Is Your invention Patentable?
No matter if you are a startup who have just started to explore your business and opportunities or an established firm doing the business for a long time, the importance of patenting can never be ignored. You cannot patent an idea that is in your thoughts but can surely patent ideas that can be seen. Now, you have decided to patent your new business idea but the major question that arises here is, whether your new idea is patentable or not. If it is, you must go to a competent Patent Attorney in India to initiate the process
Requirements for Patentable ideas
Not every idea can and must be patented. Only the ideas which add value to your business must be patented. Below are some of the characteristics of patentable ideas which you as a startup, must know
1. Legitimate idea
The first and the foremost requirement for your idea to be a patentable one is that it should be a legal idea. You must assure that your idea even by mistake has not been patented before or else you might have to face severe legal issues. It will never be wise on your part to patent an idea or invention that breaks the law in any manner.
2. Does your invention add value to your business?
Before making any decision to patent your invention, always sit and analyse with your team whether the idea you are patenting will be adding any value to your business in the future. Though this is not considered specifically as a requirement a useless idea will only drain out your money, time and effort.
3. Descriptive invention
You have to always make sure that the idea or the invention you are thinking to get patented must be explainable to the Patent Attorney in India. Some of the ideas are so complex that it even requires you to give a presentation to the patent authorities and sometimes you are asked for a sketch or a diagram as well. So, only go for patenting when you are absolutely sure of your invention and you can explain it to the authorities.
Exceptions in Patenting
While you might have some great ideas, thoughts, inventions and findings, not everything can be patented. Below are some exceptions in patenting which you must know before you decide to patent your unique invention.
1. Art and media cannot be patented.
If you have a created a unique art and thinking of patenting it, you must remember that you cannot patent art and media. Although art and media do not qualify for patents, if you still want to protect your unique art and media inventions, you can copyright them. Copyrighting is a legal process of protecting your written materials against plagiarism.
2. Ideas cannot be patented
You must be thinking that only the ideas get patented as without them, nothing will come into practice but you are wrong here. Until and unless your idea doesn’t come into practice you cannot patent them. Patenting can be done only to the actual items, process and designs; only thinking about it in your mind doesn’t make it qualify to be patented.
3. Naturally occurring things cannot be patented
Anything that comes naturally to you cannot be patented. It is not possible that you found a piece of rock on the beach and you file an application to get it patented. Since it’s nobody’s right on the naturally occurring things like a piece of wood or a piece of rock, you just cannot file a patent for them.
4. Scientific work cannot be patented
Yes, you cannot get a patent for scientific work and theories unless they are converted into products or real things. You just cannot think of something and get it patented as it is yet to convert it into a real product. So, you must wait until your scientific theory comes into practice.
Now, from the above topics, we have seen pointers which will definitely help you analyse whether your new business idea is patentable or not. Also, we have seen which ideas can and cannot be patented. I am sure, by keeping these pointers in mind, your precious effort, time as well as cost will be saved which will help you to achieve success as a startup.
Categories : Patent 
Tags : Your invention Patentable , your new idea is patentable