In India, How Does One Go About Patenting A Concept?
A patent is a government-granted exclusive right that allows the creator to prevent others from using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the patented invention for a period of 20 years from the date of filing.
Because patent law’s principal objective is to encourage inventors to contribute more to their disciplines by granting them exclusive rights to their ideas.
Importance Of Patent
Patents still are the foremost significant asset for firms and individuals in numerous cases of successfully protecting property rights. A well-protected invention with a patent may be a game-changer for an organization.
A granted patent gives you the correct to forestall others from making, using, selling, offering purchasable, or importing your patented invention without your permission for a period of 20 years from the date of filing, which provides significant benefits to the patent applicant (individual inventors or companies)
In India, Who Can File Patent Application
Any of the following individuals, acting alone or in collaboration with others, can file a patent application:
- The original and true inventor
- The assignee of the true and first inventor
- His or her assignee is the representative of the deceased true and first inventor.
Any natural person, firm, association, body of individuals, or government body, whether incorporated or not, is considered a “person” under the Patent Act.
Patent law is also complicated; a patent is a techno-legal document, and filing a patent application is a time-consuming process that is not comparable to drafting a project report or a project thesis. As a result, the government provides patent agents or patent attorneys to assist innovators with the difficult work of writing patents.
What is the process for registering a patent in India?
Step 1: Describe The Invention (Idea Or Concept) As Thoroughly As Possible.
As an investor, your role at this step is to write down as many details about your idea as possible.
Step 2: Determine Whether Or Not Your Invention Is Innovative (Novelty Search)
We must determine whether your invention is innovative (newness) in this step, as this is one of the patentability criteria in India. When we compare our invention to existing prior arts, we need at least certain aspects of it to be innovative. By conducting a thorough search and study of all aspects of our invention, we will be able to determine whether there are any 100% overlapping prior arts.
Furthermore, the aspects of our invention that are discovered to be unique following a novelty search can be used for informed patent application drafting (since we now know what is innovative and what isn’t), which can aid in obtaining a patent. The search report also contains the user’s judgment on novelty, which might be positive, negative, or neutral. This opinion can be used to determine whether or not to file a patent.
Cost: A patent attorney’s professional costs for conducting a novelty search range from RS. 12,000 to RS. 15,000 in India.
Time: 5-7 business days
Step 3: Writing Patent Application
The most important component of the procedure is patent drafting/writing, which could be a specialized job. To be ready to create a competitive application, it takes years of skill and familiarity with jurisprudence, knowledge of the topic of invention, and awareness of case laws. Simply read a number of your domain’s awarded patents to urge a concept. Because a patent could be a techno-legal document, it’s critical to understand both the technical and legal aspects at an identical time. An application shouldn’t be written as a thesis or a project report by you (the inventor) (which may get objected to during the examination stage)
Cost: the professional fees for a patent attorney ranges from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 40,000 for patent drafting or writing.
Time: the time required is about 8-15 working days
Step 4: Filing Patent Application
When you (the inventor) prepare and review a patent, it is submitted to the government patent office, and a receipt with the patent application number is generated.
Patent Application Types Include:
As briefly mentioned below, there are several sorts of patent applications that can be submitted to the patent office:
- Application on a temporary basis
- Application (completed or non-provisional)
- Application for a convention
- PCT is an international patent application
- National PCT application
- Application for a division
Step 5: Publication Of The Application
Upon filing the whole specification together with the appliance for a patent, the appliance is published after 18 months of first filing. but, If you don’t want to attend till the expiry of 18 months, An early publication request may be made together with the prescribed fees. Generally, the application is published within one month from the request form’s early publication. Rule 24. the amount that an application for a patent shall not ordinarily be hospitable to the general public under sub-section (1) of section 11A shall be eighteen months from the date of filing of the apply or the date of priority of the appliance, whichever is earlier. as long as the time limit for the Controller to publish the application in the journal is normally one month from the date of the period’s expiration, or one month from the date of the rule 24A request for publication.
Request for publication (Rule 24 A).— Form 9 is used to make a request for publication under section 11A, subsection (2). Form 9 and the necessary fees will be accustomed to making an early publication request (optional step).
Anyone can object to the grant of a patent after it’s been published. this can be called a pre-grant objection. someone may, in writing, represent to the Controller against the difficulty of a patent on the explanations listed in Sections 25(1)(a) to (d) of the Patents Act 1970, where A patent application has been published, but no patent has been issued.
Step 6: Submit An Examination Request
After receiving a request for participation in an examination (RFE), the application is just being reviewed. When the controller gets this request, he or she assigns your application to a patent examiner, who examines it for patentability using many criteria, including Is the definition of patentable subject matter the innovation? Is there anything unique about it? Is there a unique or non-obvious way to start it? Is it suitable for use in a manufacturing environment? After analyzing the application for the terms listed above, the examiner generates a primary examination report. This is referred to as FER (First examination report). Patent prosecution refers to all of the steps involved in preparing an application for a patent before it is granted.
On any of the subsequent grounds, an applicant may submit asking for accelerated examination in Form 18A along with the fee:
- In the corresponding international application, India has been designated because the competent International Searching Authority or elected as a global Preliminary Examining Authority; or
- That the applicant may be a new business
- Your application includes a lady as an applicant or co-applicant.
Step 7: Address Objections
The overwhelming majority of patent applicants will face objections, which is able to be noted within the first examination report (also referred to as FER). With the assistance of a patent attorney (patent agent), you ought to examine and comprehend the examination report and write a written response to the objections expressed within the report.
This is a chance for an inventor to precise the novelty of his or her invention as compared to previous art discovered within the examination report. The inventor and patent agent write and transmit an examination answer that aims to steer the controller that his invention is patentable and meets all patentability criteria. If necessary, physical hearing or video conferencing can be ordered.
Step 8: A Patent Is Granted
Once it is determined that the patent application meets all patentability conditions, it will be placed in order for a grant. The patent is granted and published in the patent journal on a regular basis. (Any individual who is interested in the awarded invention can file a post-grant opposition request within 12 months of the granted patent’s publication date).
