How To · Intellectual Property · Patent FER

How to Respond to a Patent Examination Report (FER) in India

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

A First Examination Report (FER) is the Indian Patent Office's formal list of objections to your patent application after you requested examination. It is the single most important exchange in the life of a patent application, because a weak or late response can sink an invention that deserved protection. The FER typically raises objections on novelty, inventive step, whether the subject matter is patentable at all under Section 3, clarity of the claims, and formalities, and you must answer every one of them with argument and, where needed, amended claims, within a strict time limit. This page explains what the FER objects to, how to read and respond to it on the IP India portal, the deadline and the one extension available, how the hearing works if objections remain, and the High Court route if the application is finally refused. This is general guidance, not legal advice; a registered patent agent or attorney should draft the response. Last verified October 2026.

01What the FER is

After you file Form 18 requesting examination, an examiner studies your application against prior art and the Patents Act 1970, and issues the First Examination Report. The FER is not a refusal; it is a list of what the office needs you to address before it can grant the patent. Your job is to overcome each objection, by argument, by amending the claims, or both, so that the application is put in order.

Because the FER is where most applications are won or lost, it should be handled by a patent professional. This builds on filing a patent application in India, which covers the earlier steps.

02The objections it raises

Every objection must be answered specifically. Silence on one objection can by itself lead to refusal.

03The deadline you cannot miss

The response to the FER must be filed so as to put the application in order for grant within 6 months from the date of the FER. This period is extendable by up to 3 months, but only if you file the extension request (with fee) within the original period.

If you do not put the application in order within the time allowed, including any extension, the application is treated as abandoned. This is the deadline that ends most patent applications, so diary it the moment the FER arrives.

04Draft and file the response

• Step 1. Read the FER with your patent agent and map each objection to a planned answer.
• Step 2. Prepare the written submissions, addressing novelty, inventive step, Section 3 and clarity point by point, with reference to the cited prior art.
• Step 3. Where needed, file amended claims that stay within the scope of the original disclosure; you cannot add new matter.
• Step 4. File any missing forms, such as an updated Form 3 on foreign filings.
• Step 5. Upload the response on the IP India e-filing portal at ipindiaonline.gov.in and pay any fee, within the deadline.

05The hearing

If objections remain after your written response, the Controller usually offers a hearing (often by video conference). You or your agent attend and argue the outstanding objections, and you are generally allowed to file written submissions and any final claim amendments shortly after the hearing.

Treat the hearing as the last real chance to persuade the office. Go in with a clear fallback set of claims you are willing to accept, so the examiner has a grantable version in front of them.

06Grant or refusal, and appeal

After the response and any hearing, the Controller either grants the patent or passes a reasoned order of refusal. If the application is refused:

• The IPAB was abolished by the Tribunals Reforms Act 2021, so an appeal from the Controller's refusal now lies to the High Court, several of which have dedicated Intellectual Property Divisions such as those of the Delhi and Madras High Courts.
• The High Court can hear the appeal on the merits and set aside, modify or confirm the refusal.
• Keep the refusal order, the FER, your response and the hearing record, because the appeal turns on whether the Controller dealt with your submissions correctly.

Confirm the current appeal provision and limitation, since the post-IPAB framework is still settling. For the background, see IP appeals after IPAB.

07Track a refusal appeal with Claw

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

If your application is refused and you appeal to the High Court, that becomes a live legal matter with hearing dates and orders, and you can create a FREE Claw account to track it across the court that hears it, including the Intellectual Property Divisions of the High Courts. Claw covers 9,102 courts, benches and forums, returns results in under 5 seconds, and its judgment search spans 30 crore+ judgments (Supreme Court from 1950 and High Courts from 1990), so your patent attorney can see how the courts have decided similar refusals on novelty, inventive step and Section 3. Claw does not train its AI models on your documents. A clean search result only means nothing was found on the forums and date searched, and this is general information, not legal advice.

To see how similar refusals were decided, run a case search across Indian courts. IP boutiques managing many such matters can use case management for litigation boutiques.

08Sources and further reading

• Office of the CGPDTM (IP India): ipindia.gov.in
• IP India e-filing: ipindiaonline.gov.in
• Delhi High Court (IP Division): delhihighcourt.nic.in
• eCourts (case status): ecourts.gov.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This page is general information for an Indian audience, not legal advice. Confirm current time limits and fees on the official IP India portal and have the FER response drafted by a registered patent agent or attorney.

09Frequently asked questions