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…

Before we begin, kindly note that this article is focused solely on those readers who do not have any idea about patents. So, what are patents? Why are people talking about them so much? Let’s try to understand some basics of what patents are and why they are important. What is a patent?                A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention. The invention may be a product or a process that provides a new way of doing something. What are the exclusive rights?                 A patent owner can restrict others from using their invention. He has exclusive rights to use, sell, offer for sale, and import that invention. He can also license his rights to a third party for monetary benefits. Can I patent any “new” invention?                 There are certain conditions for granting patent rights for an invention. The conditions…