Patent registration

Patent registration is an application under the Patents Act, 1970 for a new invention. Company Suggestion files Form 1 with a specification, and Form 18 so that the application is examined. A granted patent lasts 20 years from the filing date.

What can be patented?

Section 2(1)(j) defines an invention as a new product or process that involves an inventive step and is capable of industrial application. A bare idea, with no way of making it work, is not an application.

Section 3 keeps several things out. A mere discovery, a mathematical method, a business method, a computer program per se, a plant or an animal other than a microorganism, a method of agriculture or of medical treatment, and traditional knowledge are not inventions under the Act. A design that is only the look of an article is a design, not a patent.

Which forms start the application?

The filing set is fixed. The specification is either provisional or complete.

Form 1, the application for the grant.
Form 2, the specification. A provisional specification must be followed by a complete specification within 12 months.
Form 3, the statement of any corresponding application filed outside India.
Form 5, the declaration of inventorship, filed with the complete specification.
Form 26, when a patent agent signs for the applicant.

The true and first inventor is named. The applicant may be that inventor or the person to whom the invention has been assigned.

When is the application examined?

The application is published after 18 months from the filing date or the priority date, whichever is earlier, unless a secrecy direction applies or the application is withdrawn. Early publication can be requested in Form 9.

Examination does not start by itself. Form 18, the request for examination, is filed within 31 months of the priority date when the application was filed on or after 15 March 2024. An earlier application follows the 48-month period that applied on its filing date. The first examination report is answered within six months, and that time can be extended by three months on a request.

What are the filing steps?

Company Suggestion takes the invention through five steps.

A search of published patents is done before the specification is drafted.
Form 1 is filed with a provisional or a complete specification.
If the start was provisional, the complete specification is filed within 12 months.
Form 18 is filed inside the request period, and the examination report is answered.
On grant, the patent runs for 20 years from the filing date, subject to renewal fees.

Frequently asked questions

4 questions cover the rules that decide this registration.

How long does a patent last?

Twenty years from the filing date, under section 53. Renewal fees keep it in force during those years. It does not last for a shorter period chosen in the application.

When is the request for examination due?

For an application filed on or after 15 March 2024, Form 18 is filed within 31 months of the priority date. An application filed before that date follows the request period that applied when it was filed, which was 48 months.

What cannot be patented?

Section 3 excludes a mere discovery, a mathematical or business method, a computer program per se, a plant or an animal other than a microorganism, a method of agriculture or medical treatment, and traditional knowledge. An idea that has no industrial application is not an invention.

Does a provisional specification grant a patent?

No. It holds the filing date. The complete specification must be filed within 12 months, or the application is abandoned. The patent is granted only after examination of the complete application.