What is patent and how is it obtained?
A patent is a legal right that gives a person or organization a monopoly over a particular product, invention, design, process, or service. Apart from the person receiving the patent, if any other person or organization uses them (without the permission of the patent holder), then it is considered a legal offense to do so.
What is Patent? (What is Meaning of Patent)
Patent is a right granted to a person or organization for a completely new service, technology, process, product or design so that no one can copy them. In other words, patent is such a legal right that after getting it, if a person or organization invents or makes a product, then it gets the monopoly of making that product.
If a person or organization other than the patent holder manufactures the same product, it will be illegal and if the patent holder lodges a complaint against it, the patent infringer will be in legal trouble. But if someone wants to make this product, then he has to take permission from the patent holder person or organization and pay royalty.
At present, the World Trade Organization has reduced the period of patent validity to 20 years, which earlier used to vary from country to country.
Patent is of two types (Types of Patent)
1. Product Patent
2. Process Patent
1. Product Patent: This means that no person or organization can make a product of exact copy of a product, that is, the design of two products cannot be the same. This difference is due to the packing, name, color, size and taste of the product. This is the reason why you must have seen many types of toothpaste in the market, but you would not have seen the products of any two companies exactly alike. Such a product is due to patent only.
2. Process Patent: It is related to new technology. A patent can also be taken on any new technology. This type of patent means that no person or organization can make a product by the same process / technology to make a product, by which process a product has already been made by a company. That is, in the process patent, the method of making a product cannot be stolen.
How to get patent? (How to obtain Patent)
Every country has a patent office. Apply to the Patent Office for a patent on your product or technology, along with a description of your invention. After that the patent office will examine it and if the product or technology or idea is new then it will issue the patent order.
It is very important to know here that the patent taken for a product or service will be applicable only in the country where it has been patented. If a person in America or any other country makes a copy of a patented product or service in India, then it is not considered an infringement. Similarly, if a company which has granted patent in India, wants to patent the same product or service in America or any other country, then it will have to file a separate application in the patent office of that country.