law: Patents Act, 1970
  20. Powers of Controller to Make orders regarding
  
  substitution of applicants, etc.
  (1) If the Controller is satisfied on a claim made in the
  
  prescribed manner at any time before a patent has been granted, that by virtue
  
  of any assignment or agreement in writing made by the applicant or one of the
  
  applicants for the patent or by operation of law, the claimant would, if the
  
  patent were then granted, be entitled thereto or to the interest of the
  
  applicant therein, or to an undivided share of the patent or of that interest,
  
  the Controller may, subject to the provisions of this section, direct that the
  
  application shall proceed in the name of the claimant or in the names of the
  
  claimants and the applicant or the other joint applicant or applicants,
  
  accordingly as the case may require.
  (2) No such direction as aforesaid shall be given by virtue of
  
  any assignment or agreement made by one of two or more joint applicants for a
  
  patent except with the consent of the other joint applicant or applicants.
  (3) No such direction as aforesaid shall be given by virtue of
  
  any assignment or agreement for the assignment of the benefit of an invention
  
  unless-
  (a) the invention is identified therein by
  
  reference to the number of the application for the patent; or
  (b) there is produced to the Controller an
  
  acknowledgment by the person by whom the assignment or agreement was made that
  
  the assignment or agreement relates to the invention in respect of which that
  
  application is made; or
  (c) the rights of the claimant in respect of
  
  the invention have been finally established by the decision of a court; or
  (d) the Controller gives directions for
  
  enabling the application to proceed or for regulating the manner in which it
  
  should be proceeded with under sub-section (5).
  (4) Where one of two or more joint applicants for a patent dies
  
  at any time before the patent has been granted, the Controller may, upon a
  
  request in that behalf made by the survivor or survivors and with the consent
  
  of the legal representative of the deceased, direct that the application shall
  
  proceed in the name of the survivor or survivors alone.
  (5) If any dispute arises between joint applicants for a patent
  
  whether or in what manner the application should be proceeded with, the
  
  Controller may, upon application made to him in the prescribed manner by any of
  
  the parties, and after giving to all parties concerned an opportunity to be
  
  heard, give such directions as he thinks fit for enabling the application to
  
  proceed in the name of one or more of the parties alone or for regulating the
  
  manner in which it should be proceeded with, or for both those purposes, as the
  
  case may require.