Filing a patent in India is the first step towards securing the invention by the applicant in India. The patent application shall be filed and the set of forms submitted before the Indian Patent office. The crucial element in filing a patent application is the patent specification. It is advisable to hire a technical expert with patent law knowledge to draft the specification of the invention. Indian patent offices are located in Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, and New Delhi and it shall be filed in the appropriate office based on the applicant’s address. Application of patent is the next step after confirming and satisfied with the requirements of its patentability (Please read about Patent Search from this link for more information). The patent application in India involves a grant of a patent, scope of protection, and patent validity, among others. Patentability requirements capture the requirements at a general level and specifics the requirements for patent application. The most important five patentability requirements under the Indian patent law are detailed below.

Any invention in India will be eligible for a patent grant only if it satisfies the patentability requirements. To qualify for a patent grant, the invention must satisfy all of the requirements, which check the capabilities of the invention for the patent grant by the Indian Patent office. Some of these requirements are simple compared to other requirements. A. Patentable Subject Matter : Patentable subjects of an invention must either be a product or process. B. Industrial Applicability: The invention must qualify for the Industrial applicability requirement as If a product or the process can be manufactured or reproduced repeatedly and has atleast one use in an industry, it will be considered as industrially applicable. C. Novelty : Novelty means newness of the invention comparing the existing information available in the public doman as of the priority date of the proposed or filed patent application. The invention shall be considered to be novel if the same is different from the inventions which are already existing or otherwise referred to as ‘prior art.’ D. Inventive Step : This requirement is the most complex and subjective of all the other patentability requirements. The assessment of inventive steps under the Indian Patent Act includes two aspects, technical advance or economic significance; and non-obviousness. E. Specification: The specification describes the performance of the invention and the operation or use of such invention and the functioning method to enable the invention. Patentability requirements may be viewed as filters arranged in succession for purposes of analyzing the patentability of inventions. Only inventions that pass through all the filters will be eligible for the patent grants, and those that get filtered out will be refused. The picture below provides a view of the patent filter model.

Filing a patent in India is the first step towards securing the invention by the applicant in India. The patent application shall be filed and the set of forms submitted before the Indian Patent office. The crucial element in filing a patent application is the patent specification. It is advisable to hire a technical expert with patent law knowledge to draft the specification of the invention. Indian patent offices are located in Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, and New Delhi and it shall be filed in the appropriate office based on the applicant’s address.

Form 1: Filing an Application for grant of a patent (Mandatory Form) Form 2: Filing of provisional or complete specification (Mandatory Form) Form 3: Statement of Undertaking (Optional – Necessary only in case if the similar patent filed in other countries) Form 5: Declaration as to Inventor ship Form 9: Request for Publication (Mandatory Form) Form 18: Request for Examination (Mandatory Form)