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The World Trade Organisation defines intellectual property rights as the rights given to persons over creations made by their minds. A patent provides exclusive rights over the use of such creations over a period. In India, the Patents Act, 1970 governs and enumerates patent provisions, including filing patent applications.

According to Section 7 of The Patents Act, 1970, you must submit the prescribed form for patent filing. The Patent Office accepts all applications accompanied by complete specifications. Suppose the applicant has furnished provisional specifications along with the application. In that case, they shall submit a complete specification within 12 months from the date of applying, failure of which may result in the abandonment of the application.

Criteria

A patent is necessary for creators to prevent others from copying their creations. You need to follow the criteria for it. Novelty states that according to Section 2(1)(j) of the Indian Patent Act, “invention” is a new process or product involving inventive steps capable of industrial application.

Further, Section 2(l) of the Act defines ‘new invention’ as any invention or technology not anticipated by publication in documents or used anywhere in the country or worldwide before the patent application’s filing date with complete specifications.

Stages

The first stage of filing a patent application in India includes submitting the documents and the application form at the Indian Patent Office in the prescribed format. Upon receipt, the Indian Patent Office accords an application number and date to it.

Publication

After application filing, the IPO publishes it in the official patent journal for public inspection. They publish it 18 months from the filing or priority date, whichever is earlier.

Examination

The IPO examines the application only after the publication and files a request for examination along with the prescribed fee to ensure that it meets all the requirements under the Patents Act. The Controller issues a First Examination Report based on the examination. You need to file it within six months.

Grant

You receive the patent within a few months from filing the response to the FER or the hearing if you meet all requirements under the Act.

Maintenance

It is the final step in patent filing, where the patentee pays a renewal fee every year to keep the patent in force. The renewal fee starts from the expiration of the second year from the date of filing. However, you need to pay it along with the arrears only after the grant of the patent.

Types of patents

There are six different types of patents granted in India: Ordinary or Non-Provisional Application, Convention Application, PCT International Application, PCT National Phase Application, Patent of Addition, and Divisional Application.

Conclusion

Before applying for a patent, patent searching is a critically necessary task that both inventors and innovators must pursue. A patent is a form of right to intellectual property that enables the legal right of its owners to monopolise their inventions. It allows them not only to obtain economic advantages, but inventors may also exclude other parties from using, manufacturing, or selling their design for a limited period, thus getting a financial benefit.

The very first step in the process of obtaining a patent is a patent search. Before you file your claim, as anyone applying for a patent, you must spend enough time looking for existing patents. Doing so makes you acquainted with previous, related arts for which patents have already been issued. As such, it will allow you to focus on making your innovation unique. Searching for patents lets you save time and money. What is more, on your own, you can perform your search or employ a competent patent searcher.

A patent search fundamentally deals with the processes of testing and data mining for a specific patent. Patent searchers are not only involved in looking for patents, contrary to common opinion. They will need to scan for legal and non-patent literature that could be related to particular projects based on patents.

Patent searching is a crucial move for businesses across the globe because it ensures businesses that their inventions are indeed original. In helping a business prosper and develop, the uniqueness of the product plays a crucial role. Companies create a road map to retain their advantage, which acts as a competitive weapon in the patent search process.

The patent roadmap is a blueprint that allows the applicant in the patent filing process to formulate a plan. It offers knowledge and theoretical support to businesses, enables them to learn about the current situation of patent competition, and improve their patent layout plans accordingly. The map gives strategic inputs to patent searchers, making the act of searching for patents one of the many techniques.

Reasons for patent search

An evaluation of patentability will allow you to understand if your invention is patentable and, if so, how far it can be protected. Computer programmes, for example, are non-patentable per se, although it is possible to patent computer programmes that are demonstrated in a useful way.

In your area of creativity, a systematic patent search exposes the prior art. In writing the patent specification, this will come in handy. Initial art awareness will assist you in assessing whether your innovation has any added value over previous arts. It would decrease the Patent Office's likelihood of rejection.

One of the legal rights granted by the Government for a limited period to any inventor making an innovation such as a product or process is called patent. They should meet the conditions of novelty, non-obviousness, and industrial use. It is a territorial right which enables the creators to exclude anyone from replicating, using, or selling the invention. This explains the patent filing process.

India has taken massive steps towards strengthening the patent system, and this is what you should know about patent filing in India –

>>       According to the Indian Patent Act of 1970, you can protect your invention in India for 20 years from the date of filing for the patent.

>>        India is amongst the top 10 countries concerning the number of patents filed yearly.

Although there is progress, there are some myths surrounding patent rights. If you take up the patent exam, the confusion gets cleared. Some of the common myths are –

Ideas get patented

The idea or mere concept cannot get patented. A system, tool, process, machine, or an apparatus for implementing the concept gets patented. For instance, earlier, there were no aero planes, which means the idea that people can fly in a mental container was a non-patentable subject. Meanwhile, designing an aircraft or its components need patent registration. Patents were granted only for new products, process, machinery, manufacturing products, or composition of the matter.

Approved patent is applicable across the world

Patent protection is territorial according to law. So, if you want protection from different countries, you need to do patent filing in each of these countries. There is nothing called a global patent. So, if you hold an Indian patent right and not a USA one, then anyone has the legal right to sell or use the innovation in the concerned country. You are not entitled to any royalties owing to the exploitation of the design in the USA.

Indian patent rights can get extended to overseas countries

You get only 12 months for making an application to the foreign country from the date of registration in the original country of innovation. So, if the application gets done in India, you can take the application to the USA, Russia, etc. within a year. It takes around three years for gaining approval. Therefore, you should decide on going international within a year.

The owner receives the sole right to make, use, and sell the invention

Are you considering registering your invention as a patent in India? Are you searching how to do a patent search for the same? This article has all the information of what is patent and the necessary steps to carry out for the patent search.

What is patent registration? It is a process of registering your invention under the intellectual property right. It is a step initiated by the Indian Government to offer a legal identity and protect the invention or ideas of people. In return, they offer all the proves that the invention is unique and is useful for registration purpose. However, patent registration is not for a lifetime. It is valid up to 20 years in India, and then it falls under the public domain.

What is a patent search?

For proving the patent is unique and should get registered, patent search gets done. It is one of the crucial steps of patent registration. You can do so by yourself or through professional agents. In India, taking help from agents is beneficial as they are experienced and know the domain well. Nowadays, you have a patent agent exam 2020 to help build further knowledge in this field.

Importance of patent search:

Some of the reasons to do a patent search are:

Decide the probability of having a patent granted to an invention

Offers freedom to operate and utilise

Decide whether the patent is valid or not

Helps to learn about similar inventions and ideas

Saves your time and money if there are similar inventions available and registered already

How to conduct a patent search in India?

It is not a challenging task to do a patent search for your getting your invention patent. A person should be attentive and skilled in conducting the same. The search is free of cost. The process involves –

Visit the website

You can search by exploring the patent database. Visit the portal http://ipindiaservices.gov.in/publicsearch for conducting your search.

Select the desired publication type

You can do this search under two types of publication according to the status of the application. They are published or granted. Select the desired publication by clicking the checkbox and view different categories such as date of application, title, abstract, patent number, the application number, inventor names, filing office, and more.

Fill the category and keywords

All the categories have a dropdown menu, so the user need not face any difficulty for changing the type. Every category has a search box when you can input the keyword of the patent that they want to view. Once entered the keyword, the user should clear the provided captcha code to move ahead with the search.

Patent information

Once added the keywords, you get relevant details of the search such as the title of the invention, publication date and number, type of publication, the application number, date of applying, and so on.

Patent status

The abstract column has a summary of the application that can be viewed by the user to get information concerning the patent. Under this, you get complete specification which includes information about the specification mentioned from the user’s end. In the end, there is an option to view the status of the application.

Since the Indian Prime Minister has announced the ‘Make in India’ movement, the youth is focusing and creating unique inventions. Such inventors can file for utility and design patents, trademarks, copyrights, etc. which provides them with high financial benefits. But what is intellectual property rights all about? What are trademarks?

Definition:

Intellectual property rights are used for referring to a new, innovative invention, and creation. They are original ideas which get converted into designs, products, and literary creations that can offer commercial and mora value to inventors. Every invention can provide the inventor with some monetary benefit, but there is some risk involved with the invention being duplicated and abused, if not well-protected. Hence, inventors need to be aware of the role of IPR.

What is IPR?

When you invent something, you have all the rights to utilise your invention in a manner that best benefits you, while preventing the competitors from gaining any financial benefit from it. For preventing the abuse of IPR, you either need to file a patent, trademark, or copyright. This way, you can take some legal action against anyone using the invention for your benefit. You also have the choice of licensing your invention and earn financial benefits.

IPR and trademarks:

Having understood intellectual property, let us understand trademarks and the conditions for registering the trademark.

It is the most asset which offers instant recognition to a business. Successful businesses often observe the risk of being imitated by competitors. The competition can also lead to imitating trademarks which includes distinctive marketing and product packaging. If you own a successful business, you owe to for yourself to spend enough time and effort for establishing, promoting, and protecting its unique identity. Failing to pay attention towards trademark results in severe results, that is unable to register or use your marks in the future. Hence, pay special attention to registering trademarks.

Trademark protection in India and its criteria:

The trademarks in India get protected under the Trademark Act of 1999 and the Trademark Rules of 2002. The validity of trademark registration stays for 10 years and gets renewed aft the tenure ends. For registration of a trademark, there are some conditions you need to follow. They are as follows –

Non-generic mark

A generic trademark is something synonymous to describing a specific product or service class. Such trademarks do not add or offer any unique value. A non-generic mark, on the other hand, makes your brand stand out. For example, McDonald’s logo is a non-generic trademark.

Should not look similar or identical to any mark

If you file a trademark, make sure that the proposed one is not identical to another trademark, registered by another proprietor.

Should not be non-descriptive

The world needs creators. Every invention has the potential to make a difference to the humankind. Let us take the example of the telephone, what started as fixed-line has now evolved into a pocket-size mobile device through which you can call someone quickly and even search for information about almost everything in the world. As creators, you can gain monetary benefits with the invention. All this comes under the umbrella of intellectual property and its rights.

What are intellectual property and its rights all about? Let us understand. It is a term referred to the moral and commercial value offered to creators for making innovative inventions. They are the ideas and designs of the mind that differentiate one invention from the other. IP is about creations which have the potential to offer financial benefits and credibility.

What is IPR all about?

The intellectual property rights are what the creator owns. These rights provide the creators with some exclusive rights over their inventions, ideas, or plans. In return, they gain monetary benefits for the same. No one can use the IPR without the permission of the inventor. However, make sure the invention is not a duplicate or another entity gains the advantages from the invention. In such scenarios, you need to register the inventions with the respective Government. IPR are exclusive and come with limited monopoly.

Types of IPR –

There are four kinds of IPRs –

Patents

Copyrights

Trademarks

Trade secrets

Industrial design, integrated circuit layout designs, protection of geographical indications, a new variety of plants, etc. also fall under intellectual properties according to the Indian Government. The details on the same are found on https://meity.gov.in/

Inventions under IPR –

Any invention that can get patented, trademarked, copyrighted, or registered as trade secrets falls under the umbrella of IPR. For instance, a song, film script, or a novel gets copyrighted. An industrial design gets registered as the trade secret. An invention with a useful purpose gets patented, and a brand name or specific message launched by the brand gets trademarked.

Benefits of IPR –