A patent attorney is a (a) lawyer and (b) registered as a patent agent with the Indian patent office. A patent attorney in India may or may not possess a technical degree.

A patent agent is a (a) technical graduate, and (b) registered as a patent agent with the Indian patent office.

Differences:

• A patent attorney can represent a client in a court of law, and patent agents cannot. However, patent agent can represent a client at the patent office and the Intellectual Property Appellate Board.
• All patent agents have technical degrees, while not all patent attorneys have technical degrees.