IP Intelligence › Myths › Once I file, I am protected.
Patent myth
“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.
Between filing and grant an application is examined, often narrowed, sometimes refused. You cannot bring infringement proceedings before grant. What filing does buy is a priority date, an option to file abroad within twelve months, and the ability to say patent pending - which is not nothing, but it is not protection.
Founders tell investors they have a patent, then discover during diligence that they have an application with claims that have never been examined.
Sources & further reading
- The Patents Act, 1970 (consolidated to 1 August 2024) — Official IP India text
Related
Publication
The Patent Office publishes your application in the Official Journal, ordinarily eighteen months from the earlier of your filing date and your priority date. You can…
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…
Patent
A time-limited right, granted by the State, to stop other people from making, using, selling or importing your invention without permission - given in return for a f…
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.