IP Intelligence
Patent Myths
Widely repeated beliefs about patents, and what the position actually is.
Showing 6 of 51.
“A granted patent cannot be challenged.”
Section 13(4) says expressly that grant carries no warranty of validity. There are four routes to attack a granted Indian patent, and the most common one is a counterclaim in the case you started.
“Any improvement to a known product can be patented.”
An improvement has to be more than a workshop change, and in chemistry and pharmaceuticals a new form of a known substance faces a further test under section 3(d).
“An Indian patent protects me everywhere.”
Patents are territorial. An Indian patent has effect in India only. Manufacture and sale abroad are untouched by it.
“The working statement is optional paperwork.”
Furnishing information under section 146 is a statutory obligation on patentees and licensees, and failure or false information now attracts monetary penalties under an adjudication procedure.
“A divisional can be filed whenever I want.”
A divisional must be filed before the parent is granted. Once the parent is granted, the option is gone.
“Form 3 is routine paperwork with no consequences.”
Failure to disclose foreign filing particulars under section 8 is a ground of revocation under section 64(1)(m).
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.