Types Of Patent Applications In India

Under Indian patent law, various types of patent applications may be filed at the Indian Patent Office ("IPO"). This note discusses the different types of applications accepted at the IPO, and specific considerations relating to each type.

Provisional Patent Application

A provisional application is an interim patent application which is filed with a provisional specification. It is an optional application and need not be filed by every applicant. Every provisional application must be followed by a complete patent application in order to proceed for consideration by the IPO.

A provisional specification is expected to sufficiently cover the subject matter of the invention but need not contain all the sections or portions required in a regular patent application. It is usually filed when the invention has been developed, but experimental data or additional information to support the disclosure is still being collected. A provisional application helps establish a