Can you patent an idea

A provisional patent application is an informal application that allows you to file without a formal patent claim, oath or declaration, or any information disclosure prior art statement. The applicant, however, must follow up with a nonprovisional patent application within 1 year. Provisional patent applications are popular among some start-ups and smaller entities and inventors, and they may be a good option for those with limited budgets and resources who still want to receive some form of patent protection.

Interested in finding out the benefit and everything about a provisional patent application? Read to find out more! First of all, you must be ready to provide a specification of the invention, since this determines the protection of the invention. The specification includes an abstract, background, summary, a detailed description, prior art, and your conclusion, including the ramifications and scope.

Conducting a patentablity search and make sure your idea and invention is novel and non-obvious is the first step to apply for a patent application. You can always conduct a budget friendly patentability search on your own with Patent Search. Sign up and start your search for free! In addition, defining the legal scope of your patent is another important step that must be done, and hiring an experienced patent attorney to handle this is likely your best bet. The above questions and answers are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to patents and the many benefits they provide, and we look forward to answering even more questions about this important form of IP protection in future articles.

The key takeaway from this article is that only an idea that has become a novel, nonobvious, and useful invention will be able to receive a patent. One last note—the patent application process can take up to 3 years to complete, so you should be sure you are familiar with the process and fully prepared for it, before investing your time, money, and effort in this. Filing a patent is extremely complex.

Contact Wispro , an IP law firm formed by experienced lawyers with professional industry background, for any legal and IP related services! How Much Does a Patent Cost? InQuartik Corporation, as the administrator of this website, uses browser cookies to track your session to provide you with a better experience. You may opt out of all cookies that are not essential to the administration or maintenance of this website.

You may refer to our Privacy and Cookie Policy for more details. Please note that, by accessing our website, you agree to our Privacy and Cookie Policy. Table of contents Can an Idea Be Patented? What Kind of Patents Are There? What Does a Utility Patent Protect? Is My Invention Patentable? Can You Patent an Idea? Utility: A utility patent protects the creation of new or improved products, processes, compositions of matter, or machines that are useful.

Design: A design patent protects an ornamental design on a useful item. Plant: A plant patent protects new kinds of plants produced by cuttings or other nonsexual means. While confidentiality agreements, or non-disclosure agreements as they are sometimes called, are absolutely essential for inventors in the early stages to protect their idea, the problem is they are only going to provide protection with respect to those who have accepted the confidentiality obligation. And if and when the confidentiality obligation is broken you only have a claim for breach of contract i.

So, before you would be tempted to believe there is a broad based way to protect an idea without it maturing into an invention that can be patented, or even an invention without a patent, you need to consider spend time to understand the purposes and limitations of confidentiality agreements see here and here and trade secrets see here , here and here. This does not mean that inventors, or those who aspire to become inventors, should give up at the idea stage when the realization is made that there is only an idea present without some identifiable manifestation, but it does mean that more work is necessary in order to flesh out the idea and bring it across the idea innovation boundary.

The goal is to get to the point where the idea it is concrete enough to be more than what the law would call a mere idea. The moral of the story is that mere ideas cannot be protected, so inventors need to think in terms of an invention. Inventions can be patented. Ideas cannot be patented. You just need to get from the idea that inevitably begins the process to an invention, which is the culmination of the innovation part of the journey.

And once the culmination of the innovation journey is realized then it becomes time to file a patent application. As one contemplates moving from idea to invention to patent and ultimately, hopefully riches, a dose of reality is in order.

First, stop thinking you will get rich by selling your idea to industry and sitting back and collecting royalty checks for doing nothing. That may be what late-night TV commercials want you to believe, but it is not reality. If inventing were as easy as thinking up an idea and riches would follow practically everyone would be a rich inventor! Ideas are a dime a dozen. They are valuable because they are a necessary part of the innovation journey, but it is not the idea in and of itself that creates monetary value, rather the valuable proposition inventors provide those interested in buying or licensing invention rights is found in the solution.

Inventors make money by identifying a problem, formulating an idea about how that problem can be solved, and then creating a solution. For example, the observation that using a snow shovel to clear snow is a back-breaking endeavor is obvious to anyone who has ever shoveled snow. The desire or belief that there has to be a better way to remove snow from a residential driveway is likewise not revolutionary, or particularly valuable. But if you were the first person actually able to build a mechanized solution that would throw or blow the snow off a driveway you would have an invention that could be patented, and one that could be quite valuable in the hands of the right licensee.

Perhaps royalty checks would roll in, but would it be for doing nothing? That mailbox income that might show up every quarter for years is attributed to the work done to create a valuable solution to the problem. The idea matured into an identifiable manifestation that was valuable in the hands of another.

Essentially, what inventors need to do is identify a problem, formulate the idea and then work toward finding a solution. The above example of a snow blower is an illustration of a common inventive idea becoming a reality by identifying a task that can be made easier with a new device. The snow blower pictured here was patented on November 25, and is titled Snow Blower Safety Chute.

Because of this, the filing date of your patent application can play a large role in the approval process. Ultimately, an idea, by itself, is not able to be patented—the invention that results from that idea, however, could be.

If you have any questions regarding your possible patent or wish to have further clarification before moving forward with the application process, it may be a good time to speak with an experienced attorney. Please reach out to any of the attorneys at Gerben Perrott PLLC for a consultation regarding the next steps in your patent journey. View Larger Image. What is able to be patented? Types of Patent [1]. It is the most common type of a patent and covers all new inventions and significant modification and improved process or product, having some utility.

Utility patent is also referred as 'patent for invention. An exclusive right providing legal protectionto the ornamental design of a useful product is granted under the design patent.

Design of a printer, shape of spoons, etc. As the name suggests, plant patent is the patent granted on plants. New plants that are produced through asexual modes of reproduction like cutting, vegetative propagation, etc. However, plant patents are not granted in India. Apart from being a new process, machine, or combination and composition of different matters, for the patent to be granted it is also required that the work be non-obvious and unique.

Below mentioned are essential criteria that the work must fulfil, in order to be eligible for a grant of patent —. For an invention to be patented it is essential that the work is unique and novel.

It should not have been made before, nor been published or described in any patent application before. It is of prime importance that the work in question should be different from already existing creations in any way and has not been made by anyone before.

The requirement for the work to be new, unique and not within the public domain is provided in Section 2 l of the Patent Act, As the term suggests, the work should not be obvious to the society. It should not be such that could be easily predictable by a person who is skilled in that art. An idea to combine two things is not something on which a patent can be granted.

For instance, an idea of a pencil having an eraser at its other end, thereby combining the two products, i. There has to be a uniqueness to such a combinationwhich makes an obvious idea, a not-so-obvious invention. Sec 2 ja of the Patent Act provides the need for an "inventive step" for a work to be patented.

The invention should not be vague or exist in abstract. It should be something having utility and practicability for industrial purpose. Inventions that cannot be patented in India [2]. Even after fulfilling all the requirements for the grant of patent, some inventions cannot be granted the patent in India, for some specific reasons. Indian Patent Act, , in its provisions under Section 3 and 4 specifically mentions exclusion of certain types of invention from being granted the patent, irrespective of their fulfilling the patent requirement.

Such inventions are discussed, herein:. An invention contrary to the natural law: An invention which violates morality of public at large and disturbs public order cannot be patented. Likewise, an invention made to ease gambling, theft, cyber-crimes or any criminal offence cannot be patented.

Similarly, an invention for commercial exploitation is excluded from being granted the patent. Any invention that causes or is likely to cause an adverse effect on humans, animals, plants or environment is not to be patented. Only those micro-organisms with genetically modification can be patented which do not fall under Sec. Mere discovery: Mere discovery of a living creature or any non-living substance found in the natural environment or simply a discovery of a scientific principle shall not be patented.

Such a thing has not been created or invented, it already existed in the environment from time immemorial, the fact that such thing was found or recognised late, or use of such substance was not known earlier, does not give it a ground to be called an invention and likewise, cannot be granted patent.

Discovery of a new property of a known substance: Patent is granted on a new invention and not on an already existing creation. Mere finding of a new feature of an already existing creation does not amount to it qualifying for patent, this is for the fact that the creation already existed of which a new feature has been discovered.

Hence, nothing new has been created or invented. Various forms of a known substance cannot be granted a patent.