Publish or patent? Both, in the right order

Academic credit needs publication; protection needs filing first. The order that preserves both: disclosure to the IP Cell → quick prior-art check → provisional application (can be filed within days) → submit the paper. A provisional buys 12 months to complete the specification, and the paper can be published the day after the filing.

Conference abstracts, preprints (arXiv, bioRxiv), thesis deposits (Shodhganga) and poster sessions all count as publication. Supervisors should calendar these dates against filing dates.