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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

You told the world before you told the Patent Office

In India there is no general grace period. If your invention was made available to the public before your priority date, that disclosure is prior art against your ow…

Before filingBeginner
Critical

Nobody asked the Patent Office to look at it

An Indian patent application is not examined unless someone files a request and pays for it. If the request is not filed in time, the application is treated as withd…

During examinationIntermediate
High

The invention is new - and still not patentable

Indian law has a filter that operates completely independently of novelty and inventive step. Section 3 lists things that are not inventions at all - and something c…

During examinationIntermediate
High

Why a good invention still gets a Section 3 objection

A section 3 objection is a subject-matter objection, and it is answered by evidence and framing rather than by arguing about the prior art. Each clause has its own t…

During examinationAdvanced
Medium

Filing before anyone asked whether it was worth it

Patentability and value are different questions, and organisations that only ask the first one accumulate portfolios that cost money every year and defend nothing.

Before filingIntermediate
Critical

The danger of filing too late

Late filings fail in three different ways, and only one of them is about competitors. Your own disclosure becomes prior art against you. Somebody else files first. A…

Before filingBeginner
Medium

Published is not granted

Publication makes your application public. It does not make it enforceable. Between publication and grant you have privileges and rights as if the patent had been gr…

During examinationBeginner

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.