3. PHASES IN THE PATENT PROCESS

A typical patent filing process involves following stages . at every stage ,there is some new details are
incorporated the bibliographic content . all these additions and remarks in the bibliographic or front part
of the patent application reflect the legal status and position of the application in the entire process. For
searching a patent document with all its history and relevant details it is necessary to understand these
phases
Phase 1: The inventor or a company has an idea for a new technology. A prior art search is completed to
make sure the technology passes the tests of novelty, usefulness and nonobviousness.
Phase 2: The patent application is filed and a filing date and application number (also called a serial
number in the U.S. or a filing number elsewhere) are assigned. Depending upon the intent of the
inventor there are many options for filing a patent application.patent filing can be through a PCT mode at
one of the receiving offices or it can be for a particular country only.
Phase 3: The application is reviewed by the examiner who cites reasons to accept or reject the application.
The applicant shows evidence in support. This is called the prosecution. Prior to November 29, 2000, in
the U.S., patent applications were held in secrecy until they were granted(slow publishing countries). In
some other countries the patent application was published (fast publishing countries).
Phase 4: If the application is successful, the invention is patented and a patent number is assigned.
Phase 5: Often a patent is reexamined, opposed, or infringed upon by a company; therefore, the legal
status of a patent may change. Depending upon the mode of filing the patent application and the country’s
procedure the time required to complete these various phases vary from place to place .
Depending upon the time required to publish a patent document from its filing, all the countries can be
broadly divided into following two categories.
Fast-publishing countries publish applications within 18 months of the application date, before they
issue the patent. Germany, for example, is a fast-publishing country. The U.S. is currently a fast publishing
country.
Slow-publishing countries, on the other hand, do not publish any information about the patent until it is
granted.
Thus from country country , time timeline to over the entire process varies.