Patents Act, 1970 · Chapter XVII: Use of Inventions for Purposes of Government and Acquisition of Inventions by Central Government
Section 102: Acquisition of inventions and patents by the Central Government
(1) The Central Government may, if satisfied that it is necessary that an invention which is the subject of an application for a patent or a patent should be acquired from the applicant or the patentee for a public purpose, publish a notification to that effect in the Official Gazette, and thereupon the invention or patent and all rights in respect of the invention or patent shall, by force of this section, stand transferred to and be vested in the Central Government.
(2) Notice of the acquisition shall be given to the applicant, and, where a patent has been granted, to the patentee and other persons, if any, appearing in the register as having an interest in the patent.
(3) The Central Government shall pay to the applicant, or, as the case may be, the patentee and other persons appearing on the register as having an interest in the patent such compensation as may be agreed upon between the Central Government and the applicant, or the patentee and other persons; or, as may, in default of agreement, be determined by the High Court on a reference under section 103 to be just having regard to the expenditure incurred in connection with the invention and, in the case of a patent, the term thereof, the period during which and the manner in which it has already been worked (including the profits made during such period by the patentee or by his licensee whether exclusive or otherwise) and other relevant factors.
Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 15 October 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 102
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