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Patent criticality
The wrong people are named as inventors
Should I name my manager on the patent?
Inventorship is not authorship, seniority or reward. It is a factual question about who devised the invention as claimed - and because claims change during prosecution, the correct answer can change too.
How it goes wrong
A department head is added out of courtesy. A junior who solved the key problem is left off because they were an intern. Everyone on the project is added because it seemed fairer. A collaborator at another institution is omitted because the paperwork would be complicated.
Each of these creates a defect. It can affect title, because rights flow from inventors. It can be raised as a ground of attack. And in university and sponsored-research settings it can produce disputes between institutions that outlast the patent.
The part that gets forgotten
Inventorship follows the claims. If prosecution narrows the claims to the subject matter contributed by one person, the others may no longer be inventors of what is actually claimed. Very few organisations revisit inventorship after an FER response, and they should.
Since 2024 an inventor may separately request a certificate of inventorship from the Controller in respect of a patent in force - useful recognition, and a further reason to get the naming right.
Sections 6, 28 and 88 of the Patents Act 1970; rule 70A and Form 8A of the Patents Rules 2003 (certificate of inventorship, inserted 2024).
Record contributions contemporaneously, in the lab notebook or the ticket system. Reconstructing who thought of what three years later is unpleasant.
Treating inventorship as a way of recognising effort.
Applications where the inventor list matches the author list of a paper. They are different tests.
After every claim amendment, ask whether the inventor list is still accurate for what is now claimed.
Sources & further reading
- The Patents Act, 1970 (consolidated to 1 August 2024) — Official IP India text
- The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024 - G.S.R. 211(E), 15 March 2024 — Gazette text via WIPO Lex
Related
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The identification of the person or people who actually devised the invention as claimed - which is legally distinct from who owns it.
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Not sure whether this applies to your invention?
The honest answer usually needs someone to look at your actual disclosure, your timeline and the prior art. That is a conversation, not an article.
Educational guidance, not legal advice. This material is published by Ragulika IP for general education and information. It is not legal advice, it does not create a professional-client relationship, and it is not a substitute for advice on your own facts. Patentability, infringement, prosecution strategy and every other IP outcome turn on the specific facts and on the law and Patent Office practice as they stand at the time you act. Please take professional advice before making a decision, and read the underlying provision or judgment before relying on any point stated here.
Last reviewed by Ragulika IP on 2026-08-23. Indian patent law and Patent Office practice change; check the position before you rely on it.