Patent Registration in India | Chennai Patent Filing
Patents Act, 1970 · Chennai Patent Office

Patents: twenty years of exclusivity, in exchange for telling the world how it works

A patent is a bargain: full public disclosure of your invention in return for the exclusive right to work it for twenty years. It is the slowest and most technical of the IP registrations, and the one where early mistakes are least recoverable.

Quick answer

An invention must be novel, involve an inventive step, and be capable of industrial application. A patent runs twenty years from the filing date.

Public disclosure before filing can destroy novelty. File first, publish second.

The three tests, and the exclusions

Novelty means the invention has not been disclosed anywhere in the world before the filing date. Inventive step means it is not obvious to a person skilled in the field. Industrial application means it can be made or used in industry.

The Patents Act also excludes whole categories from patentability: mere discoveries, scientific principles, mathematical or business methods, computer programmes as such, methods of agriculture, and methods of medical treatment. Whether a software-related invention falls inside or outside the exclusion is one of the more contested areas, and it turns on the technical effect claimed.

Provisional and complete specifications

The two-stage filing is the most useful tool available to an inventor still developing the work.

Provisional specification. Secures a priority date early, before the invention is fully developed. Relatively inexpensive.Complete specification. Must follow within twelve months, with full disclosure and the claims that define the monopoly.Publication. The application is published after eighteen months, or earlier on request.Request for examination. Must be filed within the prescribed period, or the application is treated as withdrawn. This deadline is missed more often than any other.Examination and grant. Objections are answered in writing and at hearing; grant follows if they are met.
Disclosure before filing is the fatal error. Presenting at a conference, publishing a paper, demonstrating to a customer, or launching the product can all destroy novelty. Speak to a patent professional before any of them.

Cost, time and whether it is worth it

Patents are slow, grant commonly takes several years, and the drafting is specialised work. Annuity fees are payable throughout the life of the patent, and a patent you cannot afford to enforce has limited practical value.

We will always ask what the commercial objective is. For some businesses a patent is essential; for others, trade secret protection, speed to market, or trademark and design protection deliver more for less. That conversation is worth having before the drafting begins.

FAQs

Patents: inventors ask

Can software be patented in India?+

Computer programmes as such are excluded, but inventions with a demonstrable technical effect implemented through software may be patentable. It is a fact-specific assessment and the drafting of the claims is decisive.

How long does a patent take to grant?+

Several years is normal. Expedited examination is available in defined circumstances, including for startups and certain applicants, which can shorten the timeline considerably.

Does an Indian patent protect me abroad?+

No. Patents are territorial. International protection requires filings in each country, or a PCT application which preserves your options across many countries for a limited period.

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