Patent Drafting FAQs – Get Your Answers!

Patent Drafting FAQs – Drafting is a preliminary form of writing anything, copying, subject to revision, etc. Patent drafting is an art of presenting pure technical explanation about the patent in the form of a document, called as the patent draft that eventually plays a fundamental role during patent prosecution, management, and maintenance. Two aspects must be clearly kept into consideration, the first being the proper technical domain knowledge about the patent subject and the second is that claims must be formatted in such a way that there must be zero existence found of it, when questioned with the prior knowledge.

As patent draft is the first document that reaches in public for the first time, therefore, special care must be taken while preparing its content. Any slip-ups in terms of content or its explanation can lead to unfavorable scrutiny by the patent examiner, which in turn can cause patent rejection. Taking help from a patent expert i.e. a person who is skilled and experienced in terms of subject knowledge, legal policies of the authority, and drafting patent specifications, is highly recommended.

Answers for Patent Drafting FAQs

The person holding sound technical background, deep knowledge about the relevant patent laws, and years of experience in the field of patent drafting, can be termed as a professional in the field of patent drafting. Generally, licensed patent agents or attorneys who hold strong control over writing the claims for technical fields are referred as professionals in this field. He is the one who will take the best out of the inventor’s exclusive rights by drafting broader claims that would not infringe any claims from the prior art, at the same time.

We, at the Patent Drafting Catalyst understand the client’s requirements and their priorities, to serve them the way they want. We have a dynamic team of young people that specializes in the field of Intellectual Property Rights, and are passionate to deliver the best results, maintaining the best in quality within the client’s budget, on time. We have patent experts in a number of fields and therefore,   we have a strong expert team from almost all technological backgrounds.

Patent Drafting FAQs Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is a patent draft? When is it prepared?

Patent draft is a document that includes technical specifications of the invention in detail.  It consists of the following:

  • Title: It should reflect the subject-matter of the invention.
  • Description: It should include the full details about the invention.
  • Claims: It should include the claims that define the scope of invention.
  • Abstract: It should include a summary of technical information.
  • Declaration: It should include a formal and explicit statement defining the inventorship of the inventor.

It is usually prepared in the initial stage of patent application, since it is the first document that comes out, as public announcement for the invention.

  1. What are claims?

Claims defines the scope of the protection conversed by a patent or the extent upto which the subject matters of the patent is protected. Something which is not mentioned as claimed in the patent cannot be later claimed and cannot be considered as an act of infringement if used by another person.

There are basically two types of claims, namely independent and dependent claims. When a claim describes the invention without depending on another claim, it is called as independent claim and when the claim depends on existing claims, it is called as dependent claim.

  1. What is the significance of a priority date?

A priority date is used to refer the day when the inventor files the application of his/her claims with the respective Trademark and Patent Registry. Generally, the IP laws differ from one territorial boundary to another, but most countries have ‘first-to-file’ system that means who first files provisional specification with claims secures the invention against a similar claim for a patent being applied later by another inventor.

If a PCT application is filed, 30 months duration is allowed between the priority date and the filing patent date, whereas the duration gets reduced to 12 months if it is not a PCT application.

  1. What is the difference between provisional and non-provisional specification?

A rough draft that contains general description about the invention, excluding the final specifications is termed as provisional specification; whereas a non-provisional specification defines the final claims of the invention.

The main aim of provisional specification is usually to fix the priority date and to describe the basics of the invention. Non-provisional specifications are basically required to lay out final set of claims for the invention, and not to fix the priority date.

Provisional specification is generally filed when the inventor is still in the course of finalizing his/her invention. Non-provisional specification on the other hand, can be filed during two stages in the patent application. Once a provisional specification is filed, non-provisional specification must follow within a stipulated time period. If it’s not filed, then the complete/ non-provisional specification can be filed anytime. In that case, the priority date will automatically the date on which the non-provisional specification is filed.

  1. What is the time period between the filing of provisional and non-provisional specification?

A time period of 12 months is allotted to file a non-provisional specification after the filing of the provisional specification. If it is not filed within the allotted time slot, them the inventor’s application will be abandoned. Sometimes, this time period of 12 months, gets extended to 15 months by the Trademark and Patent Registry.

  1. Is it possible to modify a specification after its filing?

Yes, it is possible that the specifications can be modified at any stage of the filing proceedings (including mistakes), except modifying the basic or important aspects. Amendments can be made because of the two reasons, either before the patent acceptance or before the patent grant. When the inventor decides to make changes since if he/she feels that the patent does not comply with the requirements of any acts and rules and may be required to amend, then it is a type of change before patent acceptance. And when the inventor is required to make changes when instructed through the court orders, then it is a type of change before the patent grant.

  1. Are drawings compulsory to be included while drafting a patent?

No, there is no law that states inclusion of drawings in patent application as a compulsion. However, drawings depicts the invention to the best possible way, and therefore, it is encouraged to submit drawings so that it can be easily understood by even the Registrar.

  1. What must be verified before patent drafting?

It is instructed to verify the following aspects before patent drafting:

  • Search must be conducted.
  • Problems must be enlisted in prior art.
  • Problem going to get solved, must be depicted.
  • Check for novelty, non-obviousness, and industrial applicability.
  • Type of application must be asserted – provisional or non-provisional.
  • The area and nature of protection (Paris convention, PCT, ordinary application) must be stated well.
  1. How is patent drafted in India?

Section 10 of the Indian Patents Act specifies the following key points about the patent drafts in India:

  • The draft must state full and partial description of the invention and its operation or method by which is to be performed.
  • The draft must depict the best possible method of performing the invention, for which the invention is entitled for protection.
  • The draft must include ‘claims’ that defines the scope of invention.
  • The draft must include an ‘abstract’ at the end to provide technical information about the invention.

    10. What must be done after patent drafting?

After finalization of the patent draft, the same application is further filed before the relevant Registry and the same Registry examines the application. It can grant, reject the patent, or can ask the inventor to make changes according to Patent rules and Act requirements.

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