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Definition of a patent
A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that provides, in general, a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem.
Functions of a patent
A patent provides protection for the invention to the owner of the patent. The protection is granted for a limited period, generally 20 years.
Kind of Protection offered by a Patent
Patent protection means that the invention cannot be commercially made, used, distributed or sold without the patent owner's consent. These patent rights are usually enforced in a court, which, in most systems, holds the authority to stop patent infringement. Conversely, a court can also declare a patent invalid upon a successful challenge by a third party.
Rights of a Patent Owner
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. 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, the owner no longer holds exclusive rights to the invention, which becomes available to commercial exploitation by others.
Need of Patents
Patents provide incentives to individuals by offering them recognition for their creativity and material reward for their marketable inventions. These incentives encourage innovation, which assures that the quality of human life is continuously enhanced.
Role of Patents in Everyday Life
Patented inventions have, in fact, pervaded every aspect of human life, from electric lighting (patents held by Edison and Swan) and plastic (patents held by Baekeland), to ballpoint pens (patents held by Biro) and microprocessors (patents held by Intel, for example).
All patent owners are obliged, in return for patent protection, to publicly disclose information on their invention in order to enrich the total body of technical knowledge in the world. Such an ever-increasing body of public knowledge promotes further creativity and innovation in others. In this way, patents provide not only protection for the owner but valuable information and inspiration for future generations of researchers and inventors.
Grant of a Patent
The first step in securing a patent is the filing of a patent application. The patent application generally contains the title of the invention, as well as an indication of its technical field; it must include the background and a description of the invention, in clear language and enough detail that an individual with an average understanding of the field could use or reproduce the invention. Visual materials such as drawings, plans, or diagrams to better describe the invention usually accompany such descriptions. The application also contains various "claims", that is, information which determines the extent of protection granted by the patent.
Kinds of Inventions that can be protected
An invention must, in general, fulfill the following conditions to be protected by a patent. It must be of practical use; it must show an element of novelty, that is, some new characteristic that is not known in the body of existing knowledge in its technical field. This body of existing knowledge is called "prior art". The invention must show aninventive step, which could not be deduced by a person with average knowledge of the technical field. Finally, its subject matter must be accepted as "patentable" under law. In many countries, scientific theories, mathematical methods, plant or animal varieties, discoveries of natural substances, commercial methods, or methods for medical treatment (as opposed to medical products) are generally not patentable.
Who grants Patents?
Patent is granted by a national patent office or by a regional office that does the work for a number of countries, such as the European Patent Office and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization. Under such regional systems, an applicant requests protection for the invention in one or more countries, and each country decides as to whether to offer patent protection within its borders. The WIPO-administered Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) provides for the filing of a single international patent application, which has the same effect as national applications filed in the designated countries. An applicant seeking protection may file one application and request protection in as many signatory states as needed
How can a patent be obtained worldwide?
At present, no “world patents” or “international patents” exist. In general, an application for a patent must be filed, and a patent shall be granted and enforced, in each country in which you seek patent protection for your invention, in accordance with the law of that country. In some regions, a regional patent office, for example, the European Patent Office (EPO) and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), accepts regional patent applications, or grants patents, which have the same effect as applications filed, or patents granted, in the member States of that region.
Further, any resident or national of a Contracting State of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) may file an international application under the PCT. A single international patent application has the same effect as national applications filed in each designated Contracting State of the PCT. However, under the PCT system, in order to obtain patent protection in the designated States, a patent shall be granted by each designated State to the claimed invention contained in the international application.
Territorial Jurisdiction of Patent Offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata
An applicant or first mentioned applicant in case of joint applicants can file application for patent at the appropriate Patent Office under whose jurisdiction he normally resides or has his domicile or has a place of business or the place from where the invention actually originated. For the applicant, who is non-resident or has no domicile or has no place of business in India, the address for service in India or place of business of his patent agent determines the appropriate patent office where applications for patent can be filed.
Territorial Jurisdiction of Appropriate Office for the Applicants from
The States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar
Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Delhi and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
Patent Office,New Delhi.
The Controller of Patents,
Intellectual Property Office Building,
Plot No. 32, Sector 14,
Dwarka, New Delhi-110075
Territorial Jurisdiction of Appropriate Office for the Applicants from
The States of Maharashtra, Gujarat, MadhyaPradesh, Goa and Chhattisgarh and the Union
Territories of Daman and Diu & Dadar and Nagar Haveli
Patent Office, Mumbai.
The Controller of Patents,
Boudhik Sampada Bhawan, S.M.Road,
Near Antop Hill Post Office, Antop Hill,
MumbaiI - 400 037.
Territorial Jurisdiction of Appropriate Office for the Applicants from
The States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territories of
Pondicherry and Laksha dweep .
Patent Office,Chennai.
The Controller of Patents,
Intellectual Property Office Building, G.S.T. Road,
Guindy, Chennai-600032,
Territorial Jurisdiction of Appropriate Office for the Applicants from
State of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal,
Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Sikkim , Tripura and Union
Territory of Nagaland, Andaman &Nicobar Island.
Patent Office,Kolkata
The Controller of Patents,
Intellectual Property Office Building,
CP-2 Sector V, Salt Lake City, Kolkata-700091,
