Search for anticipation by previous publication and by prior claim
Section 13 of the Patents Act, 1970 deals with search for anticipation by previous publication and by prior claim. The examiner to whom an application for a patent is referred under section 12 shall make investigation for the purpose of ascertaining whether the invention so far as claimed in any claim of the complete specification-- (a) has been anticipated by publication before the date of filing of the applica The Act came into force on 01 Apr 1978.
(1) The examiner to whom an application for a patent is referred under section 12 shall make investigation for the purpose of ascertaining whether the invention so far as claimed in any claim of the complete specification--
(a) has been anticipated by publication before the date of filing of the applicant's complete specification in any specification filed in pursuance of an application for a patent made in India and dated on or after the 1st day of January, 1912;
(b) is claimed in any claim of any other complete specification published on or after the date of filing of the applicant's complete specification, being a specification filed in pursuance of an application for a patent made in India and dated before or claiming the priority date earlier than that date.
(2) The examiner shall, in addition, make such investigation 1*** for the purpose of ascertaining whether the invention, so far as claimed in any claim of the complete specification, has been anticipated by publication in India or elsewhere in any document other than those mentioned in sub-section (1) before the date of filing of the applicants complete specification.
(3) Where a complete specification is amended under the provisions of this Act before 2[the grant of a a patent], the amended specification shall be examined and investigated in like manner as the original specification.
(4) The examination and investigations required under section 12 and this section shall not be deemed in any way to warrant the validity of any patent, and no liability shall be incurred by the Central Government or any officer thereof by reason of, or in connection with, any such examination or investigation or any report or other proceedings consequent thereon.
Section 13, 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
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
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UCB Pharma GmbH & Anr. v. The Controller of Patents and Designs
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Examination under s.12 / hearing practice requires that prior arts and objections the Controller will rely on be disclosed to the applicant before the hearing; springing additional prior-art documents (D4/D5) for the first time at hearing, and rejecting claims on grounds not flagged in the hearing notice, violates natural justice and the examination scheme.
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.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… What is claimed, therefore, he submits depends on what is disclosed. Resultantly, the complete specifications, read with the enabling disclosure and claim construction, in totality, made up the claim. 10.6 Apropos Section 13(1)(b) of the Patents Act, and the submission of Mr Sai Deepak that the suit patent was vulnerable to invalidity on the ground of prior claiming, Mr Hemant Singh submits that there has, in fact, been no prior claiming of EO, prior to IN 161. He emphasises, in this context, the words "prior claiming", as contained …
Questions about Section 13
What have the courts held on Section 13 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. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below.
How do I find court cases under Section 13 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 13, section 13 Patents Act, section 13 of the Patents Act. People searching for it also type patents act s 13. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are 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 13 of the Patents Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 12 (Examination of application), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 3 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it.
When did Section 13 of the Patents Act come into force?
Section 13 of the Patents Act, cited as Patents Act 13, 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 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.