The Entrepreneur is a change agent that acts as an industrialist and undertakes the risk

associated with forming the business for commercial use. An entrepreneur has an unusual
foresight to identify the potential demand for the goods and services.

The entrepreneurship is a continuous process that needs to be followed by an entrepreneur to

plan and launch the new ventures more efficiently.

ENTREPRENEURIAL PROCESS

Discovery: An entrepreneurial process begins with the idea generation, wherein the
entrepreneur identifies and evaluates the business opportunities. The identification and the
evaluation of opportunities is a difficult task; an entrepreneur seeks inputs from all the persons
including employees, consumers, channel partners, technical people, etc. to reach to an
optimum business opportunity. Once the opportunity has been decided upon, the next step is to
evaluate it.
An entrepreneur can evaluate the efficiency of an opportunity by continuously asking certain
questions to himself, such as, whether the opportunity is worth investing in, is it sufficiently
attractive, are the proposed solutions feasible, is there any competitive advantage, what are the
risk associated with it. Above all, an entrepreneur must analyze his personal skills and hobbies,
whether these coincides with the entrepreneurial goals or not.

Developing a Business Plan: Once the opportunity is identified, an entrepreneur needs to

create a comprehensive business plan. A business plan is critical to the success of any new
venture since it acts as a benchmark and the evaluation criteria to see if the organization is
moving towards its set goals.
An entrepreneur must dedicate his sufficient time towards its creation, the major components of
a business plan are mission and vision statement, goals and objectives, capital requirement, a
description of products and services, etc.
Resourcing: The third step in the entrepreneurial process is resourcing, wherein the
entrepreneur identifies the sources from where the finance and the human resource can be
arranged. Here, the entrepreneur finds the investors for its new venture and the personnel to
carry out the business activities.

Managing the company: Once the funds are raised and the employees are hired, the next step
is to initiate the business operations to achieve the set goals. First of all, an entrepreneur must
decide the management structure or the hierarchy that is required to solve the operational
problems when they arise.

Harvesting: The final step in the entrepreneurial process is harvesting wherein, an

entrepreneur decides on the future prospects of the business, i.e. its growth and development.
Here, the actual growth is compared against the planned growth and then the decision
regarding the stability or the expansion of business operations is undertaken accordingly, by an
entrepreneur.

The entrepreneurial process is to be followed, again and again, whenever any new venture is
taken up by an entrepreneur, therefore, its an ever ending process.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN INDIA

1. The Copyrights Act, 1957 (“Copyright Act”)

Copyright protects the expression of an idea rather than the idea itself. Under section 13 of the
Copyright Act, a protection under copyright can be obtained for ‘original literary, dramatic,
musical and artistic works; cinematograph films; and sound recording’. Interestingly, a copyright
protection can also be obtained for computer programmes. A copyright is an ‘exclusive right’
that is granted to a person to do or authorize to carry out certain activities with regards the
copyrighted work. For eg: in case of a literary, dramatic or musical work, the owner (or any
person authorized by the owner) is permitted to perform the work; make translation(s) of such
work; make adaptations of the work, etc.

The Copyright Act, under section 17, clearly states that the author of the original work (for which
protection under copyright has been obtained) shall be the first owner of the work. Further, the
owner has the right to license the copyright of their work to third-parties through a written
agreement.

In case of published literary works, dramatical works and artistic works, copyright protection
shall be provided to such works for a term of 60 (sixty) years in addition to the life of the author.
Incidental to the protection awarded under a copyright, the Copyright Act, also confers certain
special rights on the author, under section 57. An author/ owner of the copyright work, even
after assigning the work to another person (wholly or partially), has the right to ‘claim authorship
of the work’ and the right to ‘claim damages’ with respect to any ‘distortion, mutilation or
modification’ of the author’s original work, in the event such distortion or any other act is
damaging to the author’s reputation.

2. The Trade Marks Act, 1999 (“Trade marks Act”)

The Trade Marks Act, under section 2(zb) defines a ‘trade mark’ as ‘a mark capable of being
represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one
person from those of others and may include shape of goods, their packaging and combination
of colours…’. In simpler words, a trademark provides protection for symbols, colours, shapes,
words, etc. representing and relating to a good or a service.

Interestingly, a trademark application need not be filed in respect of marks which are in use (but
can also be filed in respect of marks which are intended to be used in the future). The primary
requirements for registration of a trademark includes that it should consist of a mark capable of
distinguishing the goods/services from those of others and that it is capable of graphical
representation. The Trade Marks Act provides for absolute grounds of refusal of registration
such as – (a) the mark not having a distinctive character; (b) a mark being deceptive and
confusing to the public; (c) if a mark is hurtful to religious sentiments; (d) the mark is offensive,
scandalous, or obscure, etc. In addition to the absolute grounds of refusal, the statute also
provides for relative grounds of refusal of registration (viz. similarity with pre-existing marks).

Further, India is a signatory to the Madrid Protocol under which a trademark can be applied for
and registered internationally. However, the prerequisite for filing and registering an international
application (under the Madrid Protocol) in a foreign jurisdiction is that the mark needs to be first
filed in India.

3. The Patents Act, 1970 (“Patents Act”)

A ‘Patent’ is an intellectual property right which protects any new invention. It is an exclusive
right that protects the rights of the inventor and prevents other people to unauthorizedly use and
misappropriate the registered patent.

A patent is granted for a term of 20 (twenty) years from the date of filling of the application. It is
important to note that patent for a new invention is registered only if the invention is ‘novel’ and
‘original’ i.e. it has not been introduced in the public domain in India or anywhere in the world; is
‘capable of industrial application’ which refers to the ability of the invention to be used in an
industry; and is an invention that requires to employ a process of ‘inventive steps’, which is
defined as ‘a feature of an invention that involves technical advance 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’, under the Patents Act.

The Patents Act bestows each inventor, whose patent has been registered, with certain rights,
namely:

with respect to a patent for a product, the right to prevent third parties form using, selling,
making, importing, etc. the product without prior consent; and
with respect to a process for which a patent is obtained, the right to prevent third parties from
using, selling, offering, etc. a product obtained from that process, without the prior consent of
the original inventor.
Further, India is a signatory to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) which permits an applicant
to file an application for registration of an international patent. Upon filing such application, an
inventor can obtain patent protection in multiple countries (members of PCT), simultaneously.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Intellectual property is an intangible asset – one that can bestow the world with an invention that
can make life simple and also contribute to the inventor or his company’s fiscal growth. An
Intellectual property brings with it a whole lot of benefits. It can turn an idea into a profit making
asset, enhance the market value of a business and even help raise finances.

HOW TO FILE A PATENT

Step 1 – Check if your invention is patentable

Before you begin the patent registration process, you need to check if your invention is
patentable. This means that you need to check if another individual has filed a patent for a
similar technology for which you are filing. Performing an in-depth patentability search helps you
understand whether or not you have a chance of getting a patent. While this step is optional, it
can save time and help you understand whether or not you should file for a patent in the first
place.

Step 2 – Draft the patent application

You can now begin the patent application process. Indian applicants need to fill Indian Patent
Application Form 1. For every patent you file, you need to mandatorily provide a Form 2 patent
specification. You can choose between a provisional and complete patent application, based on
the stage of invention. This means that if you are still testing your invention, you need to apply
for a provisional patent application. You get a period of 12 months to complete the invention and
file for a complete patent.

Step 3 – Filing the patent application:

Your patent application needs to be submitted with several application forms. As per the patent
filing procedure in India, you need to submit all of the below mentioned forms.

Form 1 – Application for patent grant

Form 2 – Patent specification form (provisional or complete)
Form 3 – Undertaking and statement with regards to foreign applications under section 8
(mandatory only in case a corresponding application for patent is filed in a foreign country)
Form 5 – Declaration of invention to be filed with complete application
Form 26 – Form authorizing patent agent (applicable only if you opt for an agent to help file the
patent)
Form 28 – Mandatory only if applicant is claiming small entity or start-up status
Priority Documents – You need to provide priority documents only if priority is being claimed
from a foreign patent claim or application.

Step 4 – Publishing the patent application

After you submit all the documents, the patent application is safely secured by the Indian Patent
Office. The patent is then published in an official patent journal after a period of 18 months
approximately. However, inventors who wish to have their patent application published before
this 18 month period can submit Form 9. This is an automatic process but if an inventor wishes
to have his application published earlier, he needs to submit Form 9 (early publication request),
in which case, the application will be published in the official patent journal within 1 month of
making the request. However, there are certain scenarios in which your patent application may
not be published. These include incomplete applications, withdrawal requests made by the
individual filing the patent and secrecy direction imposed under Patent Act wherein the invention
is against the nation’s interests.

Step 5 – Examining the patent application

Before your patent is granted, it needs to be examined substantively. As per rules of the patent
application process in India, your patent is thoroughly examined based on the merits of your
invention as claimed and described in the patent specification form. Unlike the publication
process, this is not an automatic process and the applicant needs to make a request to examine
their patent application by submitting Form 18. The patent office queues the application for
examination only after a formal request for examination is made. You can also expedite this
process by filling and submitting Form 18 (A).

Step 6 – Decision to grant patent

Once the examiner finds no objections in the patent application, he grants the patent. The
patent is then published in the official patent gazette.

Step 7 – Renewing the Patent

The patent holder also needs to renew his patent by paying an annual renewal fee. In India, it is
possible to renew your patent for a period of 20 years at maximum, from the date the patent
was first filed.
Although the patent filing process is long and complex, one must remember its importance in
the long run. The entire process can take anywhere between 3-5 years. However, Indian Patent
Office is hiring new examiners and also upgrading its offices to be able dispose of patent
applications in timely fashion. The process is created with the intention of ensuring that the
inventor gets credit for his invention. It also ensures that no other individual can claim rights
over the invention. The legal rights you earn with your patent can prevent competitors from
using your invention for financial benefits. You can also sue such individuals and claim
compensation for using your invention without your approval.

Difference between Copyright vs patent vs trademark