In simple terms invention means an act of inventing either a product or a process for producing the product. Technically, invention is defined as a new product or process involving an inventive step and capable of industrial application. For an invention to be patentable, the invention has to be novel, inventive and should involve an industrial application.
You have a brilliant idea! Great. Now, how do you patent your invention? An intelligent step would be to first determine whether the invention is patentable or not. In order to pass the test of being a patentable invention, the invention should be novel, inventive and capable of being used in an industry. Invention should be not fall in the public domain, only then it is considered as novel. Inventive step means that the invention should include technical advancement and should not be obvious to a person who is engaged or is practicing in the same field. Capable of being used in an industry means that the invention should have industrial utility. It is essential that your invention meets these three most important criteria’s. Obtaining a patent involves a lot of expense especially if you are an independent inventor. In order to avoid the wastage of money, it is a good idea to determine if your idea has the strength to pass the test of novelty, inventive step and industrial application. There are various databases available for conducting a preliminary search for your invention. The databases include google patents, freepatentsonline, USPTO patent database etc. With the help of these databases, conduct a search initially on our own. If required, take the help of patent professionals. After conducting a preliminary search, if you feel that your invention is novel then the next step is to file a patent application. If you want to patent an invention, it is important to determine what type of application you want to file and also the countries in which you want to protect your invention. Filing a patent application is a lengthy process and we will be discussing it in detail. Please read on to discover more about writing a patent application.