Before we answer this question, it is important to first understand what intellectual property or IP is. IP refers to intangible assets created by human intellect. e.g. copyright on any story, trademark for a logo, design for the shape of a bottle, etc. Similarly, patent is also a type of IP granted for an invention which fulfills the statutory requirements. By way of this IP, you basically get some rights. Now coming back to patents, shorn of its statutory intricacies and procedural niceties, a patent most simply put is a right bestowed on a person, by which he can prevent others from using his invention without his consent. The key word above is invention. Not every product or process you develop qualifies to be an invention. It has to be ‘novel’. It also shouldn’t be very obvious. To make things more confounding, some things aren’t patentable at all, no matter…

Once you’ve decided to go for patent registration, the next step is to prepare the patent specification. Patent applications can be filed in India by a registered patent attorney. A Patent Attorney who is well versed with the patent filing procedure in India will help you prepare a written specification, drawings, and the necessary forms for filing your patent application in the Indian Patent Office. The attorney will help you prepare the application according to the provisions laid down in The Indian Patent Act, 1970 and The Patent Rules, 2003. Make sure that you share every piece of information related to your invention with your Patent Attorney since it is pertinent to include details regarding the working of your invention in the patent application. Types of Patent Applications The documents required for patent registration may vary depending on the type of patent application you are applying for. The application could be…

Starting a product-based company without protecting the underlying Intellectual Property is as good as building a house in a public place. Time and again, I've had startups and researchers asking me "what now?" once a competitor replicates their product and markets it better. It is a cakewalk for established businesses to replicate your product and use their marketing experience to pose an existential threat to your business. Think about it. A resourceful businessman finds amazing IP-Free product ideas from "Amazon Launchpad", why would he not replicate them? Let alone small businesses, no company/product is copy-proof in this world. Samsung infamously copied Apple's iPhone design [1]. The Oreo cookie that we know today isn't an original recipe either [2]. The list goes on, apparently, some of the rip-offs are better than their originals [3]. While it is practically impossible to stop everyone around the globe from copying your ideas, it can certainly be curtailed to…

A patent is a statutory right granted for a limited period to an applicant for either a product or a process. In the case of a product patent, the patentee can exclude or prevent others who do not have his consent, from the act of making, using, offering for sale, selling, or importing for those purposes that product in India. Similarly, in the case of a process patent, the patentee can exclude others from the act of using that process, and from the act of using, offering for sale, selling, or importing for those purposes the product obtained directly by that process in India.[i] But, what is right given for? This right is given in lieu of the complete disclosure of the invention made by the patentee to the common mass and this system is commonly known as “quid pro quo”, i.e. “something for something”. There are several objectives behind…

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…