RESEARCH METHODOLOGY &
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
RIGHTS(RMI)
Course Code : BRMK557
CIE Marks : 50
SIE Marks : 50
Building Intellectual Property Rights
• Intellectual property (IP) is the term used to refer to non-
commercial assets derived from human intelligence, creativity and
imagination, but often intangible.
• A patent is a special right granted to an invention that is a product
or method, usually providing a new way of doing something or a
new solution to a problem for that matter.
• In order to obtain a patent, the information regarding the
invention must be disclosed to the public in the patent application.
The major types of IP are:
• 1. Trademarks: A trademark is a sign that suitably differentiates the
owner’s goods or services from those of others.
• 2. Patents: A patent is a legal document that gives its owner the exclusive
right to manufacture a product or manufacture it in any form in a limited
area and for a limited period of time, preventing interested parties from
producing, using or selling a product present invention.
• 3. Industrial Designs: Design protection relates to some specific beautiful
images related to products whose work the owner may want to protect.
• 4. Copyright: Copyright is a right vested in the owner or creator of the
publication and distribution of text, music, images or other works.
Copyright also applies to content such as software, data files and related
information.
Trademarks:
• Brand names: Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola
• Product names: iPhone, Air Jordan, Coke
• Company logos: Golden Arches (McDonald's), Nike swoosh,
Apple logo
• Slogans: Just Do It (Nike), Think Different (Apple), I'm Lovin' It
(McDonald's)
Patents:
• New inventions: The light bulb, the telephone, the computer
• New processes: The manufacturing process for a new drug, the
method for creating a new type of solar cell
• New designs: The design of a new car, the design of a new
computer chip
Patent
Industrial designs:
• The shape of a product: The shape of a Coca-Cola bottle, the
shape of a Samsung Galaxy phone
• The pattern on a product: The pattern on a Tiffany & Co. necklace,
the pattern on a Nike sneaker
• The color scheme of a product: The color scheme of a Target
store, the color scheme of a Starbucks coffee cup
Copyrights:
• Literary works: Books, poems, scripts, musical pieces
• Artistic works: Paintings, sculptures, photographs, movies
• Software programs: Computer software, video games
• Technical works: Engineering drawings, architectural plans
Law of Patents
Key aspects of patent law include:
1. Eligibility Criteria:
2. Application Process.
3. Granting of Patents:
4. Enforcement
5. Licensing and Transfer:
6. International Protection.
7. Challenges and Litigation:
8. Patent Infringement:
Patentability Requirements
• Novelty.
• Non-Obviousness (Inventive Step):
• Utility or Industrial Applicability:
• Enablement (Sufficiency of Disclosure):
• Subject Matter Eligibility:
• Non-Disclosure:
• No Excluded Categories:
• Written Description and Claims:
• First-to-File Rule:
Patentable Subject Matter
• Processes:
• Machines:
• Manufactures:
• Compositions of Matter:
• Articles of Manufacture:
• Machines and Apparatuses:
• Software and Computer-Implemented Inventions:
• Biotechnological Inventions:
Industrial Applicability/Utility in Patents:
Requirement for Patentability:
Real-World Application:
Preventing Overly Abstract or Theoretical Inventions:
Clear and Specific Utility:
Exclusions and Limitations:
Balancing Innovation and Public Benefit:
Scope of Protection:
Novelty in patent
1. Novelty in Patent Law:
2. What's Already Known:
3. The Patent Monopoly:
4. What's New in India:
5. No Copies from Other Patents:
6. What Makes an Invention Special:
7. Obviousness:
8. Keeping Secrets:
9. Anticipation and Lack of Novelty:
Anticipation by publication
These are in the case of an invention claimed in a complete
specification
(1) Protection for Old Specifications:
(2) Protection for Self-Disclosure or Unauthorized Publication:
(3) Priority for the Real Inventor:
• Anticipation by public knowledge and public use after
provisional specification
• As per Section 23: Anticipation by previous publication under
Chapter 4: Anticipation of the THE PATENTS ACT, 1970:
• 1. Protection for Earlier Filings:
• 2. Convention Application Protection:
NATIONAL BODIES DEALING WITH PATENT AFFAIRS
• There are many departments/organizations/bodies dealing with various aspects of
patents, namely,
• The Indian Patent Office (IPO) - The Office of the Controller General of Patents,
Designs and Trade Marks generally known as the Indian Patent Office, is an agency
under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade which
administers the Indian law of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks.
• Department for Promotion for Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) - DPIIT, earlier
known as the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), It came into
existence in 1995 and is the main body for regulating and administering the
industrial sector.
• National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) - NRDC, an enterprise of
Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR),
Anticipation by public display
• 1. Protection for Exhibitions:
• 2. Permission and Display:
• 3. Publication from Exhibitions:
• 4. Unapproved Use During Exhibition:
• 5. Inventor's Presentations:
Anticipation by public working
1. Protection for Public Testing:
2. Testing by Inventor or Others:
3. Consent and Reasonable Trial:
Anticipation by sale
In simpler terms:
• If an invention has been sold or made available to the public in
India before someone applies for a patent, it might not be
considered new anymore.
• This could impact the inventor's ability to get a patent for the
invention because patents are usually granted for new and
unique ideas.
Inventive step/non-obviousness
• It involves:
• Prior Art
• Inventive Step:
• Not Obvious to Skilled Person:
• Encouraging Real Innovation:
Novelty Assessment
Following are the steps taken to assess novelty in the Indian IPR
context:
1. Comparison with Prior Art
2. Evaluation of Claims:
3. Novelty Criterion:
4. Global Assessment:
5. Grace Period:
6. Inventive Step and Novelty:
Inventive Step Assessment
Here's how the assessment of inventive step works in the Indian IPR
context:
1. Comparison with Existing Knowledge (Prior Art):.
2. Non-Obviousness Requirement:
3. Person Skilled in the Art:
4. Combination of Prior Art:
5. Unexpected Results:
6. Innovation Beyond Obvious Modifications:
7. Objective and Subjective Criteria:
Specification
Following are the contents of specifications:
1. Detailed Description:.
2. Claims:
3. Importance of Clarity:
4. Determining Patent Scope:
5. Prior Art Search:
6. Enablement Requirement:.
7. Importance for Legal Protection:
8. Completeness:
MAJOR AMENDMENTS IN IP LAWS AND ACTS
IN INDIA
PATENTS
• Conditions for Obtaining a Patent Protection
• To Patent or Not to Patent an Invention
• Rights Associated with Patents.
• Enforcement of Patent Rights.
• Inventions Eligible for Patenting.
• Non-PatentableMatters.
• Patent Infringements.
• Avoid Public Disclosure of an Invention before Patenting.
PROCESS OF PATENTING
• Prior Art Search.
• Choice of Application to be Filed.
• Patent Application Forms.
• Jurisdiction of Filing Patent Application.
• Publication Pre-grant Opposition.
• Examination. Grant of a Patent.
• Validity of Patent Protection.
• Post-grant Opposition.
• Commercialization of a Patent.
• Need for a Patent Attorney/Agent.
• Can a Worldwide Patent be Obtained.
• Do I Need First to File a Patent in India.
• Patent Related Forms .
• Fee Structure.
• Types of Patent Applications.
• Commonly Used Terms in Patenting.
• National Bodies Dealing with Patent Affairs.
• Utility Models.
IP
• Prior Art Search:
• Before an inventor embarks upon the patent filing process, he has to
ensure that his invention is ‘novel’ as per the criterion for the grant of a
patent.
• Patents’ Databases :
Indian Patent Advanced Search System (InPASS- [Link]
WIPO
USPTO (USA- [Link]
Google Patents Advance
Jurisdiction of Filing Patent Application
Region/Office Territorial Jurisdiction
• West Region : Patent
Office Branch, Mumbai
The States of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh,
Goa and Chhattisgarh and the Union and the Territories
of Daman and Diu & Dadra and Nagar Haveli
• South Region :Patent
Office Branch, Chennai
The States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil
Nadu, Telangana and the Union and the Territories of
Pondicherry and Lakshadweep
• North Region :Patent
Office Branch, New Delhi
5. Publication:
Once the patent application has been filed at the Regional Patent
Office, the patent application is kept secret for 18 months.
[Link]
6. Pre-grant Opposition:
If anybody has an objection to the invention claimed in the
patent application, he can challenge the application by
approaching the Controller of Patents within 6 months from the
date of publication. It is termed as Pre-grant Opposition.
TYPES OF PATENT APPLICATIONS
Provisional Application - A patent application filed when the
invention is not fully finalized.
Ordinary Application - A patent application filed with complete
specifications and claims but without claiming any priority date.
PCT Application - An international application filed in accordance
with PCT. A single application can be filed to seek patent protection
and claim priority in all the member countries of PCT.
Convention Application -one or more application filed in other
countries etc.
Utility Model
• Utility Models, also known as ’Petty Patents’ or ’Innovation
Patents, represent a form of intellectual property protection
for incremental improvements over existing products.
• Utility Model is a helpful tool for Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSME).
• The lifespan of a Utility Model is typically shorter than patents,
varying from 7-15 years in different countries.
Fee structure