Patents

• Engineering
• Mechanical
• Electronics
• Electrical
• Chemicals
• Drugs & Pharmaceuticals
• Biotechnology
• Plant varieties
• Software and system process
• other fields

• Patentability and Prior Art Search:
• FTO Search and Market Analysis and Report
• Drafting of Specification/ Description/Claims;
• Applications and Prosecution (office actions etc.) including PCT applications;
• Opposition and enforcement;
• Licensing;
• Watch and monitoring service and Portfolio management services;
• Litigation (infringement or invalidation);
• Invalidation and cancellation of patent;
• Patent annuity management service;
• Patent File procurement for:
1. Details of Inventors
2. Provisional filing
3. Complete specification filed (Full text)
4. Details of corresponding foreign filing
5. Publication information
6. Information on examination
7. First and subsequent (if any) Examination Report(s)
8. Response to First and subsequent (if any) Examination Report(s)
9. Grant / Acceptance letter and related information.
10. Letters Patent
11. Renewal / Annuity information
12. Copy of patent application as filed
• Patent Status Update

 

In India, the law of Patent is governed by Patent Act, 1970 as amended till date and Rules there under. The Patent Act, 1970 was lastly amended by The Patent (Amendment) Act, 2004 became effective from January 1, 2005. The substantial amendment is effected by this last amendment.

A Patent is a Statutory privilege granted by the Government to inventors (or to other persons obtaining rights from the Original Inventors) for a fixed and limited period of years, to exclude other persons from manufacturing, selling or using any patented product or process or method.

Thus, the Patent is a monopoly right on an invention for a limited period of time.

All the invention is patentable which is new and industrially useful barring few as described herein below.

In nutshell, all the inventions including any art, process, method or Manner of Manufacture, Machine, Apparatus, Article or Substance produced by manufacture or process of manufacture and Improvement thereof.

• Invention which is frivolous and contrary to established natural laws.
• An invention which could be contrary to public order or morality or which causes serious prejudice to human, animal or plant life or health or to environment.
• Discovery of any living thing or non-living substance occurring in nature
• The mere discovery of mere new use of a known process, substance, machine or apparatus unless such known process or machine results into a new product or employs at least one new reactant.
• A substance obtained merely by admixture resulting only in aggregation of properties of the components or a process for producing such substance
• Mere arrangement / rearrangement/duplication of known devices each functioning independently in known way.
• A method of agriculture or horticulture.
• A process of medical, surgical, diagnostic, therapeutic or other treatment of human beings.
• Plants & animals in whole or any part, other than micro-organisms, but including seeds, varieties and species and essentially biological processes for production or propagation of plants and animals.
• A mathematical or business methods or algorithms.
• Computer program per se other than technical application to industry or a combination with hardware.
• Aesthetic creation, literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work
• A mere scheme or rule or method of performing mental act or method of playing game.
• A presentation of information
• An invention, which in effect is traditional knowledge or which is an aggregation or duplication of known properties of traditionally known component(s).
• An invention relating to atomic energy falling within sub-section (1) of Section 20 of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.
• Topography of integrated circuits

• Name, Address and Nationality of the Inventor(s) or of the Assignee.
• Name, Address and Nationality of the Applicant (s)
• Title of the Invention (Brief & Precise).
• Details of the background of the Invention along with the brief information on the Existing Traditional Method (if any) relating to the invention;
• Description of the Invention in the form of Provisional and Complete Specification;
• Manner or best mode of Use of the invention
• The Claims or uniqueness which an inventor proposes to claim.
• If the invention is capable of being illustrated with the help of Drawings, Figures or formulae, such drawings, figures or formulae should be provided on a thick, durable paper.
• In case priority is to be claimed, details about the date of filing of application, country of filing and number of application. A certified copy of the application has to be filed within 12 months of claiming of priority or before the date of filing of a request for Examination.
• Power of Attorney - no need to be legalized or Notarized.

Any of the following may become the Applicant in an application:

• True and first inventor(s);
• Assignee of true and first inventor(s);
• Legal representative of any deceased person who before his death was entitled to apply for the patent.

PUBLICATION:

• After an application for a patent is filed, the same shall not be open to the public for such period as may be prescribed until it is published.
• Unless the request for expeditious publication is made, application will be automatically published from the date of filing in the Official Journal. The official Journal is published by the Patent office on a weekly basis.
• If the applicant intends to expedite the publication, he may make a specific request in a prescribed form with additional filing fees and the application will be published as soon as possible (Within one month).
• Once the application is published till grant, the Applicant shall have all the privileges and rights as if a patent for the invention has been granted. However, no suit for infringement can be filed till the patent is granted.

EXAMINATION:

• No application will be automatically examined unless the request for Examination is filed. The application will be examined only on the basis of filing of a special request for Examination in a prescribed form with fees within a prescribed period.
• A request to file for Examination of the application is required to be filed within a period of 48 months from the date of priority or from the date of filing, whichever is earlier.
• Once the request is filed, the application will be substantially examined by the Patent Examiner and an Examination Report will be issued stating the question of patentability of the invention and any other details for proper and sufficient description. The applicant has to comply with all requirements and put the application in order overcoming all the objections raised by the Examiner to his satisfaction with in a period of 12 months extendable for a period of 3 months upon payment of extension fees. Examiner upon reply, will send the application to the Controller with his report for grant or rejection and the Controller shall notify the applicant about the same.

Representation of Opposition:

Once the application is published, any aggrieved person may in writing represent by way of an opposition to the Controller against the grant of patent on any of the following grounds:

• Wrongfully obtained invention.
• Prior Publication
• Prior Claiming
• Prior public knowledge or public use in India
• Obviousness and lack of inventive steps
• The invention is not properly described
• Lack of subject matter (invention is not patentable)
• Failure to disclose information relating to the applications filed in foreign countries for the same inventions.
• on disclosure or wrong disclosure of the source or geographical origin of biological material used for the invention; and
• Invention is known due to the prior knowledge, oral or other wise available within any local or indigenous community in India or elsewhere.

Upon receiving representation of opposition, the Controller shall consider and dispose of the representation as he deems proper.

None of the party including the aggrieved party who has made representation will be party to the proceeding.

The Patent will not be granted within six months from the date of publication. Hence, the Representation can be made anytime after publication but before grant.

Grant:

Once the application is found to be order with compliance of all the requirements including objections on patentability of the invention or disposed off by the Controller if represented for opposition, the patent is granted as soon as possible (but not before expiry of six months from the date of publication) and information of grant is published in an Official Journal.

OPPOSITION:

Once the patent is granted, the same can be opposed within a period of one (1) year from the date of grant upon following grounds:

• Wrongfully obtained invention.
• Prior Publication
• Prior Claiming
• Prior public knowledge or public use in India
• Obviousness and lack of inventive steps
• The invention is not properly described
• Lack of subject matter (invention is not patentable)
• Failure to disclose information relating to the applications filed in foreign countries for the same inventions.
• Non disclosure or wrong disclosure of the source or geographical origin of biological material used for the invention; and
• Invention is known due to the prior knowledge, oral or other wise available within any local or indigenous community in India or elsewhere.
Once the opposition is filed, the matter will be decided after taking into consideration all the written and oral evidences.

After the Opposition period is expired or no opposition is filed or the opposition is won by the patentee, the grant of a patent is confirmed.

The term of a Patent is 20 years from the date of filing of Patent.

No. The protection is granted only after the application is formally published in an Official Journal upon expiry of 18 months or earlier (if expedited). Till that time, no protection is granted or conferred upon.

There is no specific time within which an application would be accepted. However, approximately it would be about 2 -4 years.

No fees are required to be paid for first 2 years of the term of Patent after its sealing. To keep the Patent in force, it is imperative to pay the Annuities till the term of Patent. Non payment of annuities will result into lapse of the Patent.

The patent will be lapsed. However, within a period of 12 months from the due date of payment of annuity i. e. date on which the Patent becomes lapsed, it may be restored upon payment of additional fees. It is to be noted here that no protection will be conferred upon the patentee within this period of non payment of annuity.

The following exclusive rights are conferred to a patentee:

• To make, use, sell or distribute the patented article and use or exercise the method or process if a patent is for process.
• To assign or grant license or deal with a patent for any consideration.
• Right to surrender a patent.
• During the period from date of advertisement and date of sealing of the patent, the applicant for the patent can exercise all the privileges and rights of a patentee EXCEPT filing of a suit for the infringement of a patent.

Any person who is unauthorizedly making, using, selling, importing or distributing a Patented Article or composition is considered as an infringement of a patent.

A registered patentee may take civil action against an infringer by:

• Suit for temporary or interlocutory injunction;
• Permanent injunction;
• Damages OR Account of Profit (at the option of Plaintiff);
• The delivery of the infringing goods, labels and advt. materials for destruction;
• A defendant can be ordered to reveal the identity of any third persons involved

Yes. A patent may be revoked anytime after grant during its validity upon any of the below mentioned grounds;

• lack of novelty.
• lack of utility.
• non obviousness.
• prior claiming.
• wrongful obtaining.
• lack of sufficient description of the invention.
• prior publication or use of the invention.

Yes, patents are assignable. However, an assignment of a patent, or creation of any interest in a patent shall not be valid unless it is in writing in the form of an agreement duly executed including the terms and conditions and laying down the rights and obligations of respective parties.

• The Trademark. In case of a device mark, please provide mark in .jpg or .gif format. If colour is to be claimed, preferably please also provide 15 prints in exact colour/ high definition .jpg or .gif image in exact colour.
• Full name, Address, nationality and nature of the entity (e.g. individual, company or partnership firm) of the applicant.
• Description of Goods or Services with appropriate class as per NICE Classification (IX Edition).
• Date of commercial use of the mark in India, if any, or proposed to be used.
• A simply signed Power of Attorney.
• If priority is to be claimed, please provide Date of first application, country and the application number.
• If priority claimed, a Certified copy of the Application filed in any Convention Country within 60 days from the date of filing of application in India.

NONE OF THE DOCUMENTS ARE REQUIRED TO BE NOTARIZED OR LEGALIZED.