Patent registration procedure in India: How to start?

Patent registration procedure in India can be described with the help of following steps:

Pen down the invention with maximum details

Detailed information regarding the invention must be provided. It should include the details such as:

The area in which the invention has been made.
A detailed description of the invention mentioning the function.
The method of work or execution of the invention should be explained vividly.
How the invention helps and what are its advantages must be stated elaborately.

If the invention is done by any research graduate then the details of the invention must be recorded in the lab record duly signed by the inventor and respective authority along with date.

Include Sketches or Diagrams

The inventor should include much of diagrams or sketches related to the invention in the patent application so as to make it easy for others to understand. Diagrams offer a better understanding of the invention thus describing the method in which it works.

Patentability of the Invention

The invention should be a patentable subject matter. It should not fall within the realm of non-patentable subject matter. In India, non-patentable subject matter includes, laws of nature or anything opposing them, physical phenomenon, abstract ideas, discovery of any living thing or non-living substance, method of agriculture or horticulture, new form of know substances, method of playing games, any aesthetic creations, anything that causes a serious harm to human, animal, plant life or to the environment.
The invention should be novel that is it should be unique and different from all previous inventions (also “prior-arts”) in one or more of its constituent elements.
The invention should be non-obvious that is it should be technically advanced when compared to previously known prior-art or market knowledge.

Patentability Search

Patentability search refers to finding out whether the invention meets the patentability criteria of the Indian Patent Law. According to the law, the invention should be Novel, Non-Obvious, should have industrial application. All these criterions whether met can be found out at the stage while determining the patentability of the invention. The exhaustive report is provided by the patent professionals upon conduction of extensive research.

Marketability of the Invention

The ultimate value of any invention depends upon this factor. Hence it is extremely important to determine whether an invention is marketable or not. Patenting an invention is significant if and only if the invention is profit worthy and marketable. The Patentability Report also helps in this determination.

Patent Application Drafting

In the initial stages of the research the inventor can go for a Provincial Specification which will earn him the following benefits:

A secured filing date also known as the Priority Date
12 months of time from the Priority Date to file the Complete Specification
Affordable cost

The Provisional Application helps in securing the inventor’s invention temporarily.

From the Priority Date, the inventor gets a time of 12 months to draft the Complete Specification. Failing to keep this time leads to the application being treated as abandoned. The Complete Specification also accompanies the Claims Section which is not present in a Provincial Specification. Claims is an extremely crucial part in any patent application. It should be written in accordance with the legal aspect so as to avert any rejection due to technical failure. Just like the application, it is always advisable to add visual representations to Claims.

Filing of Provincial Specification is however optional because if the inventor has the complete set of information, he/she can directly opt for a Complete Specification.

Publication of Application

The application is published after 18 months from the Priority Date. This however requires prior filing of Complete Specification along with Patent Application. The date of publication can be brought forward by requesting for an early publication along with the stipulated fees.

Examination Request

The examination of patent application is conducted only upon receival of patent examination request. As soon as the controller receives the request for examination, he forwards the patent application to the patent examiner along with the patentability criterions. They are:

Patentable Subject Matter
Novelty
Non-obviousness
Industrial Application
Enabling

After reviewing the patent application with respect to the above terms, the patent examiner drafts a patent examination report. This is known as Patent Prosecution. All the analysis executed on patent application before grant of patent is known as Patent Prosecution.

Deal With Objections

On the basis of examination reports, majority of the patent applications face objections. The inventor along with the patent professional needs to respond so as to convince the controller that the invention is indeed a patentable one and it abides by all patentability criterions.

Clearing of Objections

The communication takes place between the controller and the patent applicant so as to ensure that all the objections that were raised have been resolved. This step carries its importance as grant of patent depends on prior clearance of this step.

Grant of Patent

Once the patent application meets all the criterions for patentability requirements, it is placed for order of grant. The grant of patent is notified in the Patent Journal which is published timely.