IP Intelligence
Patent Myths
Widely repeated beliefs about patents, and what the position actually is.
Showing 17 of 51.
“A patent protects my idea.”
A patent protects a specific technical solution, defined by the words of its claims. Ideas, concepts and business plans are not protectable on their own.
“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.
“India gives you twelve months after you publish to file.”
India has no general grace period. Sections 29 to 32 exclude only specific, narrow situations from anticipation, and the twelve-month limb in section 31 applies to gazette-notified exhibitions and papers read before a learned society.
“You can get a worldwide patent.”
There is no such thing. Patents are national. A PCT application is a procedure that keeps options open; it is never granted.
“An examination report means my application was rejected.”
It is an opening position. Nearly every Indian application receives objections, and receiving them says almost nothing about the quality of the invention.
“If nobody has done it before, it must be patentable.”
Novelty is one requirement. The invention also needs an inventive step, must be capable of industrial application, and must not fall inside section 3 - which excludes whole categories regardless of how new they are.
“A provisional specification protects everything I later develop.”
A provisional secures a date only for the subject matter it actually discloses. Anything added in the complete specification gets the later date.
“A broad title makes a broad patent.”
The title identifies the application for classification and searching. It has no effect on scope, and no infringement was ever decided on it.
“Patent registration and patent filing are the same thing.”
There is no registration process for patents in India. An application is filed, published, examined, argued and then either granted or refused. Registration is how trade marks and designs work, not patents.
“I can publish the paper now and file the patent afterwards.”
In India, publishing first usually destroys novelty in your own invention. The narrow learned-society limb of section 31 does not cover ordinary journal or conference publication.
“A university thesis is not a publication.”
A thesis deposited in a library or an institutional repository, available to the public without restriction, can be prior art.
“You need a working prototype to file a patent.”
India does not require a prototype or a deposit. It requires a description sufficient for a skilled person to perform the invention.
“My copyright in the code or drawings protects the invention.”
Copyright protects the expression - the particular code, the particular drawing. It does not protect the technical idea, and a competitor who writes their own implementation does not infringe it.
“A design registration and a patent are the same thing.”
A design protects the appearance of an article - shape, configuration, pattern, ornament. A patent protects how something works. They are different statutes with different tests and different terms.
“Filing it myself is basically the same and much cheaper.”
Filing is easy. Drafting is not. The document you file determines what you can claim, what you can amend to, and what the patent is eventually worth.
“The examiner decides whether I get a patent.”
The examiner searches and reports. The Controller decides - issues the report, holds the hearing, and grants or refuses.
“Patents are only for large companies.”
Indian official fees are substantially reduced for natural persons, startups, small entities and educational institutions, and expedited examination is available to several of those categories.
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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.