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Patent Criticalities

The things that quietly decide whether an invention can be protected - explained before they cost you anything.

Showing 7 of 56.

Critical

Nobody wrote down who owns it

An invention belongs to its inventors unless something in writing moves it. Filing in the company's name does not by itself transfer anything. Ownership defects are …

Before filingIntermediate
Critical

A granted patent does not mean you are free to sell

A patent is a right to stop other people. It is not a licence to practise your own invention. Your product can be simultaneously protected by your patent and blocked…

After grantBeginner
High

The application is in the wrong name

The applicant is who will own the patent. Getting it wrong affects fee category, chain of title, who can sue, and what an investor sees in diligence - and correcting…

Before filingIntermediate
Critical

The working statement nobody filed

India requires patentees and licensees to tell the Patent Office whether a patent has been worked in India. The obligation moved from annual to once every three fina…

After grantIntermediate
High

Nobody enforces your patent for you

Granting a patent and enforcing it are done by completely different institutions. The Patent Office has no role once a patent is granted - enforcement is a civil act…

After grantBeginner
High

The patent that only covers what you already sell

There is a version of every application that will be granted: the one narrowed to precisely what you already sell. It is also the version competitors do not need to …

During examinationIntermediate
Medium

The licence that could not be enforced

Most licence disputes are not about royalty rates. They are about who may do what, where, and what happens when something changes - and those are the clauses that ge…

After grantIntermediate

LowWorth knowing
MediumCould create complications
HighCan materially affect protection
CriticalAct before proceeding

This is the Ragulika IP Educational Criticality - our own editorial prioritisation device, to help you decide what to read first. It is not a legal score, it is not calculated from your facts, and it says nothing about the strength of any particular application.

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Every explanation here links to the ones next to it. Follow the thread rather than the menu.

Educational guidance, not legal advice. This material is published by Ragulika IP for general education and information. It is not legal advice, it does not create a professional-client relationship, and it is not a substitute for advice on your own facts. Patentability, infringement, prosecution strategy and every other IP outcome turn on the specific facts and on the law and Patent Office practice as they stand at the time you act. Please take professional advice before making a decision, and read the underlying provision or judgment before relying on any point stated here.