8. Do I really need patent attorney or patent agent to register patent in India ?

8. Do I really need patent attorney or patent agent to register patent in India?

Table of Contents

The Purpose of this article is to help you understand:

  • Can I write and file patent application for my invention on my own ? without Patent professionals ?
  • What is expected from a good patent application and its main objective
  • Common mistakes if you are doing it yourself
  • Responsibilities and advantages of Patent agent or attorney 

Sometimes, you may think to yourself :

  • If I am the inventor of the invention
  • I know it inside-out
  • I can write good project report or a thesis
  • then why should I hire a patent agent or attorney to just fill forms and apply for patent for my invention ?

in this article we will answer these questions in detail:

After you searched for documents required for filing patent in India  and after knowing the relevant forms and templates,

It is obvious to think, How hard can it be to write a patent application on my own? to start answering these questions, let’s first understand what is a Good patent application.

A Good Patent Application : 

  • should provide the broadest possible protection for our invention
  • should get through the examination phase and be able to get grant for patent
  • should be able to provide an opportunity for patent commercialization (that is making money with the patent)
  • should be able to stop competition from Design around without infringing our patent (In the field of patents, the phrase “to design around” means to invent an alternative to a patented invention that does not infringe the patent’s claims.)

The video below explains if you really need help from a patent attorney or patent agent to register a patent in India for your invention

Video: Do I really need a patent attorney or a patent agent?

Who is a patent agent in India?

An Indian patent agent is an individual with a science or engineering degree who has cleared the Indian patent agent exam and is registered with the Indian patent office with good standing in his practice.

Do I need a patent agent in India to file a patent?

Drafting a patent application is a specialized job and requires both technical (field of the invention) and legal (Indian patent act) understanding.

As you may have heard, a patent is a techno-legal document. Many inventors trying to write a patent application on their own writes it from a completely technical perspective. Writing a patent application as a technical document without considering the legal aspects may be a mistake that can make your application not properly covering the scope of the protection. And all the efforts you took for research and development can go waste.

Hence, the right patent professional (patent agent) with appropriate experience can remarkably add value to patent application. The patent agent provides maximum possible protection for your invention since the drafting of the patent is done from a technical as well as legal perspective.

Following things will be considered by patent agent while drafting patent:

  • The claims are written in such a way that they provide maximum protection
  • All possible embodiment and variants are covered
  • Each claim finds its support in the detailed description in the specification
  • Use of specific words in description and claims that has a specific meaning in patent law

Use of specific language while drafting a patent application is required. Inventors who are not experienced in patent law can make some mistakes in drafting patent specifications and may face rejection for failing to comply with the requirements set by patent law. In this case, all efforts by inventors in research and development may go to waste. You can read our section on the cost of getting a patent in India by hiring a patent agent or patent attorney.

generally, the main objective of a good patent application is 3 fold.

  • the patent application is written such that it provides the broadest possible protection for your invention.
  • the patent application is written by following patent rules and procedures such that it stands a very high chance of getting a grant (of course if the invention satisfies patentability criteria)
  • the granted patent should be useful when you are to commercialize your patent (i.e. making money with your patent)

As you may have guessed from the discussion above;  writing a patent application involves a certain degree of complexity and prior knowledge of patent laws and case laws which is very difficult for a first-time patent writer to learn from few readings.

writing a patent application is a specialized skill and even patent attorneys or agents require years of practice to be able to write a good patent application that achieves the above-mentioned objectives for an invention.

Hence, if you are writing your patent application like a technical document or a project report and filing it in the patent office would likely result in objections and most probably a rejection. and even if you do get a granted patent by writing on your own, half of the battle still remains, which is the commercialization of the patent.

a poorly written patent (although granted) is difficult to commercialize because it may not cover the scope of the invention properly or may lack the broadest possible protection or may suffer due to poor quality of claims.

Can I file a patent myself without a patent professional?

It is possible. You can file the patent application without help from patent professional, in that case it is advisable that you should at least get your patent application reviewed by an experienced patent agent or attorney before filing into the patent office.

because writing a good patent application involves so much more than a first-timer can accommodate into his / her writing, even trained patent professionals require at least 3 to 5 years of experience to be able to write reasonably good it in the application. Hence it is worth giving a second thought to it if you have decided to do it yourself.

A patent application not written properly could prove a costly mistake in the future as it will not protect your invention as you expected it to do and it will probably not be worth the time and effort you put to get the invention protected.

There are rules about so many things while writing the patent application:

  • Rules about writing title
  • rules for writing abstract
  • how claims should be written
  • how detailed description is to be written
  • rules for drawings
  • rules for numbering the drawings
  • rules for pages

it is very likely that the first-time inventor or do-it-yourself writer of patent application would be making some obvious mistakes that could prove costly in the longer term, and if your invention is worth patenting it probably is worth having a patent agent or attorney.

Common mistakes if you are doing it yourself

Some Common mistakes if you are doing it yourself that is writing and filing patent on your own are:

  • The disclosure of the invention is not sufficient enough and not enabling
  • Claims are not supported in the description of the invention
  • Claims are not protecting the actual inventions properly
  • The inventive step is not properly claimed
  • The claims written are too limiting and lack the proper legal terms to be able to have border scope
  • All possible variations and embodiments are not mentioned
  • The best mode of practicing the invention is not disclosed

And this list by no means complete, and many other type of mistakes that can raise a lot of objections in the proceeding of getting patent for your invention.

Having said that It has been observed that some inventors have written their patent application with remarkable quality and understanding of legal aspect of writing that it is hard to believe it is not written by an experienced patent attorney but by an inventor. However such cases are very rare and most often than not, inventors understand the technology part really well and but lack the understanding of legal aspects when writing patent application especially writing claims for the invention.

Writing a patent application is a specialized skill

Writing a patent application requires fair understanding and experience in

  • Patent law and patent office rules and regulations
  • Case laws affecting the interpretation of patent law
  • Technical skills of the subject matter of the invention

As an inventor you can be a leading expert in your field of invention that is the technical side of it that’s your strength but where you may face challenges is the legal side of it. Without (a patent attorney or patent agent) chances are your patent application would be just a technical description of the invention and may fail for its sole purpose of “protecting your invention with broadest possible scope” Refer to our outcome expected from patent in the introduction.

When you (inventor) work with the right patent attorney (agent), it becomes a combination of your technical expertise + patent attorneys legal expertise and this can result into a very strong patent that adequately protects every aspect of your invention.

Advantages of hiring patent agent or attorney

Advantages of hiring a patent agent or attorney

  • Patent agent and attorney would know how to write patent application and claims to have the broadest possible protection for your invention such that your competitors should not be able to copy your invention or just walk around your invention by changing some things and not infringing on your patent.
  • Writing a patent application itself has extensive laws, rules, and procedures applicable, and a number of things to consider, you would be surprised to know, there are rules related to margins of the page, rules for writing the title, abstract, claims, diagrams, detailed description, enabling etc…
  • The entire process of inception of idea to granted patent and beyond becomes a smooth experience for you when you have an experienced patent agent/attorney guiding you at every stage…
    you don’t need to worry what kind of forms to use or fees to be paid, what kind of notice is there or what do you mean by objections raised, how to respond to objections etc…

all these kind of things are already taken care by patent agent or attorney and not to forget the importance of dates and subsequent steps you should be considering for entire procedure.

so patent attorney takes care of reminding you for every date and appropriate steps to be taken with right information.

So, these 3 things make this investment in going for a patent agent or attorney look pretty small if you are considering in the longer term that is the life of your invention and if at all you win the patent get 20 years from the filing date that you are going to enjoy a monopoly on it. [/su_note]

ultimately I think it all depends on level of seriousness that you have with your invention if you are casual you can just try it out just submit whatever you think is appropriate and let see what happens with the response from patent office but if you are serious with your invention and don’t want to lose its entire Novelty or don’t want to lose upon the opportunity to take it to the next level then you should consider hiring a patent agent or attorney. It is well worth the investment.

On the other hand you can try writing and filing patent application on your own but as explained above it is almost impossible to match the level of well drafted patent application by an expert patent professional, and more often than not you will end up losing on the opportunity to protect your invention adequately and making significant money with it.

that’s why patent agents and patent attorneys are there to help and they improve your chances of getting a patent granted for your invention.

The responsibilities of patent agent/attorney

  • Representing clients in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice
  • Preparing application for patent
  • Providing advice during the patent application process
  • Helps in drafting strong claims for your invention to be able to protect it in fullest possible extent
  • prosecuting patent applications

By executing power of attorney, you (inventor) can appoint a patent attorney or agent to represent you for patent proceedings at Indian patent office.

First meeting with a patent attorney

It always starts with a Non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

A non-disclosure agreement is an agreement that a patent agent/attorney or Intellectual Property firm is doing with you, to protect the confidentiality of your invention.

In other words, the patent professional doing this non-disclosure agreement with you (inventor) and agreeing on keeping your invention confidential/secret and do not misuse it.

There are no cost or charges for doing this agreement, however, it is a strong document that you can take it to court your invention is misused by the patent professional (but this almost never happens)

The first meeting with patent agent or attorney could be you meeting patent attorney personally or your communication on call or via emails. The first always remains same, signing a Non-disclosure agreement with the inventor to keep the invention confidential.

sometimes patent attorney might ask you to illustrate the entire timeline starting with the Idea and the action steps that you took to develop the innovative idea into its current state, this timeline discussion also includes technical details of the invention, its features and advantages, What problem invention solve, and how it is different or better than prior arts already known to the public.

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Prasad Karhad
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