Patent is a certificate granted by a national government to provide legal protection to an invention to provide limited monopoly for the inventor. Indian patent office with its headquarters at Kolkata has four jurisdictions: Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai. Patent application may be filed at appropriate govt authorities after the completion of the invention without any public disclosure. Application may be filed with provisional (with partial essential information on the invention) specification.
A complete specification (CS) will have further technical details on the invention. Patent application with Provisional Specification (PS) will only help the potential patentee to block the priority date during the early stage of invention. However, patent will be considered only after filing complete specification (within 12 months of filing PS). Most important part of the CS is the section of ‘claims’ which details the scope of the invention.
It is important for organizations to have a clear policy/contract in place on inventorship to avoid potential disputes. After the grant of patent, patentee has to pay annuity (annual renewal fees) for rest of the period.
Office of Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks is the government authority overseeing the grant of patents in India. Patent application is published (in the official gazette of Indian patent office)after 18 months from filing of CS.A request for examination(RFE) has to be filed within 48 months of date of filing of CS.
Organisation recognised as start up by appropriate government authority is eligible for expedited examination. Under this provision controller has to issue First Examination Report(FER) within 115 days of acceptance of request for expedited examination.
How will I apply for patent in other countries? One can file PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) application at any of the regional Indian patent offices.PCT application is governed by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Geneva. Right of priority (honouring the date of first application in any member country) was introduced by Paris convention.
Wish you happy patenting!