What is a Patent?

The State grants the inventor, by means of a patent, the right to exclude others from making, using and selling the qualified invention for a period of 20 years from the date of application for patent. The owner of the patent can use, sell or license the patented technology and derive financial benefits.

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What can be patented?

an invention is patentable if it (a) is new ( not known in the body of existing knowledge) (b) industrially applicable ( functional and operative) and (c) involves an inventive step ( the development or improvement is not obvious to a person of average skill in the particular field. ) A patent may be granted to an improvement of a valid patented invention but if you use it sometimes you may infringe the rights of the owner of the first patent. Solve this problem by negotiation with the owner.

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How a patent is granted?

Make an application to the Intellectual Property Office using the prescribed form P1( see the regulations). You have to submit a document with the application form describing your invention clearly and completely and the claims. Pay the prescribed fee. ( refer to the regulations for fees). You must submit a search report prepared by an international searching authority or alternatively request the IP Office to forward your invention to a local examiner for search and report.

The IP Office will examine your application as to the formal requirements. If formal requirements are fulfilled and the international type search report is available the patent will be granted. The invention will be published before grant if an international type search report is not available.

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Preparation of the application

The application form accompanies a specification, an abstract and where necessary, drawings. The specification contains (a) a clear and complete description of the invention and its usefulness and (b) claims that define the boundaries of the protection.
Discription: The specification must be clear and complete in the sense that it will enable anybody with average skill in the particular field of technology to make or use the invention.
Claims The information specified in the claims is protected. You must carefully draft the claims so that the invention is defined broadly enough to provide the maximum protection while being specific enough to identify the invention and distinguish it from existing technology.
It is helpful, when attempting to draft claims, to think what you would consider to be an infringement of your invention and then try to put into words a statement expressing this in the most general way possible. You may wish to have more than one claim, e.g. to take up a reserve position in case the invention specified by your first claim is found not to be new or inventive. You should be careful to ensure that all your claims may be regarded as embraced by a single inventive concept; the best way to make sure of this is to make all subsequent claims append to the first.
All the claims should be numbered and each should be supported by the description, i.e. every feature of each claim should be mentioned in the description. Claims should not be made for the efficiency, advantages or economic benefits of the invention.

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Abstract

The abstract roughly means a summary of the disclose of the invention, preferably not more than 150 words. It should indicate the technical field to which the invention relates, the technical problem to be solved, the gist of the solution of that problem and the principal use or uses of the invention. Where applicable, the abstract should include the chemical formula, which best characterizes the invention.
The abstract should no contain statements on the alleged merits or value of the invention or on its speculative application. Drawings may be useful to describe the invention.

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Renewal

A patent is valid for 20 years from the date of application. The patent must be renewed annually from the expiration of the second year from the date of grant paying a fee ( refer to the regulations).