What should be considered as an inventor/applicant before filing a patent application?

It is a common experience that through ignorance of patent law, inventors act unknowingly and jeopardise the chance of obtaining patents for their inventions. The most common of these indiscretions is to publish their inventions in newspapers or scientific and technical journals before applying for patents. Publication of an invention, even by the inventor himself, would (except under certain rare circumstances) constitute a bar for its subsequent patenting. Similarly, the use of the invention in public, or the commercial use of the invention, before the date of filing a patent application would be a fatal objection to the grant of a patent for such invention after that. There is, however, no objection to the secret working of the invention by way of reasonable trial or experiment or to the disclosure of the invention to others confidentially. Another mistake that the inventors frequently make is waiting until their inventions are fully developed for commercial work before applying for patents. It is, therefore, advisable to apply for a patent as soon as the inventor's idea of the nature of the invention has taken a definite shape.

It is permissible to apply for a patent accompanied by a "Provisional Specification" describing the invention. The application may, therefore, be made even before the full details of the working of the invention are developed. The filing of an application for a patent disclosing the invention would secure the priority date of the invention and thereby enable the inventor to work out the practical details of the invention and to file a complete specification within 12 months from the date of filing of the provisional specification.