Form of application
Section 7 of the Patents Act, 1970 deals with form of application. Every application for a patent shall be for one invention only and shall be made in the prescribed form and filed in the patent office. The Act came into force on 01 Apr 1978.
(1) Every application for a patent shall be for one invention only and shall be made in the prescribed form and filed in the patent office.
1[(1A) Every international application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty for a patent, as may be filed designating India, shall be deemed to be an application under this Act, if a corresponding application has also been filed before the Controller in India.]
2[(1B) The filing date of an application referred to in sub-section (1A) and its complete specification processed by the patent office as designated office or elected office shall be the international filing date accorded under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.]
(2) Where the application is made by virtue of an assignment of the right to apply for a patent for the invention, there shall be furnished with the application, or within such period as may be prescribed after the filling of the application, proof of the right to make the application.
(3) Every application under this section shall state that the applicant is in possession of the invention and shall name the 3[person] claiming to be the true and first inventor; and where the person so claiming is not the applicant or one of the applicants, the application shall contain a declaration that the applicant believes the person so named to be the true and first inventor.
4[(4) Every such application (not being a convention application or an application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty designating India) shall be accompanied by a provisional or a complete specification.]
Section 7, 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.
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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Euro-apex B.V. v. Controller of Patents and Designs
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Controller’s s.15 refusal must be a speaking order after putting the applicant on notice of each ground. Refusal resting on inventor-change / Korean nullification grounds never flagged in the FER or hearing notices violates natural justice; cryptic s.15 refusal ignoring deed of assignment and Dutch arbitral award is unsustainable and remittable.
On this section: Court held Euro-apex must be treated as applicant and Dinulescu as inventor on the strength of the NAI award + deed of assignment for purposes of the pending application under s.7.
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
4 instruments name this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.
Questions about Section 7
What have the courts held on Section 7 of the Patents Act?
Euro-apex B.V. v. Controller of Patents and Designs (11 Mar 2025) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Court held Euro-apex must be treated as applicant and Dinulescu as inventor on the strength of the NAI award + deed of assignment for purposes of the pending application under s.7.
How do I find court cases under Section 7 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 7, section 7 Patents Act, section 7 of the Patents Act. People searching for it also type patents act s 7 and patents act s 7a. 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 Euro-apex B.V. v. Controller of Patents and Designs (11 Mar 2025).
What should I read with Section 7 of the Patents Act, and has it changed?
1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. 4 instruments name it without being made under it, most recently Patents (2nd Amendment) Rules, 2020 (2020), then The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2016 (2016).
When did Section 7 of the Patents Act come into force?
Section 7 of the Patents Act, cited as Patents Act 7, 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 18 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.