A patent is to get protection or exclusive right granted for an invention on a product or a process – it can be a design, formula, or a method that can be patented for a limited period, according to its originality, utility, and suitability. This helps to safeguard the invention or the process and will enable the proprietor to stop any other person with no right or consent from making, using, marketing, or smuggling that product into India.
Patenting is an expensive and extensive process. Individuals are more likely to pay less than start-up businesses, and large organizations are ready to pay a lot for their patents. It will be a lot expensive if the creation has a lot of technology. Creators will often tend to apply more money in a solid market to ensure that their idea is well protected. Innovators must exert more significant effort to demonstrate that their new inventions are sufficiently original to warrant a patent in a crowded market. It costs more money to protect a creation’s idea in multiple nations.
Factors influencing the total cost of obtaining a patent in India:
- The invention’s stage (whether you are going for a provisional or complete patent application)
- Method of filing a patent application (Normal route, expedited route)
- Desired nations for patent protection of invention (whether you choose India only, international patent application, PCT route or Convention route)
- Page count in a patent application and number of claims .
- Patent agent or attorney fees for writing and filing patent applications (which may vary depending on client type, such as individual, firm, or students / educational institute)
- Response to objections (charges depending upon complexity and number of objections received by patent office)
Patent Filing
The patent application can be filed in the appropriate method once you have completed the review of the patent drafted and are pleased with the scope and technical elements in the patent application. That is, with the required forms and fees.
The patent application is filed in patent office. The patent application is filed in form 1, which is always accompanied by either provisional or complete specification in form 2.
Government forms and fees: Relevant form for patent application is Form 1. Form 1 is an application form for a patent submitted by an applicant filing before the Indian Patent Office (IPO). A Provisional/Complete Specification in Form 2. Form 2 is used to furnish the patent specification. It may be provisional or a complete patent specification depending on the type of patent application one is filing Government fees is Rs. 1600 or 4000 0r 8000 (based on type of applicant) while submitting the patent application in patent office.
| Individual investors | Small entity | Other than small entity | |
| Application for grant of patent | 1600 | 4000 | 8000 |
Request for examination (RFE)
The patent application is examined only after receiving request for examination that is RFE. The inventor / applicant needs to file a request for examination (RFE) within 48 months of filing date or priority date. This RFE is made with form 18 and the government fees for the same.
- Government forms and fees:
Form 18. The fees for request for examination RFE is as below.
| Individual investors | Small entity | Other than small entity | |
| Request for examination | 4000 | 10000 | 20000 |
Respond to objections
The majority of patent applicants (inventors) will face objections based on the examination report. The best thing to do is to work with a patent agent or attorney to evaluate the examination report and develop a response to the objections expressed in the examination report. Based on the type of objections received, this is an opportunity for an inventor to express the uniqueness and non-obviousness of the invention.
- Professional Fees:
The patent agent /attorney may charge a professional fees to respond to objections based on complexity of the objections and number of objections received. The fees for response to objections depends up on complexity, subject matter and number of objections.
Attending Patent Hearing
More often than not, a patent hearing will also be scheduled in the matter. This step involves attending the patent hearing and a post hearing submission with the arguments.
- Professional Fees.
The professional fee for a hearing generally varies from simpler inventions to medium level inventions and to complex inventions.
Maintenance of patent and renewal.
As per section 53 rule 80 of the Indian patents act in order to keep the patent in force prescribed renewal fee is required to be paid in respect of each year (3 year onwards) in advance before that is before the expiration of the succeeding year to the Indian Patent Office for instance the renewal fee may be paid before the expiration of the 4th year from date of patent for the 5th year in advance and so on.
- Government Fees
| Regular applicants | 4,000 (3rd year) to 40,000 (20th year). |
| Individual, start-up, SME, or an educational institute | 800 (3rd year) to 8,000 (20th year). |
Cost-saving measure
- Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)
The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) is a mechanism that expedites patent examination for both applicants and patent offices. An applicant can use positive examination results from one patent office to expedite prosecution at a second patent office under this provision. PPH effectively allows patent offices to re-use or depend on the examination performed by other patent offices in order to process patent applications more efficiently. It decreases prosecution workload and deadlines. However, the decision to issue or deny a patent remains with the patent office where protection is sought. PPH provides users reduced numbers of office actions, lower costs, higher grant rates, and faster prosecution
- Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) makes it possible to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in each of a large number of countries by filing an “international” patent application. By filing an international application with an appropriate Receiving Office, (The receiving Office functions as the filing and formalities review organization for international applications under WIPO’s Patent Cooperation Treaty , (an applicant can defer the costs of filing national applications in more than 150 countries by around 30 months from the date of first filing. The PCT provides several strategic benefits. These benefits include more time to research the commercial viability of the invention in target markets, as well as invaluable feedback on an invention’s potential patentability like a mandatory International Search Report (ISR) and an optional International Preliminary Examination Report (IPER), which allow applicants to make more informed decisions about their patenting strategy.
Conclusion
Understanding the cost structure corresponding to applying for a patent can help in making some important decisions. Hence, instead of having a generic idea about the overall cost, it helps if you are aware of the breakdown of the cost structure and the time of incurring such expenses.
The overall cost of obtaining a patent includes the fee that has to be paid to the patent office (statutory fee) and the fee paid to the patent service provider (professional fee). The professional fee varies based on the service provider you may select. Hence, in this article I will deal only with the statutory fee. It is understood that patenting is an expensive and extensive process. Usually, while filing a patent, only the statutory filing fees (Official fee) and the professional fees are disclosed. However, after the filing, certain other charges are to be paid to the Indian Patent Office (IPO). Therefore, one must understand the patent registration procedure and realize the cost break-up while applying for a patent.
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