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For founders
The IP questions investors ask, and good answers
How do we answer without overstating?
Answer with specifics: what claim 1 covers, who owns it, what a competitor would have to avoid, and what you know about third-party rights.
The questions and what a good answer sounds like
*Do you have patents?* - We have two applications filed, one published, none granted yet. Be exact. Saying patented when you hold an application is the single most common overstatement.
*What do they cover?* - The best answer describes claim 1 in one sentence and says what a competitor would have to change to avoid it. If you cannot do that, the honest answer is that you need to look at it.
*Who owns them?* - Assignments from all named inventors, signed and recorded. Have the documents ready.
*Is anyone blocking you?* - Either a scoped freedom to operate view with assumptions written down, or a plan and a date for getting one. Not silence.
What overstating costs
Counsel checks the register. A claim that does not survive that check colours everything else in diligence, and it is entirely avoidable.
What to actually do
- Use precise status language: filed, published, granted.
- Be able to describe claim 1 and what it excludes in one sentence.
- Bring the assignment documents, not a promise to find them.
- Say what you have not checked, rather than implying you have.
Sources & further reading
- The Patents Act, 1970 (consolidated to 1 August 2024) — Official IP India text
Related
What investors actually check about your IP
Chain of title, accuracy of what you have claimed publicly, freedom to operate, and whether anything critical exists only in someone's head.
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…
Once I file, I am protected.
Filing gives you a date and a place in the queue. Enforceable rights arise only on grant, and only over whatever the granted claims actually cover.
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.
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.