General And Provisional Specifications Of Patents
Download as DOCX, PDF2 likes9,290 views
The document discusses the key aspects of patents and patent specifications. It defines what a patent is and explains that a patent provides exclusive rights over an invention for a limited time. It then describes the two main types of patent specifications - general specifications and provisional specifications. For general specifications, it outlines the typical sections including title, background, summary, description of drawings, detailed description, and abstract. For provisional specifications, it notes they disclose the nature of the invention and must later be followed by a complete specification within 12 months to maintain the priority date.
General And Provisional Specifications Of Patents
- 1. PROJECT REPORT ON GENERAL AND PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION OF PATENT BY Abhas agrawal 5TH SEM MECHANICAL ENGG. Msrit Bangalore Karnataka
- 3. What is a patent? A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that provides a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem. A patent provides protectionfor the invention to the owner of the patent. The protectionis granted for a limited period,generally 20 years. Why are patents necessary? Patents provide incentives to individuals by offering them recognition for their creativity and material reward for their marketable inventions. These incentives encourage innovation, which assures that the quality of human life is continuously enhanced
- 4. What role do patents play in everyday life? Patented inventions have, in fact, pervaded every aspectof human life, from electric lighting (patents held by Edison and Swan) and plastic (patents held by Baekeland), to ballpoint pens (patents held by Biro) and microprocessors (patents held by Intel, for example). All patent owners are obliged,in return for patent protection,to publicly disclose information on their invention in order to enrich the total bodyof technical knowledge in the world. Such an ever-increasing body of public knowledge promotes further creativity and innovation in others. In this way, patents provide not only protection for the owner but valuable information and inspiration for future generations of researchers and inventors
- 5. WHAT IS SPECIFICATION The specification, which is also called the disclosure, is a written description of an invention. The patent specification is drafted both to satisfy the written requirements for patentability, as well as to define the scope of the claims. While the layout of a specification varies from place to place, it is relatively consistent between the U.S. and Europe, except that B and C are unique to the U.S. For the purposes of this tutorial, the claims are described separately from the specification. TYPES OF SPECIFICATION 1 GENERAL SPECIFICATION 2 PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION 1.GENERAL SPECIFICATION IT CONTAINS--- A. Title of the invention. The title of the invention is designed to describe the essence of the invention in a few words. B. Cross-reference to related applications. In the U.S., it is required that a patent applicant include a section titled "cross-reference to related applications". In this section, the applicant lists any provisional patent
- 6. applications that they are claiming priority to, or if the application is a continuation, the parent application number(s). C. Statement regarding federally sponsored research (if applicable). In the U.S., it is also required that the applicant include a "statement regarding federally sponsored research" if the invention was made under a government contract, or if federalgrant money was used to fund the research. D. Background of the invention. The background of the invention is typically drafted for a jury audience. Selected art in the field is discussed to emphasize differences with the current invention, and to point needed improvements that are provided by the current invention. E. Summary of the invention. The summary of the invention, which is distinct from the abstract, is meant to discuss the invention (i.e., the claims) rather than the disclosure as a whole. Often, the summary will discuss advantages of the invention or how it solves the problems existing in the art, such as those presented in the background of the invention. F. Description of the drawings. If drawings are included in the application, a brief description of each drawing is required. G. Detailed description of the invention. The detailed description of the invention is the meatiest section of a patent. Its purpose is to adequately and accurately describe the invention. There are generally two sections: A general explanation of the invention and how to practice it. The invention is described in its broadest sense, to show that the inventors have a broad view of the scope of the elements. Often, preferred embodiments of the invention are described. Such embodiments are generally more limited versions of the broadest concept and are provided for support for a fall-back position of narrower claims if the broader concept is not patentable. Definitions of key terms are often provided and are extremely important in interpreting the scope of the claims. Specific examples of how to practice the invention. A patent application does not require examples, however in practice, examples can often assist in showing patentability (e.g., enablement). The examples may or may not have been
- 7. performed by the inventors. "Working" examples present completed undertakings. "Prophetic" examples are hypothetical undertakings and are always written in the present or future tense. Typically, the examples demonstrate practice of one or more specific embodiments of the invention. (Many new readers find the purposes of these two sections confounding and assume that the examples set forth how the invention will be practiced. Rather, examples are meant only to illustrate, but in no way to limit, the claimed invention). H. Sequence listing. A sequence listing is required if the application includes nucleic acid or amino acid sequences. If sequences are disclosed, every nucleic acid molecule that is at least ten nucleotides, and every protein that is at least four amino acids, must be included. In many jurisdictions, sequence listings are required to be in a specific text format. The USPTO provides a free software download called PatentIn that is often used to compile sequence listings. I. Abstract. The abstract is a brief summary of the entire specification. 2.PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION Every patent application under the Indian Patents Act, 1970 must be accompanied by the specifications ofthe invention. These specifications may either be provisional or complete.If the specifications are provisional, the complete specifications must be filed subsequently within a period of 12 months. A provisional specificationis not expected to fully disclose an invention with all the relevant details as these may not even be known to the applicant at the time it is filed.In fact, a provisional specificationof an idea (which is in the process of being converted into an invention) may even be filed although, of course,even in such a case, a complete specificationmust be filed within 12 months. What a provisional specificationis required to do is disclose the nature of the invention.
- 8. The provisional specificationmust be filed in the prescribedForm 2 which forms the first page of the specification.This Form contains the following information: 1.The Title of the Invention 2.Name, Nationality and Addressof the Applicant(s) 3.Preamble to the Description:The following specificationdescribes the invention. 4.Description(on a new page). 5.Date And Signature (to be given at the end of the last page of the specification). The Title of the invention in a provisional specificationshould give a clear idea of the industry and the subject to which the invention relates. It should be brief – not more than fifteen words – precise,and descriptive of the invention. It should not contain words such as the inventor’s name, adjectives like ‘good’, ‘brilliant’, ‘best’,etc., or words in Indian languages. Some examples of the titles of patents are: Compositions comprising Carbazoles and Cyclodextrins,Novel Amino Acid Derivatives with Improved Multi-Drug Resistance Activity, A Method of Phenol Tar Desalting, Capillary Dewatering Method and Apparatus. Form 2 is required to be filed along with Form 1 which is the application for the grant of a patent, and the information in Form 2 must correspond to that in Form 1. Form 2, however, is only the first page of the provisional specificationto which additional pages which describe the nature of the invention are attached as follows:(i) an introduction mentioning what the field of the invention is and what the subjectmatter to which it relates is, (ii) the background of the invention containing a descriptionof the relevant prior art along with its drawbacks, why the invention is needed and what it is to do / what problem it is to solve, (iii) a summary of the nature of the invention, (iv) a descriptionof the invention possiblyin general terms, (v) working examples and embodiments of the invention if they exist and (vi) the advantages of the invention. Although it is permissible forthe descriptionof the invention to be in general terms, it is advisable to include as much information as is possible. This is because the claims later made in the completespecificationmust be fairly based on what has beendisclosedin the provisional specification, and this cannot be done if the provisional specificationis very sketchy. At the very least, the Descriptionmust identify what the novel features of the invention are and how they are distinct from prior art. The Description
- 9. should begin with a short statement of the scope and subject of the invention such as, “This invention relates to _________,”and it should also contain: The objectives of the invention possiblyin the format: The principal objective of this invention is __________,Another objective of this invention is ____________,Yet another objective of this invention is _________. Drawings if they are required. The principle on which the invention is being developed. A general statement of the essential features of the invention for which protectionis desired. A provisional specificationdoes not contain claims since at the time it is filed;it is unlikely that an applicant would know what the claims are. A provisional specificationhelps to identify the invention. It is typically drafted before an invention is ready in its final form and therefore focuses on the nature of the invention which it discloses.It is a documentof record and it cannot be amended by adding new matter to it once it has beenfiled. In fact, no amendment would be allowed which has the effectof adding fresh matter or extending the scope of the invention. Deleting information would also not generally be allowed especiallyif such deletion would result in the scope of the invention being broadened. The main purpose of filing an application with a provisional specificationis to establish a priority date. A provisional specificationestablishes the earliest ownership of an invention although it does not in itself conferany legal rights. It is sometimespossible to get a provisional specification amended by post-dating the application. However, doing this would automatically result in the ‘loss’ of the priority date. Until a complete specificationis filed,an application which is filed along with a provisional specificationwill not be examined by an examiner of the patent office with a view to deciding whether or not a patent should be granted. If a complete specificationis not filed within 12 months of the filing of the provisional specification,the application for the grant of a patent is deemed to have been abandoned. However, if a patent is subsequently granted for the invention after the filing of the complete specification,the date of the patent will be the date on which the application accompanied by the provisional specificationwas filed.