The Patent Process

Competitors seek an edge over you. Does this sound familiar?

Companies and inventors face competitors and product launch hurdles daily. Our legal system provides ready tools to aid you.

Patents protect against unauthorized duplication of your products and methods.

Information

Collecting information about the invention, includes the parts or steps of the invention, how one part or step relates to another, and how the invention meets a need or solves a problem.

Search

A patent search may or may not be conducted. Usually the search happens at the intake stage however depending on your unique situation may or may not be completed at different stages throughout the process.

Apply

Write your patent application in select formats which takes months or weeks.

File

File patent applications electronically for filing date and a serial number in seconds.

Examine

Deal with the examiner over the years of the application life cycle.

Track

Track patent maintenance fees in later years.

Case studies:

  • Provisional applications provide one year of patent pending status and we remind you when that year ends.
  • Utility applications protect the structure of a device or steps of a method and provide patent pending status.
  • Design applications protect the appearance and ornamentation of a device and provide patent pending status.
  • PCT applications allow filing in English for later use in many countries.
  • Foreign patent applications can be filed within one year of the US filing date.