Do you have an amazing & thrilling app idea and want to make most out of it? So, before you proceed with any app development aspect, first you need to get that idea patent so that no one can copy it and claim its uniqueness. You must have heard this term “patent” many times. A patent is a sort of protection against any intellectual property regarding its ownership and uniqueness. In India, the government grants a patent right for a period of 20 years that gives some excusive rights to the owner to utilize its inventions and creations in the best possible way safeguarding its ownership. You must get acquainted to this critical aspect if you really think that you have an idea that can transform million lives. This blog will offer you valuable insights on how to patent an idea and complexities attached to it.
The Criteria to Patent an Idea
Before you get involved in patent registration, you must know the criteria to obtain a patent. This will help you analyze whether you stand eligible to get any idea patented or not. Moreover, this will offer much convenience for an IoT app development company to approach the process in a professional way to avoid any disappointments and delay.
Novelty
The utmost necessary thing to patent an idea is that it must be “unique”. Your idea and work based on it must be unique and should not reflect any existing work.
Non-Obviousness
This also refers to uniqueness of the idea. Your idea should not be easily predictable by anyone. The patentability search aims towards finding out the uniqueness in an idea based on the results obtained from the patent authorities.
Industrial Applications
The primary purpose of your idea must cater to practicality and should be implemented to serve masses. The practical utility of your idea will also decide whether it gets easily patented or not.
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How to Patent an Idea in India?
Before approaching the authorities to get your idea patented, you must organize a detail document of your idea including all relevant aspects in as much detail as possible.
- Industry on which applicable
- Description, purpose, and working of your idea
- Pros & Cons of the invention and its applicability
Your documentation to patent an idea must include all these three crucial aspects with al required details in it. Remember, the more descriptive you will be in presenting your idea before the authorities, the easier it will be for the patent authority to make a decision on it.
Patentability Search
You must perform a detailed patentability search so that you can evaluate the merit of your invention and guess the chances of getting it patented. This will also help you to confirm the uniqueness of your idea and to ensure that you don’t end up filing a patent for an idea that already exists.
Draft a Patent Application
Once you have completed the above-mentioned tasks, you can proceed with patent application process where you have to prepare an Indian patent application (Form 1). Make sure that each patent application is accompanied by a patent specification (Form 2). Based on the type of invention, you can either file a provisional patent application or a complete patent application.
Pay acute attention towards patent draft as it’s your representation before the authorities and the decision will depend primarily on things included in the patent draft section. It is advisable to seek guidance from patent professionals to obtain maximum results from your patent process.
First Filing in India
Once you get done with patent drafting, the next step is to file the patent application in India and take a date. In case, you have filed a provisional patent application, you need to file the complete application within 12 months from the date of provisional filing.
Foreign Filing
For a mobile app development company, it is imperative to protect its patent worldwide. And if you too want the same, you need to file a convention application within 12 months from the date of first filing. The application will be filed in Paris convention members individually in each country where you need protection for your invention. You need to consider the following forms to be filled to make sure that your patent application has been registered successfully in India.
Form 1: Application for a patent grant
Form 2: Provisional/Complete specifications
From 3: Statement and undertaking regarding foreign application under section 8.
From 5: Declaration to inventor ship (only for complete application)
From 26: Authorizing a patent agent
Form 28: To be submitted by a startup or any small entity
Publication of Patent Application
The applications submitted in the Indian Patent Office are kept secret until it is officially published in the official patent journal. Indian Patent Office published a patent application after 18 months from the date when it was filed. This is an automatic process for which you don’t need to do anything extra. However, if you want your application to be published earlier than 18 months, you can make a request for early publication.
Examination of the Patent Application
Here, everything that any IOT app development company has mentioned in its patent application is examined thoroughly on various parameters and then the final decision is made on whether to provide a patent for that idea or not.
You have to make a request through submitting a Form 18 for examining your patent. Hence, the earlier you will request to examine, the sooner you can get final decision on your patent application.
Endnote
Once, you request for the examination of your patent application, it will eventually reach the concerned authorities to at upon it. You may need to respond to some examination reports and once your application overcomes all objections, the patent will be granted and published in the patent gazette.
In India, you have to renew the patent each year and it can be renewed for a maximum period of 20 years from the date of filing that patent.
