In India, Intellectual property is protected in the form of patents. When a person registers a patent under the Indian Patent Act, 1970 After Obtaining a patent prevents other individuals or concerns from infringing into your invention. A patent may be obtained for a design or a process.
According to Section 9 of the Indian Patent Act, 1970 patents are specified under two categories:
- Complete patent specification
- Provisional patent specification
Provisional Patent
A provisional patent is a primary step and is obtained to get protection before being able to file a complete patent. To get a complete patent, numerous details of the design and its specifications are required. A provisional patent is obtained where someone is involved in R&D but they do not have a full complete design or process that can be patented So, provisional patents basically protect their work.
The main reason for allowing provisional patents is to provide security and a form of interim protection to investors and inventors until they are fully able to pursue a complete patent.
Advantages of a Provisional Patent
While filing for a patent, there are various factors that must be viewed such as cost of filing, date of filing, protection period, etc. Therefore filing a provisional patent provides the following advantages:
- Cost-effective: The provisional patent option is given under the Act just to ensure that, in cases where the investor/inventor lacks the financial threshold to file for a permanent/complete patent or hire a patent agent, they are given some time to do so. Compared to that of a complete patent, the cost of filing for a provisional patent is considerably lower.
- Patent filing date: When a person is trying to file for a patent, the date of the filing plays a significant role. Therefore when one has a provisional patent, and then he files for a complete patent, the date that is taken as the filing date will be that of the date on the filing of the provisional patent.
- Interim protection: Provisional patent filing once approved, gives the filer protection for 12 months from the date of the initial filing. This is to ensure that in the meantime, they can further improve their invention or are given time to do whatever they need to do before obtaining a complete patent.
- Abandonment: When a person has a provisional patent and wishes to abandon trying to get a complete patent, he may do so without worrying about the cost of the whole process.
- Tag: After getting provisional patent approval, the inventor/investors may use the tag of ‘Patent Pending’ when they try to find the commercial potential for their newly developed design or process.
It must be noted that a provisional patent is an optional step. If the inventor/investor is able to submit for a complete patent, it is always better to do so to avoid possible hurdles.
Information that contained in a Provisional Patent Contain
- The name /design/process/title of the invention
- Provisional specifications
- Description of the invention
- Field and objective of the invention
Procedure to File Provisional Patent
To file a provisional patent application, there is a numerous of Forms that need to file along with lots of paper, the following are serious form –
- Form-1: This form is used to apply for a grant of patent. It must be signed and submitted within 6 months after the filing of the basic application. All the relevant information in this form needs to be filled and the applicant must sign at the end of the form.
- Form-2: This form will contain provisional specifications. You must write ‘PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION’ and mention the name of the applicant, title; one must provide some description regarding the invention.
- Form-3: This is a form used for corresponding foreign patent applications required only if there is a foreign patent application.
- Form-5: It is the declaration by the inventor/innovator.
- Form-26: It is a form or a kind of power of attorney to authorize the Patent Agent where an application is being filed via a patent agent. It must be submitted within six months after the application is filed.
- Form-28: form to claim as a small entity only if required.
– Submission of the drawing/design/illustration of the invention not required in the case of a process.
– E-filing.
All these have to be submitted in accordance with The Patent Rules (2003).
