Any decision-making process involves due diligence of some kind before such decisions are made since a bad decision may not attain the same results for which such decisions are taken in the first place. As an inventor, you must be aware that the same logic holds true even in decisions relating to patent filing for your invention. You might be wondering what sort of due diligence is required before filing a patent for your invention. Here, one of the main due diligence is in the form of conducting a patent search to validate if your invention is novel/new. If you are an inventor based in India, naturally, you may be eager to conduct an Indian Patent Search to validate your invention. If you are already having a fair idea about what can be patented and what types of inventions can be patented, you would be knowing that the patent search…

           As an inventor working on an idea or invention, the first thought which is often encountered includes “Is my idea patentable”, “Can my invention be patented”, "what kind of inventions can be patented" and “Is my idea patent-eligible”. The foremost thing which you need to be aware of is that a mere idea or a concept cannot be patented. Your idea or invention should be a: new product; ornew process;            that solves a technical problem.            You must also be aware that merely a new process or a product in itself will not qualify for an invention, additionally, the invention or idea must also: involve an inventive step (i.e., must not be obvious to a person skilled in the art); andcapable of industrial applications;            Again, you may find the above terms such as ‘new product’, ‘new process’, and ‘inventive step’ may not be self-explanatory and still do…

Intellectual Property (IP) encompasses intangible assets such as patents, copyright, trademarks, industrial design, geographical indications, and trade secrets. Intellectual Property Rights are conferred to the intellectual property owners to restrict others from copying their creations. The creations could be inventions, books, music, songs, brand names or trademarks, product designs, confidential information, etc. Depending upon the type of intellectual property, protection may be conferred automatically for a few, and for others, the intellectual property owner must apply for protection in desired countries. Types of Intellectual Property (IP) Protection Types of ProtectionTypes of Intellectual PropertyAutomatic ProtectionCopyright (advisable to register) Trade Secrets (however steps should be taken to keep the information secret)To Be Applied for ProtectionPatents, Trademarks, Industrial Designs, and Geographical Indications. One Product – Multiple Intellectual Property Rights Depending upon the subject matter involved, a product includes multiple intellectual property rights i.e., a product can have underlying intellectual property right protection under…

A provisional specification is the initial preliminary draft which gives a general description about the invention, an applicant intends to protect by way of patent. It is that stage where though the invention is still in the pipeline, but it can be still reproduced on a paper and the patent process can be initiated to secure a priority date.Need to file a provisional patent applicationWhile it is not mandatory to file a provisional patent application to start with the patent process, however, it is always recommended to file a provisional patent application when the invention is still in the development stage. This gives the following advantages:A. Secures a priority date: The date of filing the provisional patent application will be considered as the filing date which secures the date for the invention against any other similar invention in the same field on the same subject matter. Further, novelty and inventive…

The Madrid Protocol aims to simplify the international trademark registration process by allowing brand owners to file a single application with one set of fees for trademarks in 100+ countries around the world. Image Source: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) The process involved in obtaining trademark registration using the Madrid Protocol route includes three main steps. They are: For more information or assistance, you can reach us at [email protected]