IP Intelligence › In Simple Words › Restoration
In simple words
Restoration
A lapsed patent is not always gone. But the window is short and the evidence has to be honest.
- In simple words
- An application to bring back a patent that ceased for non-payment of renewal fees, which must be made within eighteen months from the date the patent ceased to have effect.
- Think of it as
- A limited second chance, with a written explanation attached.
- Why it matters
- The application must set out fully the circumstances of the failure to pay, and the Controller has to be satisfied the failure was unintentional. Third parties who began working the invention during the lapse may keep certain protections even if restoration is granted.
- A simple example
- A renewal is missed in June 2025 because the address on the register was stale. An application to restore has to be made by around December 2026, with a verified explanation.
- Common mistake
- Discovering the lapse during a due diligence exercise two years later. By then the eighteen months may have gone.
- Where it comes from
- Patents Act 1970, sections 60, 61 and 62
Sources & further reading
- The Patents Act, 1970 (consolidated to 1 August 2024) — Official IP India text
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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.