A patent search is a complicated process that requires legal expertise. In this article, we have discussed the provisions that must be considered before initiating a patent query. To know about patent search in India, refer to this complete guide
How To Find Patents : The Indian Patents and Design law was enacted in 1911, and since then, the patent law has been valid in this country. Existing regulations regarding Indian patents underwent drastic changes, followed by the amendment in 1972 when the proposed Patent Act (1970) finally came into force.
After the legal edits, specific provisions involving Marketing Rights (EMRs) were nullified, and a policy for granting compulsory licenses was introduced. The new rights of post-grant opposition and pre-grant opposition were also brought into action.
What We Know About Patent Search in India
A patent search is conducted to see whether there is a similar patent application that replicates an invention or idea that is projected to be patented in near future. This activity is vital for any researcher, entrepreneur or literally anyone who looks forward to enhancing the possibility of getting a patent registration. The purpose of performing a patent search can also be gathering data and verifying patent protection of the latest discoveries published via news.
In this blog, we will get to know about the Patent search procedure in India.
Information Needed to Perform a Patent Search
Before you know about Patent search in India, we must clarify the fact that no charges are associated with the process of executing a search. To fulfill this action one must visit the public search section of the governmental portal named ipindiaservice.gov.in. Here, you have full access to bits and pieces of information that are recorded in the Indian database for public awareness.
Based on the current status of any Patent filing, a possible patent search is executed under two different publication variants: granted or published. The person who intends to do a patent search has the option to select any of the two publication options by marking the appropriate checkbox. Then the user will face specific fields like:
- Date of application
- Title of query
- Abstract
- Detailed specification
- Patent number
- Application number
- Applicant name
- Applicant number
- Name of the inventor
- Inventor’s country of origin
- Address of the inventor
- Patent filing office
- PCT Publication ID
- PCT Application number
All the fields are to be filled using dropdown boxes. The user can change the information in each category multiple times using these boxes. A search box has been given next to each field, here the person performing a query can type in the keyword related to the patent that she/he wishes to view. If the user enters a query incorporating multiple boxes, then greater chances of viewing more accurate results appear. Once you have completed entering the desired keywords in the appropriate boxes, you need to verify a captcha code to proceed further.
Procedure – Know About Patent Search in India
Many online platforms are there for doing a patent search; most of them require paid subscriptions while others are free-to-use software applications. As we have discussed above, the central government runs its own patent search engine, IPP Indian Patent. This website is equipped with a vast database of the registered patent in India.
The sub-steps of performing a patent search have been described for your convenience:
- The person who is about to search for a status or owner of a patent must have a definite intention on why he wants to fetch the data and should be aware of what is he searching for. There is a clear-cut difference between prior art searching and patent searching. The latter’s purpose is to inform you about the possibility of patenting your invention. On the other hand, prior art searching sum up for more comprehensive query regarding the invention’s specifications and subject matter.
- In the next step details regarding the invention are shown, you must be careful as this is a complicated and elaborate procedure. A complete understanding of the idea or invention is required before searching for a patent, and hiring an attorney for the case falls among the best practices.
- After initiating a search, once the subject matter has been revealed, all you need to do is identify and note down the highlighted aspects of the invention. These small steps simplify the whole process. Investing time in learning how to determine critical aspects allows the searcher to make sure that all elementary principles of the product or idea are original and not a mere duplicated piece.
Creativeness is not that much encouraged while identifying features. Only the unique features of a system must be discussed in simplified language. Complete sentences or phrases are sufficient to describe an item; no specific guideline has been set for this purpose.
- Various mechanisms are applicable to enact a patent search. The exact method to be implemented however depends on the search intent or demand. IP India Patent query is the website authorized by India’s National Patent Office that users may rely on for searching data related to patent registration in our country.
Importance of Doing a Patent Search
Performing a patent search is recommended before filing your application in the first place. Different objectives are fulfilled due to a successful patent search, these include:
- Verification of whether a patent has already been granted to a prospective invention or idea.
- Verifying the claim to be mentioned in the future patent approval request.
- We are determining the exact dependency or freedom to operate in India.
- Analyzing whether an approved patent may be invalidated or not.
- Gathering detailed knowledge about related inventions and the current status of identical applications.
Purpose of Checking Validity/Invalidity of a Patent
A patent’s validity/invalidity check is a separate search category applicable once the patent has already been registered. The primary objective of this query is to determine if the patent addressing an invention is authentic in relation to the subject matter after the particular date of filing the patent.
Patent validity searches often come into play in infringement litigation; attorneys are hired to execute these searches to reduce potential infringements.
Conclusion
Once you have covered this blog now you can claim to know about patent search in India. The nature of the patent search depends on the intent of the person raising the query. A free patent searching website of the Government has been mentioned above; you can use this tool to check centralized patent databases.
It is undoubted fact that patent search is a complicated task and several vital decisions are taken by inventors based on the search results otherwise they may have to face huge financial losses. Therefore legal assistance is always recommended for this purpose.
To know about patent filing procedures and underlying regulations related to the Indian Patent act, follow related articles of Vakilsearch.
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