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I have an invention. Where do I start?
Four questions that decide what you should do this month.
File first, then talk.
You are in the best position available. The next step is a prior art search whose results reach the drafter before claim 1 is written.
- Commission a classification-based search across jurisdictions, not a product search.
- Give the search results to the drafter before drafting begins.
- Write down the alternatives you rejected and the conditions where the invention stops working - those become your future amendments.
- Decide the applicant name and get written assignments from every inventor at filing.
- If any inventor is resident in India and a foreign filing is planned, deal with section 39 first.
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This is educational guidance, not personalised legal advice. It cannot see your documents, your dates or the prior art, and those are usually what decide the answer. Use it to understand the question, then take advice on your own facts.
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.