IP Intelligence
Patent Myths
Widely repeated beliefs about patents, and what the position actually is.
Showing 5 of 51.
“My patent was granted, so I can sell my product safely.”
A patent is a right to stop others. It says nothing about whether you are free to sell. Somebody else may hold a broader right your product falls inside.
“Patent deadlines can always be extended if you pay.”
Some can. Several of the most important cannot, or their extendability is unsettled - and an application that misses one is simply treated as abandoned or withdrawn.
“Anything an employee invents automatically belongs to the company.”
Indian law does not transfer patent rights by implication as freely as people assume. Rights flow from inventors, and moving them needs something in writing.
“A patentability search tells me whether I can launch.”
They are different searches with different inputs and different outputs. Patentability reads disclosures anywhere in the world; freedom to operate reads claims that are in force where you sell.
“Renewal fees are collected automatically.”
Nothing is automatic. If a renewal is not paid within the period, or the six-month extension, the patent ceases to have effect.
Keep going.
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.