A permanent patent is an exclusive techno-legal document that gives legal authority to the inventor to forbid others from making or using a particular invention. It protects the invention against unlawful use, copying, sharing, or creation of the same invention.
No, a Permanent patent does not mean getting a legal right over an invention permanently or lifelong. It is only valid for a tenure of 20 years. After 20 years of the patent, the invention becomes available in the public domain, and anyone can use the invention personally or commercially as well.
It takes 2 to 3 years in the approval process of getting a Permanent patent, but the owner of the invention has the right to claim his patent from the date of applying for the provisional patent.
The documents required for a Permanent Patent Application include the title of the invention, description of the invention, name of the applicant for the patent, address of the applicant for the patent, contact details of the patent applicant, nationality of the patent applicant, technical aspects of the invention, DSC of the applicant, and MSME.
Novelty, Inventive Step and Industrial applicability are the three eligibility criteria for a patentable invention which means that the invention must have some practical utility, must not be revealed in the public domain even by the owner before the date of application, and must be new and unique.
The patent becomes invalid because for various reason which includes the – If it crosses the duration of 20 years. If the patent is canceled. If the patent is challenged and won by the opposition. If the patentee fails to pay the patent renewal fee on an annual basis.
The office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks or the Indian Patent Office under the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade is the body that looks after and manages Permanent Patent-related matters.
The entity or individual needs to pay the annual renewal fees to get the legal right over the patent for a maximum of 20 years. After 20 years the Permanent patent comes out in the public domain and the owner does not have any right over it.
Some examples are exempted from getting a Permanent patent. A discovery, a mathematical method, a scientific theory, some computer programs or mobile applications, a method of medical treatment or diagnosis, a way of doing business, thinking, and playing games, artistic works, literary, dramatic, and musical work cannot be patented.
The Permanent patent lasts for a term of 20 years.
