In India, one can acquire patent registration for a novel invention. However, patent registrations are not applicable for all inventions. To obtain a patent registration for an invention and make it patentable, satisfying specific criteria is essential for the invention.

To be patentable, an invention has to be a completely new product or procedure. It must involve an inventive step and be capable of being manufactured or used in industry as per the Patent Act. Besides possessing a technical aspect, an invention should meet certain requirements, which are mentioned below:

Novelty: Whatever is revealed in the specification isn’t published anywhere in India or another place prior to the date of patent application filing in India.

Inventive Step: The invention isn’t known to any individual who possesses expertise in the art in light of the prior knowledge or document or publication.

Industrial Application: An invention should have the utilization aspect in order to be manufactured or utilized in the industrial sector.

An individual alone or jointly with other persons can file a patent application for an invention. Here are the persons who can file a patent application:

• 1 The first and original inventor
• 1 The person who has assigned the first and original inventor
• 1 The first and original inventor’s legal representative or assignee (if the first and original inventor dies)

The word ‘’person’’ in simple words as per the Patent Act means any natural or organic person, association, or company or government body or individuals’ body, whether or not incorporated. When it comes to a proprietorship firm, filing the patent application in the name of the proprietors is of the utmost importance. The actual names of all personally responsible and involved partners have to be there in the patent application in the case of a partnership firm.

An individual regarded as an assignee can also be a natural person or other than a legal person like a registered company, LLP, a Section 8 Company, a Government, or an educational establishment. Remember that an individual who has first imported an invention into India or someone who learned about an invention in detail from outside India won’t be considered the first and original inventor of a specific invention.

At the designated Patent Office, an applicant can file a patent application by electronic means using Form-1 along with provisional/complete specification and requisite fee. Here are the key things based on which jurisdiction of a patent is decided:

• 1 The applicant’s residing place, domicile, or business
• 2 The originating place of the invention
• 3 The address of the place where the applicant work in India, when the applicant has no domicile or business’s place in India (Applicants who are a foreigner)

Delhi Patent Office Jurisdiction

Under the Delhi Patent Office Jurisdiction, all these states fall – Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, the Union Territory of Chandigarh, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Mumbai Patent Office Jurisdiction

Under the Mumbai Patent Office Jurisdiction, all these states fall – Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Goa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu.

Kolkata Patent Office Jurisdiction

Under the Kolkata Patent Office Jurisdiction, all these states fall – West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Chennai Patent Office Jurisdiction

Under the Chennai Patent Office Jurisdiction, all these states fall – Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and the Union Territory of Pondicherry and Lakshwadeep.

Patent Application

Basically, the patent application is sort of a plea for granting a patent for the invention described and claimed by the applicant. Generally, a patent application consists of an invention’s description along with official forms and correspondence pertinent to the patent application. There are several types of patent applications, and each type is responsible for catering to a distinct purpose.

Types of Patent Application

The key types of patent application are as follows:

• 1 Provisional Application
• 2 Non-Provisional or Ordinary Application
• 3 Convention Application
• 4 PCT International Application
• 5 PCT National Application
• 6 Patent of Addition
• 7 Divisional Application

Provisional Application

A temporary application that an applicant files while conducting experiments with an invention and the same isn’t finalized is known as a provisional application. It is more of a preliminary application that an applicant files prior to the patent office for claiming priority because the Indian patent Office adheres to the ‘First to File’ system. In technical terminologies, if an applicant files an application for an invention early, the occurrence of any other similar inventions from being considered as prior art to the provisional application of the inventor will be prevented.

Whenever an inventor has a requirement of extra time for the development of an invention, he or she files this specific type of patent application. It becomes a necessity to file a complete specification within a year from the date of a provisional application filing if a patent application is substantiated by a provisional specification. The application will be abandoned if the applicant fails to complete the necessary step.

An applicant has to include a part in the application wherein he or she explains briefly about the invention. The application has to be drafted in a careful manner to ensure that priority rights are fully-secured for the invention.

Non-Provisional or Ordinary Application

One can file this particular type of patent application only if he or she doesn’t have any kind of priority to claim or if the patent application isn’t filed in order to persuade any initial convention application. Such an application must be corroborated by a complete specification, which can explicitly depict the invention in a detailed manner.

Here are the two ways through which one can file a complete specification:

Direct Filing: Here, a complete specification is filed at first with the Indian Patent Office without filing any similar provisional specification.

Subsequent Filing: Here, a complete specification is filed following the similar provisional specification and claiming priority from the provisional specification that an applicant files.

Here are the things that a complete specification includes:

• 1 Title
• 2 A Preamble to the invention
• 3 Technical field of the invention
• 4 Invention’s background
• 5 Invention’s object
• 6 Invention’s statement
• 7 A brief description of drawings
• 8 Invention’s detailed description
• 9 Claims
• 10 Abstract

Convention Application

The sole purpose of filing a convention application is to claim a priority date based on the same or noteworthy similar application filed in any of the convention countries. To obtain a convention status, an applicant is required to file an application in the Indian patent Office within a year from the initial filing date of a similar application in the convention country. In simpler terms, a convention application permits the applicant for claiming priority in all the convention countries.

PCT International Application

It is very much understandable by the name only that this specific type of patent application is an international application. Instead of ensuring an international patent grant, what this application does is pave the path for a hassle-free patent application procedure at one-go in different countries. The Patent Corporation Treaty governs the PCT International application, and it has validation in up to 142 countries. No one can replicate an invention in the selected countries if the applicant files this particular type of patent application beforehand. The PCT International Application affords the applicant a considerable amount of extra time (30-31 months) to access the invention’s viability.

The PCT International Application renders the following advantages:

• 1 Citing prior art, the application provides an International Search Report that reveals whether or not the invention is novel.
• 2 It ensures an option that can help an applicant request an International Preliminary Examination Report, which consists of an option on the invention’s patentability.

PCT National Phase Application

In every country where an applicant has the opportunity to seek top-notch protection for an invention, the ideal thing to do is file a phase application. The time period for filing this specific type of application is 31 months from the international date of filing or priority date. Each member country can extend the time limit through National Laws. Taking the National Phase Application into account, the application’s title, description, abstract, and claims filed in the application under PCT are mostly considered the complete specification.

Patent of Addition

It is a completely unique type of patent application that an applicant should file only when he or she comes across an invention, which can be called a slightly modified version of the invention that has already been patented or applied for by the applicant. Only if the invention doesn’t include any significant inventive step, an applicant can file a patent of addition.

After granting the parent patent, such a patent application is granted. Therefore, no renewal fee would be remitted during the main patent’s term in a separate manner. The expiry date of the patent of addition and the main invention’s patent is the same. The filing date here is the same on which an applicant files the patent of addition’s application.

Divisional Application

Whenever a specific application claims for inventions more than one, an applicant gets the opportunity to choose to conduct division of an application and create a couple of or more applications. Similar to that of the parent application is the priority date for these applications.

An applicant can file provisional or complete specifications while filing a patent application. Here are the key documents that an applicant must file for acquiring patent registration:

• 1 Patent application in Form-1
• 2 The inventor’s proof of the right to file an application. It can either be an entirely separate agreement that comes with the patent application or an endorsement sort of a thing at the end of the patent application.
• 3 Provisional specifications when complete specifications are unavailable
• 4 The complete specification in Form-2 within a year of the filing of provisional specifications
• 5 In Form-3, statement and undertaking can be considered under Section 8 (only if applicable.) One can file Form-3 either within six months from the date of application or along with the application.
• 6 In Form-5 for applications, an applicant can make a declaration to inventorship with convention application or complete specification or a PCT application relating to India. Whenever a request is made to the Controller in Form-4, an applicant can file Form-5 within a month from the application filing date.
• 7 If a Patent Agent files a patent application, the power of authority is in Gorm-26. When it comes to a general power of authority, a Patent Agent or Patent Attorney needs to file a self-attested copy of it.
• 8 Convention Application
• 9 PCT National Phase Application
• 10 If an applicant files a patent application related to a biological object acquired from India, submission of the permission from the National Biodiversity Authority prior to the grant of the patent is necessary. However, it is enough if the applicant submits the National Biodiversity Authority’s permission before the grant of the patent.
• 11 Mentioning the source of the place is important if the applicant uses any biological material in the specification.
• 12 Besides the name and date, the official signature of the applicant or Patent Attorney or authorized person has to be there in all patent applications.
• 13 The applicant or agent must sign the provisional or complete specification with the correct date on the specification’s last page. The applicant or his/her agent’s signature should be there in the right-hand bottom corner of the attached drawing sheets.