Every Indian should know!

History of Patents:

The first system for patenting inventions cannot be attributed to any one country. It is generally acknowledged that the first informal system of patents was developed in Renaissance Italy.

This system was introduced into the rest of Europe by emigrant Venetian glass blowers to protect their skills against those of local workers. The origin of the word 'patent' comes from the Latin 'literate patents' meaning open letter, which, with a royal seal, served as legal proof of rights for all to see.

Britain has longest patent tradition in the world with the earliest known patent of an invention being granted to John Utynam in 1449. This gave him 20 year monopoly on a previously unknown method of producing stained glass.

In America, the first patent was issued by the Massachusetts General Court to Samuel Winston in 1641 for a salt making process.

What is a Patent?

A patent is essentially the formal description of an invention whether it is used by an individual or organization. The subsequent granting of the patent gives the owner the right under law to exclude all others from making, using or selling the invention for 'fixed' period of time; this is usually between 15 and 20 years depending on the country of issue.

Qualifying for Patent:

To qualify for patent an invention must be Useful, Unique, Non-obvious. In legal terminology the invention must have 'utility', 'novelty', 'non-obvious'.

The Granting a Patent:

Patent laws vary, but in general most countries will grant a patent for:

1. A process for testing or manipulating matter to produce a particular result or product.
2. A machine which performs a useful operation, using a mechanical or an electrical element..
3. A composition of matter which combines chemical elements.
4. The manufacture of a new process, machine, or composition of matter.

In general most countries will not grant patents for:

1. A method of doing business
2. A mental process
3. A mathematical algorithm
4. Naturally-occurring articles.

Three Phases of Patenting :

1. Filing an Application with Patent Office or Intellectual Property Office.
2. Within a period of 12 months, the Applicant files an abstract with one or more claims stating the exact nature of the invention that the patent, if granted, will protect. The 12 month delay allows the Applicant time to access the commercial viability of invention.
3. After a further six months, the Applicant will be subject to a full or substantive examination to demonstrate whether it meets the conditions as laid down by law. If it does, the patent will be granted.

The Patent Application - Phase1

The inventor or his employee ( the applicant ) or the person / enterprise to which the invention has been sold ( patent assignee ) makes a request ( the patent application ) for a patent to be granted by the government authority.

At the patent application stage the Application remains confidential between the Applicant, his Patent Agent and the Patent Office. Details of the patented technology must NOT be publicly disclosed to any one else.

The patent application - phase2

The unexamined Patent ( called the 'A' stage ) is published by most Patent offices, excluding the USA, within 18 months of Application. The first country to publish the patent does so knowing it is the only published account of the patent thus far.

The Patent Application - Phase3

In the final phase of the application the patent is subjected to a full and substantive examination by Patent examiners who ensure it meets all the conditions laid down by law. If it does, then the Examined Application ( often called 'B' stage ) becomes a granted patent which will be published.

Prior art is the knowledge which already exists and related to past inventions. Gathering the prior art published worldwide is a compulsory part of the patent examination process and involves a 'search'.

Who Grants Patents?

Currently there are 198 patent offices worldwide. The patent office employ patent examiners who examine and grant patents for their country.

Benefits of Patents as an Information Source:

1. They are often the first source of published information on new technology.
2. They are frequently the only source of information on a new invention.
3. Patents provide full and practical description of the invention.
4. Patents offer comprehensive citation intelligence.
5. Information is available in several languages.
6. Standardized lay out enables easy comparison of documents.

Reasons to Use Patent Information:

1. Avoiding duplication of effort and infringement.
2. Current awareness- Patents are an invaluable source of up-to-date intelligence.
3. Competitive intelligence - Monitoring current patent literature increase awareness of your competitors and technologies they are developing.
4. Technology trends- Patent classification systems can be used to monitor worldwide technology trends by noting the numbers of patent application filing in any particular area.
5. Inspiration- Browsing through patents on a subject of interest can encourage the development of new ideas, particularly since some concept are often transferable to unrelated industries.

Where Can We Search Patent Information?

First source of patent information is our own patent office. Secondly there are two major on-line information providers namely i) STN International a division of Chemical Abstract Services USA and Dialog also from USA. These services are available in India. Due to their structured searching facility, you get precise bibliographic patent information, and subsequently you can even get full text documents from their document services also.