Intellectual Property Rights - Law and Practice · Patent Databases and Patent Information System

Section 76 Patents Act: Officers Not to Furnish Information

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Section 76 of the Patents Act, 1970 bars an officer or employee of the patent office from furnishing information on matters dealt with under the Act, helping prepare documents to be lodged, or searching office records. Three exceptions apply: the Act requires or authorises it, the Central Government or Controller directs in writing, or a court orders it.

Understand Confidentiality: Officers Not to Furnish Information

The Patent Office holds sensitive material. Applicants file specifications, foreign filing details and other papers before the patent is published or granted. If its staff could freely share this information, or help one party draft or search, the system would lose fairness and trust. Section 76 protects against that.

The section binds an officer or employee in the patent office. It does not bind the public, applicants or patent agents. Section 73 shows who these people are: the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks is the Controller, and the Central Government may appoint examiners and other officers.

The section creates three prohibitions. An officer or employee shall not: (a) furnish information on a matter which is being, or has been, dealt with under the Act; (b) prepare or assist in the preparation of a document required or permitted by or under the Act to be lodged in the patent office; or (c) conduct a search in the records of the patent office.

The prohibitions are not absolute. They do not apply when the officer is required or authorised by the Act, acts under a written direction of the Central Government or the Controller, or acts under an order of a court. Note the word "written": an oral instruction does not fit the direction exception.

Think of Section 76 together with Section 75, which stops officers from acquiring any right or interest in a patent issued by that office during their appointment (except by inheritance or bequest). Section 153 is the public route to information: anyone can request information on prescribed matters about a patent or application, on paying the prescribed fee. So the public gets information through the Act's channel, not through an officer's personal favour.

Key rules to remember

Who is bound: Officer or employee in the patent office; The restriction is on the office staff, not on applicants or the public.
Three prohibited acts (Section 76): (a) furnish information on a matter dealt with under the Act; (b) prepare or assist in preparing a document to be lodged in the patent office; (c) conduct a search in the office records; Each is a separate prohibition. Cover all three in an answer.
Three exceptions: Required or authorised by the Act; OR written direction of the Central Government or the Controller; OR order of a court; Direction must be in writing. The words "or Appellate Board" were omitted by Act 33 of 2021.
Matter covered: A matter being, or has been, dealt with under the Act; Covers pending and past matters.
Related rule (Section 75): No officer or employee may acquire any right or interest in a patent issued by that office during appointment, except by inheritance or bequest; Linked conflict-of-interest rule.
Public access (Section 153): Request to the Controller in the prescribed manner + prescribed fee = entitled to information on prescribed matters; Shows the lawful route to information.

How to solve Confidentiality: Officers Not to Furnish Information questions

Use this method for any fact-based question on Section 76: provision, facts, conclusion.

1Identify the person. Is the person an officer or employee in the patent office? If not, Section 76 does not apply.
2Identify the act. Match it to one of the three prohibitions: furnishing information, preparing or assisting with a document to be lodged, or searching records.
3Check the subject. Does the act relate to a matter being or having been dealt with under the Act (for information), or to a document required or permitted under the Act (for drafting)?
4Test each exception: is the act required or authorised by the Act, done under a written direction of the Central Government or the Controller, or done under a court order?
5If an exception fits, the officer is not in breach. If none fits, the act is prohibited by Section 76.
6State the conclusion in one line and add the practical point, such as using a Section 153 request with the prescribed fee.

Quickest way: Who, What, Exception

When to use it: Short case questions where you must decide quickly whether an officer's act is allowed.

Who: patent office officer or employee? If no, stop.
What: tell, draft or help draft, or search records? If none, stop.
Exception: Act, written direction, or court order? If yes, allowed; if no, barred.
Write the conclusion citing Section 76.

Common mistakes in Confidentiality: Officers Not to Furnish Information

Applying Section 76 to applicants or patent agents.
Students read it as a general confidentiality rule.
Fix: Remember it binds only officers and employees in the patent office.
Listing only the ban on furnishing information.
The heading mentions only information.
Fix: Always list all three: furnishing information, preparing or assisting with documents, and searching records.
Saying an oral instruction from the Controller is enough.
Students overlook the word "writing".
Fix: The direction of the Central Government or the Controller must be in writing.
Mentioning the Appellate Board as a source of orders.
Old notes still carry the words.
Fix: Those words were omitted by Act 33 of 2021. Cite the court order exception only.
Confusing Section 76 with Section 75.
Both deal with officers and are adjacent.
Fix: Section 75 bars acquiring rights or interests in patents; Section 76 bars furnishing information, drafting help and searching.
Saying the public can never get information from the office.
Students overstate the secrecy rule.
Fix: Section 153 entitles a person to prescribed information on request and payment of the prescribed fee.

Worked examples

Example 1

Rohan, an examiner in the patent office, tells a friend at a pharma company the details of a pending application filed by a competitor, without any direction. Is Rohan in breach of Section 76?

Show the solution

Person: Rohan is an examiner, so he is an officer or employee in the patent office.
Act: he furnished information on a matter being dealt with under the Act, which is prohibited by Section 76(a).
Exceptions: no provision of the Act required or authorised it, no written direction of the Central Government or the Controller, and no court order.
No exception applies, so the disclosure is prohibited.

Answer: Yes. Rohan furnished information on a pending matter without any of the three exceptions, so he breached Section 76(a).

Example 2

A clerk in the patent office is asked by an inventor to prepare the inventor's application form and to search the office records for similar inventions. Can the clerk do so? What if a court orders production of a file?

Show the solution

Person: the clerk is an employee in the patent office.
Preparing the application: it is a document required or permitted under the Act to be lodged in the patent office, so assisting is barred by Section 76(b).
Searching the records: barred by Section 76(c), unless an exception applies.
No exception fits the inventor's request, so the clerk must refuse. The inventor may instead seek information through Section 153 on payment of the prescribed fee.
Court order: Section 76 allows acts done by order of a court, so producing the file under such an order is not a breach.

Answer: The clerk cannot prepare the application or search the records for the inventor, as both are prohibited by Section 76(b) and (c). Acting under a court order is permitted.

Exam tips

Quote the three prohibitions and three exceptions in order; this earns structured marks.
In case questions, first name the person as officer or employee, then match the act, then test exceptions.
Say "in writing" when mentioning the direction of the Central Government or the Controller.
Link to Section 153 for the lawful route to information, and to Section 75 for the related officer restriction.
Do not cite the Appellate Board as a source of orders; the words were omitted in 2021.

Practice questions from Patent Databases and Patent Information System

Confidentiality: Officers Not to Furnish Information: frequently asked questions

Who does Section 76 of the Patents Act apply to?

It applies to officers and employees in the patent office. It does not restrict applicants, patentees or the public.

What are the exceptions to Section 76?

An officer may act when required or authorised by the Act, under a written direction of the Central Government or the Controller, or by order of a court.

Does Section 76 mean patent information is always secret?

No. Section 153 entitles a person to information on prescribed matters about a patent or application on request in the prescribed manner and payment of the prescribed fee.

How is Section 76 different from Section 75?

Section 76 bars officers from furnishing information, helping prepare documents and searching records. Section 75 bars them from acquiring any right or interest in a patent issued by that office during their appointment, except by inheritance or bequest.