Appeals to Appellate Board
Section 117A of the Patents Act, 1970 deals with appeals to Appellate Board. Save as otherwise expressly provided in sub-section (2), no appeal shall lie from any decision, order or direction made or issued under this Act by the Central Government, or from any act or order of the Controller for the purpose of giving effect to any such decision, order or direction. The Act came into force on 01 Apr 1978.
(1) Save as otherwise expressly provided in sub-section (2), no appeal shall lie from any decision, order or direction made or issued under this Act by the Central Government, or from any act or order of the Controller for the purpose of giving effect to any such decision, order or direction.
(2) An appeal shall lie to the 1*** from any decision, order or direction of the Controller of Central Government under section 15, section 16, section 17, section 18, section 19,2[section 20, sub-section (4) of section 25, section 28], section 51, section 54, section 57, section 60, section 61, section 63, section 66, sub-section (3) of section 69, section 78, sub-sections (1) to (5) of section 84, section 85, section 88, section 91, section 92 and section 94.
(3) Every appeal under this section shall be in the prescribed form and shall be verified in such manner as may be prescribed and shall be accompanied by a copy of the decision, order or direction appealed against and by such fees as may be prescribed.
(4) Every appeal shall be made within three months from the date of the decision, order or direction, as the case may be, of the Controller or the Central Government or within such further time as the Appellate Board may, in accordance with the rules made by it, allow.
Section 117A, 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.
This section refers to
- s. 15 Power of Controller to refuse or require amended applications, etc., in certain cases
- s. 16 Power of Controller to make orders respecting division of application
- s. 17 Power of Controller to make orders respecting dating of application
- s. 18 Powers of Controller in cases of anticipation
- s. 19 Powers of Controller in case of potential infringement
- s. 20 Powers of Controller to make orders regarding substitution of applicants etc
- s. 25 Opposition to patent
- s. 28 Mention of inventor as such in patent
- s. 51 Power of Controller to give directions to co-owners
- s. 54 Patents of addition
- s. 57 Amendment of application and specification before Controller
- s. 60 Applications for restoration of lapsed patents
- s. 61 Procedure for disposal of applications for restoration of lapsed patents
- s. 63 Surrender of patents
- s. 66 Revocation of patent in public interest
- s. 69 Registration of assignments, transmissions, etc
- s. 78 Power of Controller to correct clerical errors, etc
- s. 84 Compulsory licences
- s. 85 Revocation of patents by the Controller for non-working
- s. 88 Powers of Controller in granting compulsory licences
- s. 91 Licensing of related patents
- s. 92 Special provision for compulsory licences on notifications by Central Government
- s. 94 Termination of compulsory licence
Referred to by 1
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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Indian Institute of Science v. The Assistant Controller of Patents and Designs
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
On a s.117A appeal, Controller refusals must meet the twin tests of "why" and "what"; mere reproduction of the applicant's notes of submissions without independent discussion of prior arts or inventive step under s.2(1)(ja) violates natural justice and is set aside with remand and a timed re-hearing (merits left open).
On this section: True
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BASF SE v. Joint Controller of Patents and Designs & Ors.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
On a s.117A IPR Division appeal against Controller refusal, the High Court may set aside the refusal and remand with strict timelines where delay and contradictory inventive-step / s.3(d) reasoning make the order unsustainable, while expressly leaving merits open.
On this section: True
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Universitat Ulm v. Assistant Controller of Patents and Designs
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
On a s.117A appeal, a cryptic Controller refusal that does not discuss the cited prior arts, ignores Form-3 disclosure of a corresponding foreign grant after considering a cited prior art, and fails to engage synergistic-effect submissions must be set aside and remanded to a different Controller with a timed hearing.
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.
Questions about Section 117A
What have the courts held on Section 117A of the Patents Act?
Indian Institute of Science v. The Assistant Controller of Patents and Designs (19 Mar 2025) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: True. Another 2 judgments on this section are set out below. They run from 2024 to 2025.
How do I find court cases under Section 117A 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 117A, section 117A Patents Act, section 117A of the Patents Act. People searching for it also type 117a patents act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 3 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Indian Institute of Science v. The Assistant Controller of Patents and Designs (19 Mar 2025).
What should I read with Section 117A of the Patents Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 15 (Power of Controller to refuse or require amended applications, etc., in certain cases), 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 18 (Powers of Controller in cases of anticipation), and on 19 further provisions, so none of them can safely be read on its own. 1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it.
When did Section 117A of the Patents Act come into force?
Section 117A of the Patents Act, cited as Patents Act 117A, 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 17 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.