In this era of technology, we all know about patents and the Different types of patent applications. Patents are becoming an important part of our lives as technology is becoming very common and replacing hard efforts with machine learning. That is why we should know how to file a Patent application.
You may have new ideas or inventions which are novel, non-obvious and have the potential to be used or made in the industry. So, to protect your invention, you must follow the Procedure to file the patent application. This is not a hard process but has more benefits like you can make, use, sell or import your product or process without any restrictions. You can also give the exclusive license to others to do the same and in return, you can enjoy the royalty over this.
What is Patent Registration?
Registration of a patent is a legal process given in the Patents Act. 1970. Patent Registration procedure helps the inventor to get his invention patented as per laws so that he can get the right of ownership over his invention. Once your invention is patented under the registration process, you become the patentee of the invention. The government of the country will provide you with the certificate of grant.
For businesses, the security of their invention becomes more important. So, it is a good idea to make that invention be patented. Because once you get the patent over your invention, no one can use the invention without your prior permission. The patentee can use the invention in his way for 20 years from the date of filing.
Why an invention should be patented?
It is one of the major questions which is being discussed in the Patent Agent Exam what is the need to secure your invention by filing the patent? There are many benefits to getting your invention patented such as:
Monopoly rights
It helps the inventor to enjoy the monopoly right for 20 years from the filing date or priority date. The inventor has the right to make, sell, use, import export and also, he can give the license to another person to make use or sell that product of process and in return he can ask for a share in that profit, or he can just take the royalty.
Right to stop others
No one can use your invention without your consent and that is why we call that the patent a negative right. It means that your invention will belong to you and every other person who is not party to it has to take your prior permission to make, use, sell or import your patented product or process. If any other person tries to do so then you can file an infringement suit against such person and claim the losses.
Legal recognition
It gives legal recognition to the invention that such a product or process belongs to its patentee. The patent office provides the patent certificate to the patentee who has filed the patent application.
The benefit of becoming the First
It is the best opportunity for you to get your invention patent before anyone else. Because the same invention can also be created by another person and if that person has filed his invention for patent, then you cannot claim the same invention. Now, you have to take prior permission from that person if you want to use, make, or sell that invention. So it becomes important to get the patent for your invention at the earliest opportunity.
Research and Development
By patenting the invention, the other person can take the benefit of it for more research, and this also helps the nations to research more and more because the other person does not have to start from the beginning. He can take the references from your research.
Where to file a patent application?
To file the patent application in India, we have to file the patent application in the patent office. The head Patent office is in Kolkata and its three branches are located in Mumbai, Chennai, and New Delhi. These 4 patent offices accept patent applications all over India depending on the jurisdiction of the office. Generally, this jurisdiction of the application depends upon the address of the Inventor who is going to file his invention. For example, I am from Himachal Pradesh, so if I want to file my patent, then my jurisdiction is the New Delhi Patent Office. You can check your jurisdiction by checking it on the office patent office website.
The Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trademarks (CGPDTM) is known as the Controller of the Patents, and he is the head of all these patent offices. Section 73 of the Patents Act deals with these offices.
Patentability criteria to file a Patent Application
To file a patent application for an invention, the invention has to fulfil the essential elements which are Novelty, Non-Obviousness and Industrial application. You can check the previous article to learn the full details about the patentability criteria for filing a patent application.
Process to file Patent in India
The patent registration process is lengthy because it covers multiple stages. These stages start from the Prior art and end with the Grant of the patent certificate. All these stages involve a mixture of science and legal experience. Although any inventor who has invented a new product or process can file his patent application by himself only some time, you may need to get help or advice from the experts. So, it can be beneficial for you to take the help of a Patent agent to file the patent application on your behalf.
Prior art Search
Prior art search is the most important step to file a patent application. By doing prior art of the invention you came to know whether your invention is novel or not. In the prior art search, you have to search for your invention worldwide by using different platforms and check where such type of information is already available or published.
If there is an invention which is the same or almost the same as your invention, then you are not eligible to apply such an invention. The best idea to do the prior search is to check the novelty of the invention. If you still apply by ignoring such prior art, then the controller will revoke your application by giving you the objections. So it is better to check the prior art properly before filing the patent application.
Prior art search databases
There are various types of databases to check the prior art search such as:
- Google patents
- Patent scope
- Patent lens
- PQAI(patent quality artificial intelligence)
- In pass
- Google Scholar
- PUBMED
- ScienceDirect
You can use these databases to check the prior art for your invention.
After checking the prior art search, if you find out that your invention is unique, then you can go for the next step.
Drafting of Provisional or Complete Specification
After conducting the prior art search all over the world, it will be confirmed that your invention is novel and non-obvious. Now the next step is to draft your specification. There are two types of specifications, one is the provisional specification and the other is a complete specification. If you think that you need some extra time to complete your research, then you can file a provisional application in which you just describe your invention and file the application. After filing the provisional application, you will get the priority date and the patent application number. After filing the provisional application, you must file the complete specification within 12 months. If you fail to file the CS within 12 months, then your application will be abandoned.
Content of Complete Specification
The Form 2 is known as the specification form. You must disclose your invention fully to get a patent for the invention. So, let’s discuss the content which should be written in the complete specification.
Title of the invention: There must be the title of the invention. This title should not be more than 15 words and it should not contain fancy words never use the word “patent” in your title.
Applicant’s details: Add the details of all the inventors like names, nationalities, and addresses.
The preamble to the description: The preamble of the provisional and complete specifications is different so you can write the description accordingly.
Field of the invention: You should mention the field of the invention to which your invention relates.
Background of the invention: The section covers the prior art. You must mention the other inventions which are almost similar or near to your invention. After mentioning the prior art, you can mention what are the disadvantages of the old invention and how your invention is different from all other inventions.
Objectives of invention: Write the main objectives of your invention. There is no limit to writing the objectives of the invention.
Summary of the Invention: This part covers a concise summary of the invention. You can add the details of your invention and how you are going to make the invention.
Brief description of the drawings: If you have the images of the invention, then you can write a brief description of the drawings. It will help the patent examiner to understand your invention.
Source of biological material: If you are using any type of biological material, then you must add the details of your material in this section. This information must be true as per your knowledge.
Detailed description of the invention: In the detailed description of the invention, you have to disclose your invention fully and the best method to make or perform the product or process. You can add all the experiments and results you got during the research.
Advantages of the present invention: Mention the advantages of your invention and how your invention is beneficial to the public. It shows the industrial applicability of the invention.
Claims: This is the most valuable and important part of the invention. The claims set the boundaries of the invention which you are going to protect in your invention. Be specific while claiming because the protection you get will depend only on the claims you drafted. You can write upto 10 claims. To write a claim of more than 10, you must pay 320 rupees per extra claim (if you are a natural person).
Abstract: Write the abstract of the invention which will be the gist of the invention. It should not be written more than 150 words.
Drawings: Attach the drawings of your invention if you have any.
This is the contention of the complete specification. You have to mention these details while filing form 2 for the application for the grant of a patent.
Choose the types of patent Application
As we know there are various types of patent applications so you can choose. After knowing about patent registration and the benefits of making your invention patented, the next step is to file a patent application.
There are various Types of Patent Applications such as:
- Provisional application
- Ordinary application
- Convention application
- PCT International Application
- PCT National application
- Patent of addition
- Divisional Application
You can read our article on Types of Patent Applications to get the full knowledge about these patent applications. Every application has different benefits. The inventor can choose the type of patent application according to his needs.
Prepare the important forms of patent
The Patents Act, of 1970 provides the different types of forms related to patents under THE SECOND SCHEDULE. The inventor has to submit the different forms which are as follows-
- Form 1- application for the grant of a patent with a fee of 1600
- Form 2- Provision or complete specification
- Form 3- Statement and undertaking
- Form 5- Declaration of Inventorship
- Form 26- power of attorney of agent
- Form 28- In case the applicant is a small entity of the Institute.
- Form 9- If the inventor needs the early publication of his patent- 2500 natural persons.
- Form 18- For the Examination- 4000 for a natural person with a female.
These are the important Forms which you need to file while applying for the patent application.
Filing of patent application
This is the step where you start filing your patent application. The inventor has two modes of filing the patent application: online and offline. There is no difference between the documents of online and offline procedures, only the process is different.
Offline mode to file patent application
If you want to file the patent application offline, then you can send your forms to the address of the patent office. The fee of the offline mode for a natural person is 1750 rupees whereas the online fee is 1600 rupees.
Online mode to file the patent Application
To file the patent application online mode, you have to make an account at https://ipronline.ipindia.gov.in/epatentfiling/goForLogin/doLogin
After creating the account, you should have the digital signatures. You can apply for your digital signatures at https://emudhradigital.com/.
You need these two things to file your patent application online. The fee to file your patent application online is 1600 rupees for a natural person.
After creating the account on the website, go to https://ipronline.ipindia.gov.in/epatentfiling/OnlineFiling/OnlineFormFiling
Now start filling in the details and upload all the necessary forms. After uploading the documents, you need to sign all these documents.
Payment of fees
After signing the documents, the next is to make the online payment by going to the payment tab.
After payment of the patent application, you will get the patent application number which will be your identification number for your patent application.
Publication of the patent application
Section 11-A of the Patents Act, 1970 deals with the publication of the patent application. As per the section, the publication of the patent application is an automatic process. The patent office will publish your patent application after the expiry of 18 months from the filing date.
This is done by the patent office to secure inventions within this period. If you need to make some modifications to your application or want to withdrawal of a patent application, you can do that too within this period.
But if you need to publish your application before 18 months, then you can file Form 9 and pay the prescribed fees which are 2500 for a natural person. After filing the form 9, the patent office will publish your patent application within 1 month.
Examination of the patent application
The examination of the patent application is not an automatic process. The process of Examination can only be started when the inventor or any other interested person files Form 18 for the request for examination with the prescribed fee given under schedule 1 of the act which is 4000 rupees for a natural person.
The examination of the patent application is also a big topic because it covers the First examination report and Hearings of the patent application. you can read our full article on Examination Process of a Patent Application.
Grant of patent
Section 43 of the Patents Act, 1970 After the examination, if the controller is satisfying that there is no error and the application is complying with all the sections and rules of the Patents, then the controller will grant the patent and also send the certificate of grant of patent to the patentee of the patent and also make the entry in the register of patent. The patent is granted for 20 years from the date of filing of the patent application. You can enjoy the rights over the patents till the expiry of these 20 years. After the expiry of this period, your patent will go into the public domain.
This is the full process to file the patent application. Which takes some time but will worth it once you get the certificate for the grant of the patent.
Renewal fees
After the grant of the patent, the grantee has to pay the renewal fees annually to maintain the patent. After the grant, you need to pay the renewal fees within 3 months from the date of the grant of the patent. The fees will be paid from the third year counting from the date of filing the patent application.
FAQs related to the Process of filing a patent application
Where I can file my patent application?
What is the procedure to get a patent in India?
1. Check the patentability criteria of your invention.
2. Draft the patent application and other forms.
3. Apply online mode or offline mode.
4. Publication of the application.
5. Examination by filing form 18.
6. Grant of patent
How much does it cost to file a patent in India?
Conclusion
The Procedure to file a patent application is not an easy process but the benefits after the grant of a patent are nothing in front of this Procedure. The person can file this application by himself, but it will be better if the person takes the help of a person who is an expert in this field. Such a person can help to make your draft in a good way, and he can protect your invention in a better way.
Your suggestions or corrections will be appreciated in the comments.