Patent Registration Process In India, The Patents Act [1970] is the central law in India that governs the filing and regulation of existing and new patents. The Indian Patent Office allows the inventor, his assignee, or their legal agent (in the event of a deceased inventor) to apply for patents, according to the Patent Act. However, depending on the jurisdiction where the person filing for the patent resides, has a domicile, or has the major office, the application can also be lodged at the office's branches.If the applicant is not an Indian citizen (i.e., a foreign applicant), the patent application should be filed in the jurisdiction where the address for service or the patent's attorney is located. To file a successful patent application, you must first determine whether or not the product is patentable. The purpose of patentability analysis is to see if the product in question possesses the NIU [ Novelty, Inventiveness and Utility] element. Novelty, Inventiveness, and Utility are the three pointers that make up the NIU factor.

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Patent Registration Process in India

Step 1: Patent Search 

Following the appointment of a specialist, the first step should be to do a patent search. Before filing a patent application, you must do a patent search. "How to search patents or execute a patent search" is a frequently requested question. By determining whether or not your innovation already exists, a patent search can save you time and money. After conducting a thorough patent search, you will be able to determine whether your invention would infringe on other patents' rights or invalidate a rival patent. To apply online, an applicant must first perform a patent search and then create a user id and password.

Note: A patent that is registered in India is only valid in India. Patent registration protects your concept just in India and not in any other country. You may, on the other hand, be able to protect your idea in other countries. For this purpose, each country must file a separate patent registration application.

Step 2: Drafting a Patent Application 

The next stage in the patent registration procedure is to file a patent application, which can be done electronically or physically, depending on the applicant's location, at the appropriate Indian Patent office. Patent registration is handled by four Indian patent offices in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai.

The application for patent registration should include information such as the applicant's and inventor's names, nationalities, kind of application, and addresses, among other things. There are two types of application that could be filed. A Provisional or Temporary Patent Application is one type of patent application, whereas a Complete Patent Application is another.

If the invention's R&D is still in its early stages, a provisional or temporary Patent Application for Patent Registration might be filed. Provisional Patent Applications can be filed with only a preliminary description or information on the invention, and they do not need to be filled out completely. It provides you with advantages like as obtaining exclusive rights at an early stage and at a lesser cost for a period of 12 months.

There are three elements to a patent application:

• Abstract

• Specifications

• Claims

The purpose of writing a claim is to define the patent's covered innovation. Because claims set the boundaries for the remaining parts of the patent application, such as the detailed description, abstract, and summary, writing the remaining parts of the patent application, such as the detailed description, abstract, and summary, becomes easier once we have a complete set of claims that provide appropriate protection for the invention and are approved by you (inventor).

The authorized patent agent or attorney next submits the application to the Indian patent office.

Step 3: Publication of the filed Patent Application by the Patent Office

According to the Patent Law, a patent application is normally published 18 months after it is filed, and the application is then available in the Indian Patent Office database. This is a completely automated process that does not require any action on your part. However, an early publication request can be made, and the application would normally be published within one month of the request, and it will be available in the Indian Patent Office database.

STEP 4: Filing a Request for examination in the Patent Office

The examination of a patent application for patent registration is not an automatic procedure; it is done only once a request for examination is received. A patent examiner examines the patent application after receiving such a request. If the applicant is a start-up, he or she can seek for an expedited examination.

Step 5: Objection raised

During the examination of the patent application, the examiner has the authority to raise objections. The examiner issues a patent examination report based on the application, indicating the objections to the patent application.

Step 6: Reply to the objection

The applicant must file a reply to the patent examination report once the examiner has issued it, clarifying the examiner's doubts.

From the date of the First Examination Report's release, you have six months to respond. By making a request to the Indian Patent Office (IPO), it may be able to extend this time for another three months.

STEP 7: Patent registration or grant

Once the patent application has completed all procedures and overcomes any objections, it is registered and published in the patent gazette, effectively completing the patent registration process. The patent registration is valid for 20 years and must be renewed every year.

Comparisons with China and the US

According to the poll, India's patent grant rate is still a fraction of that of China, the United States, Japan, and South Korea. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the number of patents registered in India has increased dramatically, but it is still a small fraction of the 5.30 lakh patents issued in China and the 3.52 lakh patents granted in the United States, according to the Economic Survey.

According to the report, this disparity is attributed to India's poor R&D spending, which was only 0.7 percent of GDP in 2020. Procedural delays and complexity are two other factors that have deterred people from filing patents in India.

According to the survey, the average time it took for India to make a final decision on patent granting in 2020 was 42 months, down from 52 months in 2019 and 64 months in 2017. However, this was still much longer than the 20.8 months in the US, 20 months in China, 15.8 months in South Korea, and 15 months in Japan.

Conclusion

In India, patents can help to preserve innovation. A patent is a legal privilege issued by the government that prevents others from manufacturing, using, selling, or importing a patented product or procedure without permission. This is an important step for an inventor to take if they want to protect their innovation from exploitation. The process of filing a patent in India is lengthy, but with the right guidance and assistance, it may be completed fast. As a result, anyone seeking a patent should always seek the advice of an experienced patent attorney.

Author: Anuja Saraswat - a student of NMIMS Kirit P. Mehta School of Law (Mumbai), in case of any queries please contact/write back us at support@globalpatentfiling.com or Global Patent Filing.