LET'S TALK ABOUT PATENT ACT, 1970
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Abstract
THREE TESTS OF PATENTABILITY
- Novelty
The novelty test requires the invention to be innovative and new. The invention will be compared to prior art, or everything created in the past. This test is fairly easy to pass as well. Only if there is a product in the past that is identical to the invention will it receive rejection for a patent. Many times, products with simple changes will pass this test, but they face challenges in the final test.
In the case of Lallubhai Chakubhai Jariwala v. Chimanlal Chunilal and Co., the Court pronounced that even though the two most essential components of a patent are novelty and utility, the innovation’s uniqueness is the actual test of the patent.
- Utility
The utility test decides how useful the new product is in the real world. The inventor explains how the invention is applicable and will be used. In most cases, the inventor does not have to prove the invention works. The exception to that is in the medical field, which requires laboratory or clinical test results to prove the effectiveness. The term “utility” is used in a special sense and not in an abstract sense. Thus, mere usefulness would not be sufficient to support a patent.
An invention must have commercial use or manifestation. Furthermore, even though an alleged invention may not be a final product, the same will be patentable only if it has some commercial viability. Thus, it is not the product that is the focus of attention but the actual physical substance created which has the potential of a commercial manifestation.
- Inventiveness
The inventiveness test is the toughest test of the three to pass. In order to pass, the invention will be compared to prior art and the differences found must not be obvious to a person with skill in the relevant field. If an ordinary worker could have discovered the same invention it is considered obvious and will be rejected of a patent.
The Patents Act defines inventive step as “a feature of an invention that involves a technical advancement as compared to the existing knowledge or having economic significance or both, and that makes the invention not obvious to a person skilled in the art.”
Once the invention has passed these three tests it is approved for a patent and the inventor’s intellectual property is protected! Of course, there are laws and regulations when filing for a patent.
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