IP Intelligence
Ask a Patent Question
Start from your situation, not from the statute. Answer a few questions and see what actually applies to you.
Start from what has happened
I have an invention. Where do I start?
Four questions that decide what you should do this month.
9 stepsI disclosed my invention publicly. What now?
Working out how much damage was done, and what is still available.
8 stepsI received an examination report. What do I do?
Working out what the objections mean and what a good reply looks like.
7 stepsSomeone copied my technology. What are my options?
Working out what you actually have, before writing to anyone.
6 stepsI missed a patent deadline. Is anything possible?
Which Indian deadlines have a cure, and which should be treated as final.
6 stepsI want to protect this outside India
Working out where, when and by which route.
9 stepsAn employee or contractor made the invention. Who owns it?
Ownership, inventorship and the paperwork that decides both.
5 stepsI want to license my patent
What to establish before you negotiate a rate.
Decide what to protect, and how
What am I actually trying to protect?
Different rights protect different things. This narrows down which conversation you should be having.
4 stepsIs my software invention patentable in India?
Section 3(k) is narrower than its reputation. This works out which side of it you are on.
5 stepsShould I file a divisional?
A short decision with a hard deadline attached.
4 stepsPatent or trade secret?
One honest question decides most of this.
4 stepsProvisional or complete specification?
When a provisional helps, and when it just delays the real work.
4 stepsWhen should my startup file its first patent?
Cash, timing and disclosure, in the order they actually bite.
4 stepsWhich countries should I file in?
A short list built from where the money and the manufacturing actually are.
Work out what to do next
Do I need a freedom to operate study?
Whether the launch question applies to you, and how wide it needs to be.
5 stepsShould I challenge a competitor patent?
Four routes, with different windows and different costs.
4 stepsMy patent lapsed. Can it be restored?
Two windows, and the arithmetic that decides which one you are in.
7 stepsHow do I answer a Section 3 objection?
Each clause needs different evidence. Using the wrong one wastes the reply.
3 stepsMy application was refused. What now?
What a refusal is, and what the realistic options are.
Educational guidance - not a substitute for professional legal advice. These guided answers narrow a question down. They cannot read your specification, your dates or the prior art, and those usually decide the outcome.
Not sure whether this applies to your invention?
The honest answer usually needs someone to look at your actual disclosure, your timeline and the prior art. That is a conversation, not an article.