Patent

What is the Importance of Filing a Provisional Patent Specification in India?

calendar05 May, 2023
timeReading Time: 5 Minutes
What is the Importance of Filing a Provisional Patent Specification in India?

There are two types of patent applications are filled with the Patent office according to Section 9 of the Patents Act, 1970[1]. At the time of patent filing, you can file either the provisional patent specifications or a complete patent. A provisional patent specification is filed when a person has started working on his invention but is incomplete. Moreover, the inventor fears that someone may disclose or copy his patent. In order to save your patent from any issue such as disclosure, it is advised to file a provisional patent along with mentioning a few basic details about your invention. Additionally, the provisional patent specification is an essential legal document that has to be filed with the controller of the patent before filing the complete patent. Its main aim is to protect the invention partially but not completely. It is to be noted that once you file a provisional patent, a time frame of one year is given to the inventor to complete his invention and file for a complete patent. Although it is not compulsory to file a provisional patent before filing an exclusive patent, it is always advisable to do so as it protects your invention and restricts others from copying it.

What Is The Need For Filing A Provisional Patent Specification?

Here are a few reasons that will define the need for filing a provisional patent specification:

  • Low Initial Cost

A provisional patent does not require many details about the patent, such as prior art, claims, etc. Therefore, it is easy to file it in a way that even an investor can file a provisional patent on his own. Moreover, compared to a complete patent, the initial cost of filing a provisional patent specification is relatively low and does not require many technicalities. This also ensures that no one else copies the invention of the inventor, and therefore, it saves a lot of effort and money for the inventor, and the professional fee charged is quite less.

  • A Step Ahead Of Others

Once you file a provisional patent application, you can get an earlier patent filing date for your complete patent. This means that the person filing a provisional patent will get an early date as compared to those who have not filed a provisional patent before filing a complete patent application. It has a few more benefits, such as:

  1. Anyone filing a similar invention after the date of a provisional patent will not be regarded. Such an invention will not get priority before the invention whose provisional patent is already filed on an earlier date.
  2. In case of any dispute regarding the ownership of the creation, the patent officer will take into consideration the filing date of a provisional patent as the date of filing of the patent.
  • More Time To Process Ideas

At the time when you create an innovation, things might look quite uncertain, and you may not understand the grounds on which you may seek protection for your innovation. Moreover, before getting a patent, you are also required to develop claims by researching your product industry. Therefore, it will be a smart move to file a provisional patent application and take one year time before filing a complete patent application. In that time span, you can research more on your innovation and then file for a complete patent. The one-year time period can be used for the following:

  1. Researching the market and evaluating the value of your creation and its commercial value.
  2. Working more on the features and making the product more compatible with the market.
  • ‘Patent Pending’ Or ‘Patent Applied’ Tag

Once the Provisional Patent Specification is filed in India, the inventor can legally use the ‘Patent Pending’ or ‘Patent Applied’ tag along with his invention. The applicant can use these tags for raising investment on the basis that the provisional patent has been filed, and till the time of filing a complete patent, there will be more advancement in the invented model. These tags can be used as a strong selling point.

  • Ease in Abandonment

After filing the provisional specification, if the inventor thinks that his idea is unsuitable for the market or for any other reason, he can easily abandon the provisional application if he chooses not to take a patent. Similarly, if the inventor has filed the complete patent and wishes to abandon the application, the procedure might not be easy. Until he realises that his invention is not commercially apt, he would have spent a lot of money and effort. Therefore, it will be difficult for him to withdraw the patent.

  • Confidentiality

Till the time you have only filled out the provisional application, the confidentiality of your invention will be maintained. While submitting the provisional specifications, you are only required to disclose the overview of your invention and no detailing is required. Therefore, the details of your creation will be disclosed only when you file a complete application.

Things to Keep in Mind While Filing a Provisional Patent Specification

While filing a provisional Patent specification, an applicant must keep the following things in mind:

  • It is a draft upon which the complete patent specification will based. The provisional patent application determines the scope of the invention. Moreover, it is the provisional patent on which the complete patent application will be relied upon.
  • Between the provisional application and complete application and later is not taken as a priority when the provisional specification is already filled. If any new invention is filed after the provisional patent, the patent office will not consider it, and it will not get any benefits as the provisional application.
  • After filing the Provisional Patent, the applicant is required to file the Complete Patent within 12 months. If the applicant fails to file the Complete Patent within the specified time, the patent may be abandoned.
  • Although after filing the provisional patent, confidentiality regarding the details of your invention will be maintained. Still, at the time of filing a provisional patent, you are supposed to disclose some important details. Otherwise, your creation may face difficulties in the future stages.
  • The inventor is required to prepare rough claims as it will make it easy for the patent office to understand the implications and conceptualize the invention properly.

Inclusions of Provisional Specification

These are the components of the provisional patent specification:

  • Title

The title is the basic requirement of every provisional specification. It must clearly indicate the brief and to-the-point features of the provisional patent. The requirement is that it must be summed up in around 15 words or terms. It must include the name of the inventor, the term of the patent, the abbreviation, if any, or any other important terms, etc.

  • Description

The description must be written from a fresh page after the title. It must contain the object of the innovation along with the preamble. Moreover, there is no need to mention the claims in the patent application.

  • Preamble

While mentioning the Provisional Patent Specification description, the first line always starts with a preamble. Such as ‘The below-mentioned invention elaborates the innovation’.

  • Field

This section specifically mentions the technical field belonging to the invention. The field must be clear, and it should demonstrate the main point of the product. Also, it must include the nature of the invention. Moreover, while mentioning the field, it must be kept in mind that it does not ‘limit the scope’ of the invention.

  • Object

This is one of the most important sections, as it specifies the importance of an invention. It must determine the benefits of the inventions. It should be the only cause of solving the problem that the product must solve.

Conclusion

It is essential to do a comprehensive patent search to rule out any inconsistencies with previously acknowledged innovations before filing the provisional patent application. Contact Corpbiz to get started registering your innovation immediately!

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