What is Patent: Meaning, Search, and Registration Procedure

Patent Registration grants intellectual property rights to the inventor of a new product, technology, or process. These rights give the inventor an exclusive opportunity to sell, manufacture, and import the invented product for 20 years from the application date if it gets approved. Let’s understand how you can get registration of a patent and what are the crucial steps involved in the procedure for obtaining a patent that you need to take.

Patent Registration process or procedure for obtaining patent begins with the crucial step of patent search where you analyse the novelty aspect of your invention. Only if your invention is novel, innovative, and state-of-the-art, you can proceed with the patent filing procedure for obtaining patent further. The Patent Act 1970 gives you the flexibility of filing a provisional patent application if your invention is in the development stage and replacing it with the complete application as soon as the product is developed or within 1 year from the filing date.

What is Patent

What is Patent Registration?

Patent Registration is a legal process of securing exclusive rights over a newly invented product. These include the rights to manufacture, sell, and import the product for the next 20 years since the patent application filing date. It helps an inventor capitalize on his intellectual property and reward his innovative ideas, research, and development efforts appropriately. Wondering about its legal framework? Patent Registration is governed under the Indian Patent Act of 1970 and administered by the office of the Controller General of Patents.

Patent Registration Criteria

  1. Novelty: New & Innovative; Publicly Disclosed for the first time.
  2. Inventive Step: Far from public knowledge; state-of-the-art technical advancements
  3. Industrial Applicability: A practical utility and capability of being manufactured in an industrial setup.
  4. Not Prohibited under Sections 3 & 4 of the Patent Act: Must be legally eligible to be patented.

Types of Patent Application

  • Ordinary Patent Application: For patent protection within India.
  • PCT National Phase Patent Application: Allows the applicant to enter the PCT process and get patent protection internationally.
  • PCT International Patent Application: Final stage of PCT process, international application for patent registration.
  • Convention Patent Application: Used to claim priority based on an earlier application filed in a convention country.
  • Divisional Patent Application: Used to divide an existing patent application into multiple separate applications to secure multiple inventions.
  • Patent of Addition Application: Used to apply for an improvement or modification of an already existing and patented invention.

Eligibility for Registration Process of Patent in India

Inventors can secure patents only if they are completely novel. This means that a similar or identical invention has never been introduced in the public domain before. Simply put, the new invention should be absolutely state-of-the-art. The novelty criteria need to be met before the patent application is actually filed. Also, the invention should have an innovative function or feature that’s not obviously known to the public. Besides novelty, another important requirement is Industrial Application. The invented product must have a practical utility and be capable of being manufactured in the industry. This directly excludes any new object that’s solely made for aesthetic purposes. Even if these criteria are met, an invented product cannot be patented if it is prohibited under Sections 3 and 4 of the Patents Act.

List of Documents Submitted During Procedure for filing Patent Application

  1. Application Form (Form-1): Application for Patent Registration
  2. Provisional/Complete Specification: Detailed description of the product, its features, and functional aspects.
  3. Abstract of the Invention: Brief description of the invention
  4. Power of Attorney: Authorisation to the person or entity filing the application
  5. Statement and Undertaking (Form 3): Declaration regarding accuracy of information and the inventor’s rights
  6. Priority Document (if applicable): Evidence of priority claims
  7. Proof of Right to File: Required applicant is not the inventor
  8. Acknowledgment of Fee Payment: Proof that the Requisite Fees for Patent Registration is paid.
  9. Form 28: Required if the applicant claims a rebate in fees as a recognised MSME or startup

How to Apply for Patent in India?: Patent Filing Process in India

Select Patent Application

After being confident that your product meets all the requirements for Patent Registration, you can begin the patent filing procedure in India. The first step is to decide which type of application you want to file to initiate a procedure for obtaining a patent. You have two options to choose from:

  • Provisional Application, which provides 1 year of Patent Protection and lapses after that.
  • Complete Application, which provides 20 years of full-term Patent Protection

Step 1: Patent Search

Once you’ve decided which application to file, you can move to the next stage of the patent filing procedure in India, which is, conducting the Patent Search. Patent Search is conducted to check whether there are any similar inventions already patented or available in the public domain. This is done to ensure that the product seeking patent registration is absolutely novel and undisclosed to the public. If the search results are clear, you can move to the next step.

Step 2: Patent Application Filing

The procedure for filing patent application involves filing Form-1 and submitting it with Patent Specification in Form-2. You may require additional documents at this stage, which we will discuss later. Remember, if you’ve filed the provisional application, it must be replaced with the complete application within a year.

Step 3: Patent Specification Drafting

The next step in the procedure for filing patent application is drafting a patent specification, a detailed document that contains information of the invented product. It is filed with the application to ensure full disclosure of information to the Registrar of patent. At Setindiabiz, our legal experts help you draft Patent specifications accurately and comprehensively. 

Step 4: Patent Publication

The following stage is the publication of application in the Patent Journal. It is done 18 months after the date of application and brings the invention into the public domain for the first time.

Step 5: Requesting Patent Examination

Within 48 months of applying, a patent examination is requested. An examiner is assigned to go through the details of the application and raise objections against any discrepancies found. If objections are raised, the applicant must reply within 12 months. If the replies aren’t satisfactory, show cause hearings may be called to settle objections.

Step 6: Grant of Patent

Only after all the objections are settled, the Registrar will consider granting the patent rights to the inventor for 20 years from the application date.

FAQs

Who grants Patent Registration in India?

Patent Registration is granted by the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks under the Indian Patent Act 1970.

What is the validity of Patent Registration?

Patent filing procedure in India extends to 20 years from the date of application. However, if it is a provisional patent, it will lapse within one year from the application date and must be replaced by a complete application before that.

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