Understanding Patentability in India: A Comprehensive Guide



New items or techniques with an innovative step and an industrial application are considered patentable in India. They cannot belong to any of the non-patentable groups specified in the Patent Act's sections 3 and 4. Frivolous or against natural law inventions, damaging or immoral inventions, scientific principle discoveries, and others are not eligible for patent protection. Additionally not eligible for patent protection are inventions pertaining to atomic energy.


According to the Patent Act of 1970, India's patentable subject matter

A technique, product, or both must be the subject of an invention; it must also be new (novel); it must entail an innovative step; it must be practical for industrial use; and it cannot fall under Sections 3 or 4. It means your creative concept is considered patentable if it is a new product or method with an inventive step that can be used in the industrial world.

originality or freshness prerequisite

The Patents Act's Sections 2(1)(l) and 2(1)(j) explain the distinction between an invention and a new invention. Any technology or invention that has not been published in any document or used domestically or internationally prior to the filing date of a patent application with full specification is considered a "new invention"; that is, its subject matter has not entered the public domain or is not considered to be part of the state of the art.

If every component of an invention's claim has not been predicted by any published, used, or publicly available prior art, then the invention is considered new.

Novel approach or lack of obviousness

When an invention has a technical advance over what is currently known (i.e., the state of the art in the field in which it is used), when it has economic significance, or when it combines both, it is considered to have an inventive step when it prevents a person skilled in the art from seeing it coming.

Therefore, in order to make our invention appear non-obvious to a person versed in the art, we must select a feature that, when compared to the state of the art or existing knowledge, is either technically advanced, commercially significant, or both. Technical advance refers to a feature of the invention that has been made in a way that is more advanced than what is currently known.

Few methods to reach the innovative step

Among the methods used to reach the inventive step are: • Inventions include resolving a long-standing technical issue that previous arts have attempted but failed to resolve.

  • When an invention demonstrates an unanticipated technical result of a novel combination of well-known components
  • The degree of difficulty for an individual to mix previously recognized arts to find a solution, etc.
  • When assessing inventive steps, the "problem/solution" technique is typically employed. This involves determining whether the answer provided in the patent application is evident to a person with reasonable ability in the relevant field.

Now, as an inventor, you are not responsible for doing any of this; rather, a patent agent working on your idea is. A skilled patent professional would ask you for the necessary information about the specifics and technical aspects of your invention. Using this information, they would draft a patent application for you, increasing the likelihood that it would pass the examination phase and be granted.

The term "capable of industrial application" in the definition indicates that something need not be mass-produced at this time, but it does have the potential to be used in industry in the future. Proving the necessity of usefulness or industrial use for patentability is often not too difficult.

Source: https://www.einfolge.com/blog/Understanding-Patentability-in-India-A-Comprehensive-Guide

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