A patent is an intellectual property right granted by a governing authority to an inventor that allows them sole rights over their invention for a limited time, usually 20 years. In exchange for receiving the patent, the inventor must fully disclose their invention. The purpose of the patent system is to encourage innovation by protecting inventions and promoting their utilization, which contributes to industry development and the transfer of technology. There are three main types of patents: utility patents for novel and useful inventions, design patents for product designs, and plant patents for novel plant varieties that can reproduce. To be patentable, an invention must be novel, involve an inventive step beyond what would be obvious to an expert in the field, and be industrially applicable.

1. PATENTS

2. What is a Patent?
• A Patent is an intellectual property right relating to inventions
and is the grant of exclusive right, for limited period, provided by
the Government to the patentee, in exchange of full disclosure
of their invention, for excluding others, from making, using,
selling, importing the patented product or process producing
that product for those purposes.
• A patent is a legal right to an invention given to a person or
entity without interference from others who wish to replicate,
use, or sell it.
• Patents are granted by governing authorities and have a time
limit, usually 20 years.

3. Purpose and Need
• The purpose of this system is to encourage inventions by
promoting their protection and utilization so as to contribute to
the development of industries, which in turn, contributes to the
promotion of technological innovation and to the transfer and
dissemination of technology.
• Patent right is territorial in nature and a patent obtained in one
country is not enforceable in other country. The inventors/their
assignees are required to file separate patent applications in different
countries for obtaining the patent in those countries.

4. Types of Patents
• The three types of patents are utility patents, design patents,
and plant patents.
• Utility patents are issued for inventions that are novel and
useful.
• Design patents protect the design or image of a product.
• Plant patents are issued to applicants for plants that can
reproduce.

5. ELEMENTS OF PATENTABILITY
• A new product or process should be technical in nature and
should meet the following criteria
• Novelty : The matter disclosed in the specification is not
published in India or elsewhere before the date of filing of the
patent application in India.
• Inventive Step: The invention is not obvious to a person skilled
in the art in the light of the prior publication/knowledge/
document.
• Industrially applicable: Invention should possess utility, so that it
can be made or used in an industry.