Provisional Patent Filing
Filing a provisional patent application online can come handy when an invention is certain but will likely require additional improvements that can be completed within a year. We help file the provisional patent in less than 24 hours in India.
Patent: Overview
A patent is the granting of a property right by a sovereign authority to an inventor. This grant provides the inventor exclusive rights to the patented process, design, or invention for a designated period in exchange for a comprehensive disclosure of the invention. A patent grants an exclusive right to the inventor/owner of the Invention done in the form of new goods or as new or improved Industrial Processes. For grant of the patent, an application is filed for the Invention, which is new, novel & was not disclosed anywhere before filing it to the office of the controller of patents in India. An application for this purpose generally comprises of a description of the invention, added with official forms and correspondence relevant to the application. Patent applications are of several types, and each one of them caters to a unique purpose. Here is the brief on the Type of Patent Application.
Provisional Application: A provisional application, also known as a temporary application, is filed when an invention is underAn application for this purpose must include a brief explanation of the invention and must be drafted in a meticulous manner so as to ensure that the priority rights are secured for the invention. experimentation and isn’t finalized.
Ordinary Application: This type of application is filed if the applicant doesn’t have any priority to claim or if the application is not filed in pursuance of any preceding convention application. It must be supported by a complete specification, the likes of which must depict the invention in detail.
Convention Application: A convention application is filed for claiming a priority date based on the same or substantially similar application filed in any of the convention countries. To avail a status of convention, an applicant is required to file an application in the Indian Patent Office within a year from the date of the initial filing of a similar application in the convention country.
PCT International Application: As can be deciphered from its name, a PCT Application is an international application. Though the application does not provide for the grant of an international patent, it paves the way for a streamlined patent application process in many countries at one go.
Patent of Addition: This application must be filed if the applicant discovers that he has come across an invention which is a slight modification of the invention which has already been applied for or patented by the applicant. It can only be filed if the invention doesn’t involve a substantial inventive step.
Divisional Application: An applicant may choose to divide an application and furnish two or more applications if a particular application claims for more than one invention. The priority date for these applications is similar to that of the parent application.
Steps for Patent Registration
- Detailing the Invention
While collecting the details of the Invention, you may prepare a diagram, flow chart or sketch with a particular emphasis on how your Invention is different from the existing knowledge.
- Patentability Search
The patentability search and prior art searches help the inventor to decide whether to go ahead with the Patent or not.
- Drafting of Patent Specification
The drafting of the specification should be done by the inventor himself or a person who is a specialist in the subject matter as the patent specification is the most crucial techno-legal document that is filed as a mandatory attachment in a patent application.
- Publication of the Application
The patent office does the publication of the patent upon an application by the applicant. The publication is done after 18 months from the date of patent application after the applicant makes a separate application for the same.
The purpose of advertising the patent is to afford an opportunity to the public at large to see if there is any objection to the grant of the patent in favour of the applicant.
- First Examination Report
The examiner reviews the application from the point of patentability and issues the First Examination Report (FER). The application for examination is filed after the patent is advertised. An application for expedited examination may be filed to speed up the process.
- Filing of Reply to Objections
The examiner records the patent office’s objections in grating the Patent in the examination report. Pointwise reply on each point of objection has to be filed supported with established legal principles and relevant rulings.
- Grant of Patent
Once the patent office is satisfied with the reply to the examiner’s objections, the Patent is granted provided the application meets all the patentability requirements.
List of Documents Required For Patent Filing in India:
- Patent application in (Form-1)
- Proof of right to file application from the inventor. The proof of right can either be an endorsement at the end of the application or a separate agreement attached with the patent application.
- Provisional specifications, if complete specifications are not available.
- Complete specification (Form-2) within 12 months of filing of provisional specification.
- Statement and undertaking under Section 8 (Form- 3) if applicable.
- Declaration (Form 5) for applications with complete specification or a convention application or a PCT application designating India. Form-5 can be filed within one month from the date of filing of application, if a request is made to the Controller (Form-4).
- Power of authority (Form-26) if patent application is being filed by a Patent Agent.
- Priority document must be filed in the following cases:
- Convention Application
- PCT National Phase Application wherein requirements of Rule 17.1(a or b) of has not been fulfilled.
- If the Application pertains to a biological material obtained from India, the applicant is required to submit the permission from the National Biodiversity Authority any time before the grant of the patent.
- The Application form should also indicate clearly the source of geographical origin of any biological material used in the specification.
- All patent applications must bear the signature of the applicant or authorized person or Patent Attorney along with name and date.
- Provisional or complete specification must be signed by the agent/applicant with date on the last page of the specification. The drawing sheets attached should also contain the signature of an applicant or his agent in the right hand bottom corner.
Drafting & Filing of Patent Specification
The patent specification is a techno-legal document that appears in the public search when the patent gets published. The examiner decides the patent application based on the patent specification and the claims; hence, it is the essential document in a patent application where the inventor explains all about the invention. The patent application may be filed in India with the provisional specification or with a complete specification. The application is deemed to be completely filed after filing the complete patent specification.
Provisional Specification of Patent: The Patent application is filed with Provisional Specification to claim priority date before the Patent Office. It is filed by the inventor where more time is required to perfect the invention. However, it has reached a stage where it can be disclosed. The provisional specification does not contain claims, and within 12 months of filing the provisional specification, the complete specification should be filed.
Complete Specification of Patent: The complete specification is a techno legal document, where the inventor discloses all details of the Invention along with the claims that the inventor has from the Invention. The complete specification must contain the following in the document.
- Title
- Field of Invention
- Background
- Summary
- Brief Description of Drawings
- Detailed Description
- Abstract
- Claim(s)
- Drawings
Timeline for Grant of Patent in India
| S.No | Activity | Normal Route | Express Route |
|---|---|---|---|
1. | Novelty search | 10 Days | 10 Days |
2. | Drafting of Patent Specifications | 15 Days | 15 Days |
3. | Filing of Patent Application | 1 Day | 1 Day |
5. | Request for Examination | Within 48 Months of Application Filing | Along with Application |
6. | First Examination Report | More than 1 Years after the request for examination is filed | Within 6 Months of Application Filing |
7. | Response to FER or Opposition | File reply within 6 Months of issue of FER | File Reply ASAP if the issue of FER |
8. | Grant of Patent | Practically it takes 2-4 Years in Grant of Patent through Normal Route | Under Express Route Patent is Granted within 1-1.5 Years |