priority date of that claim shall be the date of the filing of the application accompanied by that specification;
(b) partly in one and partly in another, the priority date of that claim shall be the date of the filing of the application accompanied by the specification of the later date.
1[(3A) Where a complete specification based on a previously filed application in India has been filed within twelve months from the date of that application and the claim is fairly based on the matter disclosed in the previously filed application, the priority date of that claim shall be the date of the previously filed application in which the matter was first disclosed.]
(4) Where the complete specification has been filed in pursuance of a further application made by virtue of sub-section (1) of section 16 and the claim is fairly based on the matter disclosed in any of the earlier specifications, provisional or complete, as the case may be, the priority date of that claim shall be the date of the filing of that specification in which the matter was first disclosed.
(5) Where, under the foregoing provisions of this section, any claim of a complete specification would, but for the provisions of this sub-section, have two or more priority dates, the priority date of that claim shall be the earlier or earliest of those dates.
(6) In any case to which sub-sections (2), (3), 1[(3A)], (4) and (5) do not apply, the priority date of a claim shall, subject to the provisions of section 137, be the date of filing of the complete specification.
(7) The reference to the date of the filing of the application or of the complete specification in this section shall, in cases where there has been a post-dating under section 9 or section 17 or, as the case may be, ante-dating under section 16, be a reference to the date as so post-dated or ante-dated.
(8) A claim in a complete specification of a patent shall not be invalid by reason only of--
(a) the publication or use of the invention so far as claimed in that claim on or after the priority date of such claim; or
(b) the grant of another patent which claims the invention, so far as claimed in the first mentioned claim, in a claim of the same or a later priority date.
Section 11, The Patents Act, 1970 (Act 39 of 1970).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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TVS Motor Company Limited v. The Controller of Patents and Designs
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Where priority is claimed from a provisional specification under s.11, a later publication qualifies as prior art only if the complete-specification claims are not fairly based on the provisional disclosures; the Controller must decide that s.11 fair-basing / priority question (and related s.13 anticipation analysis) with reasons rather than treat a post-provisional publication as prior art without addressing the applicant's priority claim.
On this section: True
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Made under this section, and citing it
1 instrument names this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.
Questions about Section 11
What have the courts held on Section 11 of the Patents Act?
TVS Motor Company Limited v. The Controller of Patents and Designs (27 Feb 2025) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: True.
How do I find court cases under Section 11 of the Patents Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Patents Act 11, section 11 Patents Act, section 11 of the Patents Act. People searching for it also type patent act section 11a. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with TVS Motor Company Limited v. The Controller of Patents and Designs (27 Feb 2025).
What should I read with Section 11 of the Patents Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 9 (Provisional and complete specifications), section 16 (Power of Controller to make orders respecting division of application), section 17 (Power of Controller to make orders respecting dating of application), section 137 (Multiple priorities), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. One instrument names it without being made under it, most recently The Patents (Amendment) rules, 2006 (2006).
When did Section 11 of the Patents Act come into force?
Section 11 of the Patents Act, cited as Patents Act 11, came into force on 01 Apr 1978, having been enacted on 19 Sep 1970. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.