All about Patents: FAQ's
1. What is a patent?
A Patent is an exclusive monopoly rights granted by the Government to an inventor over his invention for a limited period of time. Patent is recognition to the form of intellectual property manifested in invention.
2. Why Patent Inventions?
The basic reason for patenting an invention is to make money through exclusivity i.e. the inventor or his assignee would have a monopoly if the inventor has made an important invention after taking into account the modifications that the customer, and if his patent agent has described and claimed the invention correctly in the patent specification he drafted, then the resultant patent would give the patent owner an exclusive market.
3. What are the rights given to the patentee?
The patentee (i.e. an applicant who has been granted a patent) has the exclusive right to prevent unauthorized third parties from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the patented product in India. If the patent has been granted for a process then the patentee has the exclusive right to prevent unauthorized parties from using, offering for sale, selling or importing the patented product.
4. What is a patent search?
A patent search is a search of issued patents and published patent applications for inventions that might be considered important prior art; references when applying for a patent. Prior art is anything in the public domain, patented or not patented, that may determine whether an invention is novel or not. Our patent analyst reviews the drawings and text of patents and patent applications to find inventions that may be similar to an inventor’s new invention. We use the patent classification system, in addition to keyword searching, to find relevant patents.
5. Why do I need patent search?
Patent search can be done for many purposes. First, it helps to identify the existing technologies, and research can avoid reinventing the invention without spending huge money and time. And it can find opportunities to improve existing technologies and may reveal trends in certain technologies. And it also performed for assessing the patentability of an invention before proceeding to patent application process. And also it helps the company to launch the products by performing freedom to operate searches. It may help to identify information on competitors and also invalidate competitor’s patent.
6. What is Trademark?
Trademark is a name, device, mark or logo which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of others. Trademark may also consist of drawings, symbols, three dimensional signs such as shape and packaging of goods or colors used as distinguishing feature.
7. What does trademark indicate?
Trade mark is a discrete indicator used by a legal entity such as business house, individual or a firm so that the consumers can easily identify their product or services.
8. What is the importance of a trademark?
It identifies the source of the goods/manufacturers.
It acts as prime instrument in advertising and selling the goods.
A registered trademark gives the right to exclusive use of the mark.
A registered trademark serves as a proof of certificate in court proceedings.
9. What does a trademark guarantees?
It guarantees consistent quality by showing an organization's commitment to its users and consumers.
It is a form of communication, a basis for publicity and advertising.
10. How is trademark associated with the business?
Trademark is often associated with the brand itself so a good trade mark is almost synonymous to a good business and great line of products and services. Proper selection of the trademark is necessary for business as well as legal point of view.
11. How a does a trademark protects a business?
A strong trade mark creates an identity, builds trust, distinguishes you from the competitions, and makes communication between seller and buyer simpler. As lot of money and time is often invested in creating a brand name for itself, it is worth paying something to protect it from misuse.
12. How to select a trademark from business point of view?
From the general business point of view, the trademark shall be easy to pronounce, remember able, attractive and As far as possible short.
13. How to select a trademark from legal point of view?
From the legal point of view, the trademark should not fall under section 9 and section 11 of the Trademark Act, 1999 which mentions all absolute grounds for refusal, i.e. it should not be a personal name, surname, geographical name, name of a tribe / caste or refer to the character or quality of the goods. A good trademark should be an inherently distinctive trademark, preferably an invented or coined word.