Everyone needs to know about the patents law and the registration process
Everyone needs to know about the patents law:
Patents often consider as more mysterious one when compared with copyrights and trademarks. You can see that when you read a book you can find a copyright notices attached to it, and also you can encounter a trademark protected consumer products on every day. Even you have your own brand being a business owner.
Patents involve the type of non-obvious inventions inside the computers we use to read our books and inside the factories the products are made, may seem harder to conceptualize.
Patent protection always requires the formal registration and the application usually made by professional experts. There are some reasons why some inventors or entrepreneurs decide to forgo the patent protection altogether. It is important to understand how the patent affects your new product or start-up.
Existing patents may hinder your ability to create certain products without a license, when you file your own patents could create another revenue stream to capitalist the new invention.
Here I have listed some of the questions to consider:
- What Patents can be protected?
- How the patent protection is granted?
- How long the patent protection lasts?
- Whether the patent registration is required?
- When to apply for a patent and whether it requires any help from an attorney?
- What kind of rights you are granted if you qualify for the patent protection?
Patents provide protection for the new, useful and the non-obvious inventions, you should file to get the protection and keep the novel parts of your invention non-public until you do so.
What do the patents protect?
Lot of inventions have been protected under the patent law, they have included everything from over the medications like acetaminophen to certain types of software and even Edison’s light bulb.
There are some things which cannot be an invention, in the traditional sense to get a patent protection. For example: “Business processes” which have no tangible components which are subject to patent protection. Things which are tangible like chemicals, seeds and pharmaceuticals which are derived from nature can be protected.
How the patent protections are granted?
In order to qualify for the patent protection, the inventor or someone they have given the patent rights to, must register the patent with the Indian trademark office.
Why patent search?
Patent search is very significant because every year, the department who receives many applications for patent registration but not all the applications got approved due to some copied issues. Thus to not waste any time on patent registration, it is better to go for patent search first.
Is it possible to patent my app?
This is purely depends upon the element of the app that you wish to protect. If it is a technical idea that you seek to protect, then patenting that is a good option. The technical idea need to meet the criteria which have laid down in the act. If you just want to protect your designs and logo you can use the trademark that would be more feasible whereas the literary and artistic works can be protected by copyright.
When you can register for patent protection?
You can register your patent as soon as you can afford to. Whoever registers the patent first will get the patent, even if someone else came up with the same invention.
Another thing which you need to keep in mind is that if you publicly disclose your idea before filing for a patent, you may lose the ability to patent your invention in that particular country.
Can you register for patent protection on your own or need any lawyer for that?
It is always good to work with the patent attorney or legal service provider or any patent agent to register your patent. It will be very complicated if you like to patent something which relates to the software.
Using the patent attorney is an easier way to get your patent registered and there are more chances that you would win the disputes down the road.
How long patent protection lasts?
It can last up to 20 years from the date of filing the provisional or a permanent patent. After that it would have fall under the public domain. If the patentee wants to renew it, the separate procedure and the fees applicable as per the patent Act.
What kind of rights have been granted?
The patent owner is granted the right in order to prevent others from using, making or selling their patented invention without permission.
Because of the complex strategies needed to determine what you should register in patents and in what jurisdiction you should register them in, we, “Solubilis Corporate Services” being one of the leading service providers we could give a better way on how patents may apply to your new software, product etc. In this article you might have got a point to determine whether you have created a patentable work and how that patent can add a value to your company.
For Patent Registration in India -> Click here