Process of Registration of Patents in India

The following process has been discussed with regards to the registration of patents.

Process of Registration of Patents in India

Step1. Write all the inventions

Gather all the data about your invention, such as:

  • What is the concept/invention of mine?

  • How is it working?

  • What issue does my creative concept solve?

  • What is my innovation in the field?

  • What are the benefits of my revolutionary concept?

  • What are the components or elements of my creative concept?

  • Can I draw a block diagram or system or a flowchart or sketch that better describes my invention?

  • What are the advantages of my innovation over current prior art knowledge?

  • Who are the rivals for what item or service, etc?

Step2. Search for the patent of the invention

The first move is to perform a thorough patentability check before filling out a patent application in India to decide whether or not a patent can be issued. It should contain references to both patents and non-patents. You have the option of calibrating your patent application so that you do not end up applying for a patent that already exists, based on the details found during the search.

All the conditions according to the Indian Patent Act should be met by a patent:

  • Novelty

  • Creativity

  • Application in Industry

  • Enabling

The object of the patentability quest is to decide the novelty and non-obviousness of the invention, to locate the nearest possible prior art (known to the public) relating to your invention, and to give an opinion on the patentability of your invention on the basis of the results obtained, to the patent attorney.

The patentability opinion may be favorable, negative, or neutral based on the findings discovered and checked in a patentability/novelty quest study. A favorable opinion on patentability means that you have a fair opportunity to be awarded a patent for your invention.

Step3. Drafting of Patent Application

Patent drafting/writing is a professional activity, taking years of experience, and patent law experience to draft a successful patent application. Only read some of the issued patents from your jurisdiction in order to get an idea. A techno-legal text, both technological and legal, is a patent. It would be a mistake to write a patent as a project report or a technical study (on your own) and to apply it to the patent office, which may create a loss of opportunity to patent your invention.

While writing statements, writing detailed explanations, writing various embodiments of the invention, describing the imaginative phase, etc., there are several rules and care to be taken.

This is one of the most crucial phases in a patent life cycle, and a successful patent application written by an experienced patent agent/attorney should not only live through the review process before the award of a patent but also the commercialization phase, where the real money is made through licensing or selling patent rights, where rivals should not be able to work around you.

Any patent application must be filed in the form below:

Form 1-Application for a patent grant

Form2-Provisional/Full specification

Form3: Declaration and undertaking in respect of international application pursuant to Section 8 of the Patent Act Hereinafter being offered as "The Act" (only required if a corresponding patent application is filed in another country)

Form5: Inventorship declaration (only to be filed along with the complete application)

Form 26-A patent agent authorization form (only required if you are using a patent agent to help you file the application)

Form28- To be submitted by a start-up or small organization

Step4. Filing a patent application

If you (the inventor) drafted and reviewed a patent, it would be filed with the government patent office and a receipt with the patent application number would be generated. As briefly explained below, there are various types of patent applications to be filed with the patent office:

Groups of applications for patents:

Provisional Application for a Patent: If you are at a very early stage in the research and development of your invention, you can apply for an interim application. It provides the following advantages:

  • Secures the date of filing,

  • Twelve months to file full specifications

  • Low Cost

Step5. Publication of Patent

The patent application submitted to the Indian Patent Office is to be published in the Official Journal of Patents. Within 18 months of filing the application, this is normally done. If you want to have it published sooner, you should apply for early publication on form 9. Where a limitation is imposed on the publication of a patent by the Indian Patent Act, the same shall not be published in the journal.

Step6. Examination of patent application

Before a patent is eventually issued, any application filed for defense will be reviewed. The submission must be made in form 18 for review. The earlier one makes a submission, the earlier the examiner can review the application. Once the application has been lodged, it shall be passed to the patent officer, who shall review the application in order to ensure that it complies with the patent act and the laws.

The officer performs a detailed search where he/she analyses the applicable technologies in detail and the complaints will be communicated if any. In this case, the report released is called the First Review Report (FER).

Step7. Grant of Patent

When all the provisions of the Patent Act are complied with, the grant order is issued and it will be published in the Patent Journal.

Step8. Renewal

It needs to be renewed from the 3rd year onwards after the award of the patent by paying the renewal fee as prescribed in Schedule 1. A patent can be extended in India for a maximum duration of 20 years from the filing date.

 


 


 

BY-

Saumya Krishnani