Top 5 Reasons Why Patent Registration Is Important In India

Getting PATENT REGISTRATION for your idea is worth it!!!

If you have an invention or an idea that you want tied to your name legally so nobody can use or claim its ownership, well you got to do it the legal way and have it patented. So even if it’s an idea, do not hesitate and get immediately go for a patent registration for it.

Ideas are a dime a dozen and some great ideas are not only thought of by one person. Sometimes there are two or three persons who thought of the same idea. The only one who can claim its ownership is the one who had it patented. Going through this much trouble makes sure that the product or the idea is protected. It makes sure that nobody copies it without your permission.

A patent is legal and it binds your ideas and your inventions to your name. So if ever somebody copies your idea without your permission, you can sue that person and you can use the patent as proof of ownership.

Different Types Of Patent Applications To Understand

1. Ordinary or Non-provisional application 

An application for patent filed in the Patent Office without claiming any priority of application made in a convention country or without any reference to any other application under process in the office is called an ordinary application. An ordinary application must be accompanied with a complete specification and claims.

2. Convention Application

An application for patent filed in the Patent Office, claiming a priority date based on the same or substantially similar application filed in one or more of the convention countries, is called a convention application. In order to get convention status, an applicant should file the application in the Indian Patent Office within 12 months from the date of first filing of a similar application in the convention country.

3. Provisional Application

• A provisional application is a temporary application which is filed when the invention is not finalized and is still under experimentation.

Advantages of filing a provisional application

• Applicant gets 12 months’ time to fully develop the invention and ascertain its market potential
• Helps to establish “priority” right over the invention
• Enables the applicant to use the term “patent pending” on their product
• Less expensive to prepare and file the application
• Enables the applicant to file International applications and claim priority within 12 months.
• However, in order for the patent to be granted, a provisional application must be followed by a complete
• specification within 12 months. Moreover, the provisional application should be sufficiently detailed and must be drafted very carefully to ensure that the priority rights are secured for your invention.

4. Patent of Addition

Suppose you have already filed for a patent and you have come across a slight improvement in the invention. You may not be able to file a new patent application, as it would not satisfy the requirement for inventive step. That is when a patent of addition may be filed. A patent of addition protects the improvement. There is no separate renewal fee for a patent of addition and it expires when the main patent expires.

5.  Divisional Application

When there is more than one invention in a patent application the applicant may be required to (or of his own accord) divide the application based on the number of inventions the application contains. A divisional application may be filed any time before the grant of a patent. The priority date of the divided applications is the same as the parent patent application.

6. National Phase PCT Application

In the national phase, the applicant is required to file the national phase patent application in India within 31 months of the international filing date or priority date whichever is earlier. 

Top 5 Reasons Why You Need To Register Your Patent

1.    Exclusive Rights

As mentioned earlier, patents provide exclusive rights which allow the inventor to exclude others from using the invention. Particularly, for 20 years from the date of filing the patent application.

2.      Strong Market Position

Since the inventor has obtained the exclusive right to the invention, the inventor can exercise this right by preventing others from commercially using the patented invention thereby reducing the competition and thus establishing a place in the commercial market.

3.    Higher Returns on Investments

Having invested a considerable amount of time and money in developing the invention, under the umbrella of exclusive rights, the inventor could bring in the invention to the commercial market and thus obtain higher returns on the investment. Of course, this depends on the economic utility of the patent. For this reason, the inventor must ensure the commercial viability of the patent before investing on patent.

4.     Opportunity to License or Sell the Invention

Sometimes, the inventor might not want to exploit the invention himself. In such cases, the inventor can sell or license the rights to commercialize it to another enterprise. This would result to bring royalty and revenue to the inventor.

5.    Positive Image for the Enterprise

Business partners, investors and shareholders may perceive the patent portfolios as a demonstration. Particularly, the high level of expertise that is provided by the subject matter experts. This acts as a spectacle of the organization’s capability. Further, this may prove useful for raising funds, finding business partners and also increase the company’s market value.

Last, It’s All About Choosing The Right Patent Service Provider

If you have perfected your invention then there is a need to protect it. If you will not do this then anyone can take the benefits of your hard working. You will need one of the best ways to protect your invention. You can do this effectively by working with an Patent Service Provider. The attorney will be helpful to you because the work of registering patents is challenging and time consuming and having chances of mistakes. Sometimes the result of registering patent can be a failure so you should have to make the process easy and successful.

The patent lawyer from the firm should be to walk with you in preparation of legal papers and documents. The attorney will guide you to file your invention to the patent registration office. As the important step it must be done correctly.

Closing Thoughts

There is a huge difference between an invention and describing an invention. A registration is an elaborate description of invention. However, money may be a barrier to the inventor. Mind it, the cost of filing a patent application through a lawyer/ patent service provider is negligible in comparison to the money required for manufacturing and marketing the invention.