A patent is a form of intellectual property that protects an invention. It gives the inventor exclusive rights to produce, use and sell their invention for a set of period. 

The patent owner may give permission to, or license, other parties to use the invention on mutually agreed terms. The owner may also sell the right to the invention to someone else, who will then become the new owner of the patent. Once a patent expires, the protection ends, and an invention enters the public domain; that is, anyone can commercially exploit the invention without infringing the patent

A patent owner has the right to decide who may – or may not – use the patented invention for the period in which the invention is protected. In other words, patent protection means that the invention cannot be commercially made, used, distributed, imported, or sold by others without the patent owner’s consent.

It is a granted by the government of the country for an exclusive right for a specific term to prevent others from using your invention. In most countries, including India, Patent protection is granted for a limited period, generally 20 years from the filing date of the application.

Getting a patent for your invention is a complex legal process. You need expert help from a patent attorney to give you the best chance of securing good protection for your invention.

The patenting process generally involves the following steps:

01

Searching

You cannot get a patent if your invention has already been publicly disclosed. Therefore, a search of all previous public disclosures should be conducted. A search of foreign patents and printed publications should also be conducted. 

02

Filing a provisional application

Once, you have made the decision to go forward with the patent application process, based on the state of the invention, you need to file a provisional patent application.

03

Filing a complete specification

The next step is to file the patent application in India and secure the filing date. In case you are filing a provisional application first, you need to file the complete application within 12 months from the provisional filing date.

04

Examination

During the examination process your patent application will finally be examined on its merits as described and claimed in the patent specification.

05

Grant and renewal

Once, the patent application overcomes all the objections, the patent will be granted and published in the patent gazette. The patent has to be renewed every year by paying the renewal fee after the initial grant.