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For founders
IP work to do before a product launch
What has to happen before we ship?
Confirm your filings still cover the product you are actually shipping, run freedom to operate on the whole product, and check every public claim about your patent status.
Three separate checks
Does your own filing still cover the product? Engineering does not stop on filing day. Compare the shipping specification against the filed specification, feature by feature. Improvements made after filing are not automatically inside the claims - and if the parent is still pending, a divisional may be available.
Can you sell it? Freedom to operate reads claims in force in your markets and covers bought-in components too. It has to happen before tooling, when design changes are still cheap.
Is your marketing accurate? Patent pending until grant, everywhere - deck, website, packaging. Unjustified threats of infringement proceedings are actionable in India.
The sequencing point
All three are cheap early and expensive late. FTO in particular: at the design stage a blocking right means a design change; two weeks before launch it means a licence negotiation from a weak position.
What to actually do
- Compare the shipping product against the filed specification.
- Run FTO before tooling, covering bought-in components.
- Audit every public statement about patent status.
- File any divisional before the parent is granted.
Sources & further reading
- The Patents Act, 1970 (consolidated to 1 August 2024) — Official IP India text
Related
Before launching a product
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Getting ready to launch?
A patent of your own says nothing about whether you are free to sell. Those are two different questions and they need two different searches.
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.
Last reviewed by Ragulika IP on 2026-08-23. Indian patent law and Patent Office practice change; check the position before you rely on it.