Staying ahead: Guide to Patents for Hardware Products
You might have read stories where the kick-starters get funding because of their great ideas and designs, only to be copied by big OEMs before they are even released in the market. Now, what protects you from such copycats are trademarks, design registrations, and patents!
The trademark and design registrations protect your artistic values, product form factors, etc. While, the patent focuses on the core technology, such as design, mechanism, the exact parts, their materials, etc.
For a design engineer, getting a patent grant is like finding nirvana. The typical NPD (New Product Development) lifecycle ends with production and service. Getting a patent in the product lifecycle is like a jewel in the crown.
Who can apply for a patent?
Whether you are an individual or a company and you think your design is novel, innovative and applicable in the industry, then you can apply for a patent. In order to understand your chances of getting a patent, you can start doing some research on the internet. I personally prefer google patents to start with. The key here is the keywords, you need to focus on the claims that you wish to include in your application and search those keywords.
What is the process of getting a patent grant in India?
The ideal time to start applying for a patent is after the PoC (Proof of Concept) of your product. The patent grant may take from 8 months to 12 years depending on a lot of factors.
Step 1: Identification of ideas and formulating claims.
This is done by the design engineers as they understand the core technology.
Step 2: Prior art search
This is the process where you understand whether a similar product/tech exists in the market or not. This is typically done by a Patent/IP firm.
Step 3: Drafting Patent Application (provisional or complete specification)
If your product is tested and ready for showcasing, you can draft a non-provisional application or a complete specification. Otherwise, if you need more time, you can daft provisional application.
Step 4: Confirming ownership
The applicant can decide who can be the patentee. For example, most of the time, the companies own the patent while the person/persons can be inventors. Please note that the owner can not be changed after the grant of the patent.
Step 5: Filling the patent application
The patent firm can file the patent application on your behalf.
Step 6: Prosecution through the patent office
The patent office does the due diligence here and the time can vary from application to application. If you are a start-up company registered under DIPP (Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion), you can request an expedited examination.
Step 7: Publication in the patent journal
Step 8: FER and SER
If the patent office raises objections to your application, then you need to respond to FER (first examination report) and SER (subsequent examination report).
Step 9: Hearing (Optional)
At times, the controller wants to have a hearing to discuss in person to understand more about the product. This hearing is usually attended by the patent attorney on your behalf. If your product is ready, that could add an impression and make it easy to understand your claims for the controller.
Step 10: Patent Grant or Rejection
The patent can be granted or rejected based on the decision of the controller.
Step 11: Maintenance
Although the patent is granted for 20 years, the patent office charges a fee for the maintenance of the patent.
Fasal is driven by technology and innovation. For one of our latest products, popularly known as Fasal Kranti, we got a patent grant!
Takeaway
Getting a patent grant for your product is time-consuming as well as requires money. You have to apply for patent rights in time and be patient till you get the grant. Getting in touch with subject matter experts such as patent attorney is equally important.
In today’s competitive world, protecting your IP rights is as important as developing your innovative product!
