Patent

Our firm delivers complete Patent services that assist in creating and protecting the inventions that shape and impact our lives. Our attorneys are unrivaled in the depth of their experience and technical expertise required, providing strategic guidance and services that include patent drafting, counseling and prosecution, new product clearance and licensing, as well as counsel regarding patent enforcement and the avoidance of possible infringement scenarios.

Our unmatched technical background makes us particularly adept at drafting patent applications that accurately capture an invention’s new and novel character thus firmly securing it against later claims. Working in close partnership, our patent attorneys and renowned litigators actively and aggressively represent plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of proceedings before courts both domestically and internationally, producing patent strategies that complement and further our client’s business interests.

Why Patents are needed?

Patents Promote Progress

The objective of the patent system is to disclose new technological advancements in the field of science and technology. Using the disclosure in Patents, others get motivated to make improvements. Subsequently, technology keeps on developing at a faster pace. Additionally, patents protect investments. For example, new drug development in the field of ‘pharma’ or new technology in the field of ‘electronics’ or any other domains often requires a huge investment. Hence, without patents, researchers would never be motivated to keep working to develop new products or compositions. They need some assurance that their highly invested and invented products/compositions are protected from others to be commercialized and, this is why the government offers patents to protect inventions.

How we shall proceed to file the patents Application:

1. Identify your invention.
   What exists now is called the state of the art. An invention necessarily extends beyond the state of the art. That is the improvement. The more amount of novelty present in an invention, the better and quicker the chances are present to secure a grant on the patent.

2. Always remain involved with your Attorney while drafting the Patent application:
   Detailed disclosure is necessary. Disclosure should be to the extent that a person of ordinary skill in the art using the same can reproduce the invention without undue experimentation. Always disclose all aspects of the invention in the description and carefully review claims. The patent claims define what the invention covers.

3. Examination of the Patent Application:
   In India, we can expect objections from the Examiner in almost 95% of filed patent applications. However, an experienced patent attorney can always find ways to address most of the raised objections and an easy solution to get the patent application approved.

4. Amend and/or respond to the objections raised by the patent examiner:
   The goal is always to put the patent application in “order for a grant.” This may involve amending patent claims or contesting the objections by put forwarding strong arguments and even taking support of judicial precedents if needed.

5. Receive the letter of patent:
   Patents may be granted after the successful addressal of the objections either in response to FER (First Examination Report) or after attending oral hearings. The original patent will be mailed to the Patent attorney of the Applicant. After the grant of the patent, the Applicant can mark their products and services with the patent number.

6. Pay maintenance fees.
   While a patent is in the pending application stage, no renewal fees are due. After the grant of a patent application in India, the next step is to ensure that it is renewed regularly. The Applicant is obliged to pay a recurring renewal fee to the patent office of India to maintain the patent. The first patent renewal/maintenance fees need to be paid, once the patent is granted.

Patent Rights Conferred

Patents protect inventions with a simple grant. Specifically, “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” the invention or “importing” the invention into India. Patents do not confer the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import. Rather, it is the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention.

Twenty-Year Patent Term

The term of a patent in India is twenty (20) years from the filing date of the patent application. The territorial scope of a granted patent is limited to India. However, for the duration of the patent term, the patent owner is granted the exclusive right to exploit the patented invention within India. The timeframe for patent prosecution in India typically ranges from approximately six (6) months for expedited applications to two (2) to three (3) years for standard applications.

How Patents Boost Revenues for your business

Patent rights are valuable non-tangible business assets. The patents increase the company value in IPOs, improve acquisition offers and even attract external investment. Moreover, licensing agreements with third parties, or even competitors may result in significant royalties.

The patents provide marketing value to a product or service. A patent portfolio inspires confidence in a customer’s purchasing decision.

Sophisticated Services at Competitive Rates

Our depth of resources and advanced systems enable us to handle high-volume caseloads and efficiently manage large, diverse patent portfolios. For many of our established clients, we manage entire patent portfolios. We work with a network of patent firms around the world, overseeing international patent portfolios for many of our global clients.

With the majority of our patent attorneys based in low-cost-of-living cities, we can provide competitive rates without compromising our work product. Our service model, firm structure, and established processes enable us to provide the service, expertise, and value clients need to achieve their business goals.

Patent Prosecution.

Our prosecution practice is well-established and continues to grow in response to our client’s demands. All attorneys of AGREYA LEGAL are registered to practice before the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trademarks of India and have extensive prosecution experience.

As detailed in our firm’s profile, our patent attorneys and agents have a wealth of technical education and industry experience to apply to their patent prosecution efforts.

We provide a broad spectrum of patent prosecution services to our clients, including:

• Providing advice and strategies for effectively responding to examination reports;
• Proposing amendments and preparing a response to examination reports;
• Attending oral hearings in IPO with Patent Controllers and preparing and filing written submissions.
• Monitoring the status of applications and deadlines and keeping the client updated from time to time.
• Managing payment of annuity fee.

Patent Searches.

It is recommended to always make sure that the invention you invent, is not conflicting with any other prior invention present. Hence, conducting a patentability search is considered as a safe step before applying for a patent for your invention. As there are different types of patents, they all cover different aspects of the invention and its basic character of foundation. The Controller will however conduct a search when a patent application is submitted and there are chances that the application might be squashed if the key points of the invention is already present in another invention. The sole objective of the patent search is to help locating whether the patent protection will be granted or not, or how easy and difficult it can get to secure a grant on that particular patent. This further helps is advance planning as the patent application proceeds with the Controller and helps us to set strategies for the case. Types of patent searches include:

• Patentability Search
• Freedom to Operate Search
• State of the Art Search
• Invalidity/Validity Search
• Evidence of use Search

Patent Drafting.

Drafting an elaborate and detailed description of the invention is the first official step in filing for a patent. A patent draft includes the specification, detailed description of the invention, the claims that are to be reserved with the invention and other information that surrounds the patent.

A patent draft must cover all the aspects of the invention. At AGREYA LEGAL , with skilled and experienced patents attorneys, we make sure that the draft represents the invention in a full proof manner so as to avoid any third party to make some minor changes to the same and apply for a patent. To begin with a patent draft, it is necessary that the full specification of the invention is disclosed so as to assist our attorneys. There are two types of drafts:

• Provisional Draft
• Complete Draft

Provisional draft includes the title of the invention, the subject matter of the invention which includes its background, prior art details, the nature of the invention, summary of invention, its description, detailed characterization, claims, abstracts and drawings (if any).

Utility Patents.

A utility patent is issued when an inventor invents new and useful process, composition of matter, machine, or a useful improvement thereof. As these patents require technical skills, here at AGREYA LEGAL we are well equipped with expertise and experienced patent attorneys to tackle all the objections raised by the controller during the course of the application. These patents require the newness in an invention, the procedure of how it is used, graphical representation of the invention (drawing) and the claims that the inventor is claiming in the invention. Like other patents, Utility Patent grants too, are issued for a period of 20 years since the date of the application submission.

Design Patents.

Design Patents are granted to the unique visual qualities of a manufactured item, it is important for the product to have a distinct configuration, distinct surface or texture or both. A design Patent does not look into the usage or procedure of a manufactured item but the final form of the manufactured item. Design Patents protects the inventor from copyright infringement. It is also important that the final form of the manufactured item carries novelty or newness which is non-obvious in nature. It is necessary to ensure that the drawings submitted are realistic in nature and replicates to that of the manufactured item.