Patent Form 27: who must file the working statement, and how often
Own a patent or hold a licence? Form 27 tells the Patent Office whether the invention is worked in India. Who files, how often, by when, and what happens if you skip it.
CA Harun Raaj
makeitlegit.in
You hold a patent, or a licence under someone else's. The Patent Office has not written to you, so you assume nothing is due.
That assumption catches founders. A granted patent carries a standing duty to report, on Form 27, whether the invention is used in India. The frequency changed in 2024, so older advice is often wrong.
The duty in one paragraph
Section 146(2) of the Patents Act, 1970 says that every patentee and every licensee (whether exclusive or otherwise) must furnish, in the manner and form prescribed and at prescribed intervals, statements as to the extent to which the patented invention has been worked on a commercial scale in India.
Two groups are named: the patentee, and every licensee. If you are a licensee, the duty is yours too. It does not sit only with the person whose name is on the patent.
"Worked on a commercial scale in India" is the test the form asks you to report against. In plain words: is the invention actually being made or used commercially in India, or not?
Who must file
Rule 131(1) of the Patents Rules, 2003 says the statements shall be furnished by every patentee and every licensee under section 146(2) in Form 27. The statement must be duly verified by the patentee, the licensee, or their authorised agent.
The note printed on Form 27 repeats this. Every patentee and every licensee (exclusive or otherwise) is required to file the form. Where a patent is granted to two or more persons, the form may be filed jointly by all or any of them.
So the filers are:
- the patentee, including each co-owner (one joint filing can cover all or any of them);
- every licensee, exclusive or non-exclusive.
The rule text does not say one party's filing discharges another's duty, so do not assume it does.
How often: the rule changed in 2024
This is the part most people get wrong.
Earlier text of rule 131(2) required the statement once in respect of every financial year, within six months from the expiry of that financial year.
The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024 (notification G.S.R. 211(E), dated 15 March 2024, in force from the date of publication in the Official Gazette) replaced sub-rule (2) of rule 131. The current rule 131(2) reads:
"The statements referred to in sub-rule (1) shall be furnished once in respect of every period of three financial year, starting from the financial year commencing immediately after the financial year in which the patent was granted, and shall be furnished within six months from the expiry of each such period."
Read it slowly. It has three working parts.
- Frequency. Once for every period of three financial years. Not once a year.
- Start point. The first period starts with the financial year that commences immediately after the financial year in which the patent was granted. The year of grant itself is not counted.
- Deadline. Within six months from the expiry of each such three-year period.
The General Clauses Act, 1897 defines "financial year" as the year commencing on the first day of April (s.3(21)), so each period is counted in April-to-March years.
A worked example
Say your patent was granted on 10 August 2024. That falls in the financial year 2024-25.
- The first period starts with the next financial year, 2025-26.
- The first three-year period covers 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28.
- That period expires on 31 March 2028.
- The statement is due within six months of that expiry, so by 30 September 2028.
- The second period would then be 2028-29 to 2030-31, due by 30 September 2031, and so on.
This applies the words of rule 131(2); it is an illustration, not a ruling on your patent.
What the rule does not tell you
The 2024 amendment has no transition clause on file for patents granted years ago. If yours was granted before the amendment, check how the Patent Office counts your current period.
What counts as "worked" and "not worked"
Form 27 asks you to state, for each patent in the statement, whether it is worked or not worked in the period covered.
The note at the foot of the form adds one rule worth knowing. Subject to conditions specified under the Patents Act, 1970, a patented invention shall not be considered as "not worked" merely on the ground that the patented product has been imported into India.
Read that carefully. It tells you that importing the patented product does not, by itself, make the invention "not worked". It does not tell you that import counts as working in every case. The words "subject to conditions specified under the Patents Act" matter. Where the answer is unclear, take advice before you tick a box.
What Form 27 asks you
The current Form 27 (substituted by the 2024 Amendment Rules) is headed "Statement regarding the working of patented invention(s) on a commercial scale in India" and cites section 146(2) and rule 131(1). It states "No Fee". It has these fields:
- Who is filing. Name, address, nationality and patent number(s) of the patentee or licensee. One form may be filed for multiple patents, provided all are related patents and are granted to the same patentee(s).
- The financial year. The form says to "state the financial year to which the statement relates".
- Worked or not worked. For each patent number, tick worked or not worked.
- If not worked, why. Tick the appropriate reason from the form: the invention is under development or commercial trial; it is under review or approval with regulatory authorities; you are exploring commercial licensing; or any other reason you specify.
- Licensing. Whether the patent is available for licensing (yes or no). If yes, you may say whether you want to hear from anyone interested in a licence, and give an email address and contact number.
- Signature. To be signed by the patentee, the licensee, or an authorised agent furnishing the statement, with a dated verification that the facts are true to the best of knowledge, information and belief.
Note item 5. Section 146(3) lets the Controller publish the information received, and rule 131(3) repeats this. Whatever you say about licensing availability, and any contact details you give, can become public. Give a business email, not a personal one.
Field 2 still says "financial year". Check how the Patent Office e-filing screen expects a three-year period to be entered.
The other clock: a notice from the Controller
Form 27 is the periodic statement. There is a second, separate power.
Under section 146(1), the Controller may, at any time during the continuance of the patent, by notice in writing, require a patentee or a licensee (exclusive or otherwise) to furnish information, or periodical statements, on the extent to which the patented invention has been commercially worked in India, as specified in the notice. You must furnish it within two months from the date of the notice, or within such further time as the Controller may allow.
Two points follow.
- A notice under section 146(1) is not the same as the Form 27 cycle. The section 146(2) duty applies "without prejudice to" the section 146(1) power. Filing your Form 27 on time does not cancel a notice you receive.
- The two-month clock runs from the date of the notice, not from the date you open the envelope or the email. Watch the address the Patent Office has on record for you.
If you are late
Rule 131(2) carries a proviso. The Controller may condone the delay or extend the time for filing the statement by a period of up to three months, upon a request made in Form 4.
It is a request, in a set form, at the Controller's discretion, capped at three months. It is not a grace period you can assume.
The Amendment Rules also added a new sub-rule (2) to rule 137. It says the general power in rule 137(1), under which the Controller may correct an irregularity in procedure, does not apply to matters under sub-rule (2) of rule 131. In plain terms, the Controller's general tidy-up power does not reach this deadline. The route the rule itself provides for a late Form 27 is the Form 4 request in the proviso.
What happens if you do not file
Section 122(1)(b) of the Patents Act, 1970 covers a person who refuses or fails to furnish to the Controller any information or statement required by or under section 146. That person is liable to a penalty which may extend to one lakh rupees. In the case of continuing refusal or failure, a further penalty of one thousand rupees applies for every day after the first during which the refusal or failure continues.
The words are "may extend to", so the ₹1 lakh is a ceiling, not a fixed charge. The daily ₹1,000 is on top of it.
Section 122(2) deals with a different problem: furnishing a statement that is false, which you know or have reason to believe is false, or do not believe to be true. The penalty there is a sum equal to one half per cent of the total sale or turnover (or of gross receipts in profession) as computed in the audited accounts, or five crore rupees, whichever is less (s.122(2), Patents Act, 1970). So do not tick "worked" to be safe. A wrong statement is its own exposure.
Step by step
- List your patents and licences, with each grant date and its financial year.
- Work out the period: start from the next financial year, count three, add six months. That is your rule 131(2) deadline.
- Group related patents held by the same patentee(s) into one form.
- Decide worked or not worked, patent by patent, on your real position in India. Do not tick "worked" to be safe.
- Enter only licensing contact details you are happy to have public.
- Have the patentee, licensee or authorised agent verify, sign and date it, then file Form 27 with the Controller of Patents.
- Diary the next period and its six-month deadline the day you file.
What to do now
- Next step: Find the grant date of each patent you own or license, and work out the three-financial-year period and its end date under rule 131(2) of the Patents Rules, 2003.
- Deadline: Within six months from the expiry of each three-financial-year period (rule 131(2), Patents Rules, 2003, as substituted by the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024). If a section 146(1) notice arrives, two months from the date of the notice (section 146(1), Patents Act, 1970).
- Consequence of missing it: Penalty up to ₹1 lakh, plus ₹1,000 for each further day of continuing failure (section 122(1)(b), Patents Act, 1970). A late filing needs a Form 4 request, and the Controller can allow up to three months (proviso to rule 131(2)).
Have a CA review your facts before you act or file.
FAQs
Is Form 27 filed every year?
Not under the current text. Rule 131(2), as substituted in 2024, requires the statement once for every period of three financial years, within six months from the end of each period. Earlier text required it once for every financial year.
Does the year in which my patent was granted count?
No. The first period starts from the financial year commencing immediately after the financial year of grant (rule 131(2), Patents Rules, 2003).
I am only a licensee. Do I have to file?
Section 146(2) names every patentee and every licensee, exclusive or otherwise. Rule 131(1) says the statements are furnished by both. The note to Form 27 says the same.
Is there a fee?
The form is headed "No Fee". If you need to ask for condonation of delay, the request is made in Form 4. Check the current fee for Form 4 on the Patent Office website before you file it.
Does importing the patented product mean "not worked"?
The note to Form 27 says that, subject to conditions specified under the Patents Act, 1970, an invention shall not be considered "not worked" merely because the patented product has been imported. It does not say import always counts as working. Take advice where this matters.
Can I cover several patents in one Form 27?
Yes, if all of them are related patents granted to the same patentee(s) (explanation in Form 27).
Will my answers be public?
The Controller may publish information received under section 146 in the prescribed manner (section 146(3), Patents Act, 1970; rule 131(3), Patents Rules, 2003). Assume what you write can be made public.
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