Patents and Trademarks » Patent

India Patent Application

Ramaswami — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 11:14:00 +0000

A Patent Application is a request pending at a patent office for the grant of a patent for the invention described and claimed by that application. An application consists of a description of the invention, together with official forms and correspondence relating to the application. The term patent application is also used to refer to the process of applying for a patent.

The process of obtaining the grant of a patent begins with the preparation of a specification describing the invention. That specification is filed at a patent office for examination and ultimately a patent for the invention described in the application is either granted or refused.

These are the following applications filed in

India

Ordinary application
Convention application
PCT international application
PCT National phase application
Application for Patent of addition
Divisional Application

Ordinary application

An application for patent made in the Patent office without claiming any Priority of application made in a convention country or without any reference to other application under process in the office is called an ordinary application.

Convention Application

When an applicant comes to the patent office with an application claiming a priority date based on a similar application filed in one of the convention country, it is called a convention application.

PCT International application

PCT is an international filing system for patents in which the applicant gains an international filing date in all the designated countries conferring the late entry (up to 31 months) to the national offices without affecting the priority date. This is a simple and economical procedure for those applicants seeking protection for the inventions in many countries

PCT-National Phase Application An international application made according to Patent Cooperation Treaty designating

India can enter national phase within 31 months from the international filing date. This application filed before the Controller in the Indian patent office claiming the priority and international filing date is called PCT National Phase application. Application for Patent of Addition

When an applicant feels that he has an invention, which is a slight modification on the invention for which he has already applied for/has patent in

India the applicant can go for a patent of addition. The only benefit he gets is that there is no need to pay separate renewal fee for the patent of addition during the term of themain patent.

Divisional application When the application made by an applicant claims more than one invention, the applicant on his own request or to meet the official objection raised by the Controller of Patents may divide the application and file two or more applications as applicable for each of the inventions. This type of application divided out of the parent one is called divisional application. The priority date for all the divisional applications will be same as that claimed by the parent application (Ante-dating).

posted in Intellectual Property by Ramaswami
©2009 Patents and Trademarks. All Rights Reserved.

Patent New Invention

Ramaswami — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 10:24:19 +0000

A patent is a right granted to an individual or group which permits the grantee the ability to prevent others from making, using, or selling the invention described in the patent. A patent can be sold, or the grantee may give others permission to use the invention.

There are three main types of patents: utility patents, design patents, and plant patents.

An invention means a new product or process involving an inventive step and capable of industrial application.

New invention is defined as any invention or technology which has not
been anticipated by publication in any document or used in the country or elsewhere in the world before the date of filing of patent application with complete specification. (The subject matter has not fallen in public domain or that it does not form part of the state of the art).

The criteria for an invention to be patentable are,
(1) An invention must be novel
(2) Has an inventive step and
(3) Is capable of industrial application.

A novel invention is one, which has not been published, in the prior art. (Prior art means everything that has been published, presented or otherwise disclosed to the public on the date of patent). The prior art includes documents in foreign languages published in any format in any country of the world.

For an invention to be judged as novel, the disclosed information should not be available in the ‘prior art’. This means that there should not be any prior disclosure of any information contained in the application for patent anywhere in the public domain, either written or in any other form, or in any language before the date on which the application is first filed i.e. the ‘priority date’.

Inventive step is a feature of an invention that involves:

At least one part of the invention should be in an inventive step having economic significance making the invention non obvious to a person skilled in art.

An invention is capable of industrial application when it can be used in at least one field of activity and it can be reproduced with the same characteristics as many times as necessary.

On the basis of the above criteria an invention can be patented.

posted in Intellectual Property by Ramaswami
©2009 Patents and Trademarks. All Rights Reserved.

Patent Faq

Ramaswami — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 09:42:17 +0000

How can you obtain a patent? In India you can obtain a patent by filing a patent application with the Controller of Patents, pursuant to the Patent Act, 1970. What invention can be patented? To obtain a patent on an invention, the invention must be a patentable subject matter, novel, non-obvious and useful. …

Patent an Invention

What is 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. In order to be patentable, the invention must fulfill certain conditions. What …

How do I apply for a patent

A complex question to answer is How do I apply for a Patent? Applying for a patent can be a lengthy process, and any mistakes in your application will slow things down further. They can also prove expensive and might mean you fail to get a patent or that it …

India Patent Attorney Salaries

Patent Attorney Salaries are increasing very fast in India as the number of licensed Patent attorneys and agents in India is not adequate to keep up with the demand. The demand for Patent Services in India is growing very fast due to two reasons. On the one hand, Patent Services …

How to Draft a Patent Application - Part I

This is the first of a series of articles on How to draft a Patent Application. I will publish at least two of these articles every week. A Patent Application is filed with the Patent Office to get a Patent for an invention. Utility Patent Applications are usually of two types. 1. Provisional Patent Application The …

posted in Intellectual Property by Ramaswami
©2009 Patents and Trademarks. All Rights Reserved.

Patent Strategy for Indian Pharma Industry

Ramaswami — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 09:34:56 +0000

New drug developments continue to necessitate increasingly high investments to protect revenues from the threat of low cost substitutes. This is based upon fully exploiting the efficacious of the patent system.

In a market environment where competition from generics companies is becoming increasingly aggressive, understanding how to effectively develop and exploit patent protection strategies is essential in facilitating enhanced market exclusivity and revenue returns over the life-cycle of new drugs.

Strategies for the product patent regime

The Indian pharma industry has become globally competitive and is a force to reckon with in the global competition. However, the product patent regime would slow down the growth of industry and act as a retarding force for the growth. The speed of introduction of new products in domestic market would be at a rate lesser than that of before the product patent is introduced.

Currently, the Indian Pharma industry is of the size of $5 billion and the 15th largest market by sales. A company which has a strong product pipeline, keeping in view the manufacturing complexities and competitive pressures will emerge as a winner in this race. A company which has strong domestic base and market, would be able to exploit its strengths by focusing attention on regulated markets and is most likely to emerge as a winner in this segment, will also be leveraging its volumes and designing a manufacturing strategy, which is cost competitive. Considering the regulatory approvals and implementing the same for FDA approvals, majority of companies have experienced that their cost of goods sold has increased from 15 percent to 20 percent.

Pharma companies can make use of the new opportunities arising out of the introduction of product patent regime in India. Strategies and opportunities provided for all companies uniformly based on product patent regime are as follows:

1) Products with end to end value chain integration should be given higher preference for service. That means products which are manufactured from API to generic stage/formulations stage should be given preference for cost reduction and benefits of large market size. Backward integration to API for every generic drug would mitigate and counteract on generic drug pricing pressure.

2) Identify companies which do not have presence in

India and target their products for launch through alliances and in-licensing.

3) Identify products which have access to regulated markets and their market share versus the same product with higher market share in less regulated markets. This may increase sales and improve profitability. Whereas Research and Development expenditure is a must and requires careful allocation of priorities with existing body of knowledge and leveraging the same, it is crucial that capital expenditure plans of companies be carefully controlled through better asset utilization policies.

Patent Lawyer

Ramaswami — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 08:56:34 +0000

Patents and Trademarks are an important asset in your business. Patents and Trademarks define your competitive edge in the marketplace.

Individual patents and trademarks are important assets that deserve all the protections worldwide intellectual property conventions allow. Only a Patent Lawyer can address the following important questions:

Are you getting the most value from your intellectual property investments?

Does your company need strategic planning for a growing patent portfolio?

Do you need patent protection for a new invention?

Has your company been accused of violating intellectual property rights?

Has your company received a letter claiming you have violated a trademark or patent?

Has another company violated your trademark registered to your firm?

An experienced Patent attorney can protect your valuable intellectual property and defend your company against attack from competitors.

Patents and trademarks are important to your company’s success. You need an effective, company-wide intellectual property strategy to manage your portfolio. You also need the legal knowledge and experience to protect that portfolio.

Intellectual Property

The cornerstone of the practice of a Patent Lawyer involves the development and protection of intellectual property rights by filing national and foreign patent, trademark, and copyright applications no matter where you are located.

This also includes the pursuit and defense of traditional patent, trademark, and copyright infringement claims and litigation in related areas such as theft of trade secrets, false advertising, non-competition agreements, unfair competition, deceptive and unfair trade practices, internet law, cyber squatting, domain name disputes (ICANN), and breach of licensing agreements.

Ultimately, whether a client is negotiating a business transaction, needs counseling and representation about intellectual property use and protection, or is involved in litigation, the duty of the Patent lawyer is to accomplish the client’s goals and resolve the client’s legal issues in the most effective and efficient manner possible.