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Guided answer
Which countries should I file in?
A short list built from where the money and the manufacturing actually are.
File in India, and think about manufacturing.
A patent is territorial. An Indian patent stops manufacture and sale in India, and importation into India - it does nothing about activity that happens entirely elsewhere.
- If competitors would manufacture abroad and sell into India, an Indian patent still helps because import is an infringing act.
- If they would manufacture and sell abroad entirely, you need filings there.
- Keep the twelve-month priority window open until you have to decide.
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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.