🔍 Indian Patent Search: Types, Importance, and How to Conduct It

📜 Introduction to Patents

IPR has given legal protection to different categories of creations of individuals. It has different protecting shields for different categories, namely trademark, copyright, patent, and trade secret. Patent is one of the categories of intellectual property that helps to protect the innovation created by the individual or group, which allows for exclusive usage or selling of the product or innovation.

This blog explains the concept of Patent, the Indian Patent Search, how to conduct the search, and best practices to ensure a strong patent application.

🇮🇳 Patents in India

Patent can be defined as a legal document that protects and grants the inventor exclusive rights for their invention for a limited time. In India, Patent rules are governed under the **Patent Act, 1970**. Under the said legislation, a patent has been defined in Chapter I, Section 2(1)(m) which says "patent means a patent for any invention granted under this act."

Patented and Non-Patented Items

Items such as **machinery products** and **devices** can be patented, along with manufacturing, assembly or purification methods, software-related inventions, business method inventions, and biotech invention. For non-patented items, the categories have been mentioned under **Section 3 and 4 of Chapter II of Patent Act, 1970**.

🔎 Indian Patent Search

Indian Patent Search is a concept through which existing or published patents are examined to check whether a similar invention or product already exists. The search is conducted using the Indian Patent Office and International Patent Repositories. This is an important step as it helps to determine whether the said product or invention is already in existence. It provides with **prior patent (prior art)** which helps to avoid any objection raised by the third party, especially during the registration of the patent.

💡 Importance of Patent Search

• Determines novelty of innovation.
• Reduces risk of rejection during examination.
• Time and cost efficient.
• Beneficial in licensing and business decisions.

If an invention lacks novelty then, the application is liable to be rejected under Indian Patent Law. Hence, patent search helps in avoiding such an outcome.

📋 Types of Patent Search

• Novelty/ Prior Art Search: It helps to determine whether the invention is new or not as it compares it with existing patents and publications.
• Freedom to Operate (FTO): This type of search determines whether commercializing an invention would infringe existing patents in India.
• Patentability Search: This type of search helps to evaluate novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability together.
• Invalidity/ Opposition Search: This type of search is used to challenge the validity of an existing patent or publication.

💻 Conducting an Indian Patent Search

There are simple steps which need to be followed while conducting a patent search.

• Step 1: Identify Search Words and Database: The first step includes identifying words in the India’s Patent Database (**InPASS**). It includes two types of search, i.e., for published or granted patents. The user can choose the desired publication type.
• Step 2: Check Patent Information: In the second step, patent information shall be checked thoroughly. The applicant, after entering details, can check for patent information which can include invention title, publication number, date, type, inventor name, country, address and more.
• Step 3: Review Abstract and Summary: The status of the patent should be checked under the abstract column. It contains a summary of the patent application that the user can view. Lastly, there is an option from where the user can view the application summary.

All this information shall be checked at **InPASS** i.e. Indian Patent Advanced Search System. It is the official database of the Indian Patent Office. Also, international patent tools such as WIPO, USTPO, and EPO can be used while seeking a patent.

❌ Mistakes To be Avoided

• Don’t search with very limited keywords.
• Don’t ignore International Patent Databases.
• Don’t overlook for patent classification.
• Casual analysis and not thorough analysis.
• Assuming no exact match as patentability.

✅ Checklist for Patent Search

• Fees required for searching patent shall be given to the required authority.
• Keywords regarding the patent shall be examined properly.
• It should be noted that the work which needs to get patent shall be **original** in nature.
• Professional search should be done if recommended in cases where there is technical complexity, International filing or more.
• Recommended databases shall be used for searching the patent.

⭐ Conclusion

An Indian Patent Search is **important** for a successful patent application. It ensures the legal safety, protection, and worth of the invention created. Investing time in searching for a patent can be proved to be beneficial as it reduces the chances of rejection of the application. Through proper checking, similar patents can be detected at an early stage which can be later on improved by the applicant, and the applicant's request for the patent can be accepted.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Indian Patent Search