20 Tips: How Long Does It Take to Get a Patent
If you are considering patent protection for something new you may have invented, which you should according to the experts over at runrex.com, then you will probably be wondering how long it is going to take to patent your invention. This article, through the following 20 tips, will look to help you answer this question.
How long does it take to get a patent?
Although the time taken to get your patent approved will depend on the complexity of your invention and the number of pending applications, as outlined over at guttulus.com, according to the USPTO, it takes about 22 months to get patent approval after going through the steps to file a patent. Other sources say that the approval length could be up to 25 months in the US.
Tips on steps to patent approval
To fully understand how long it takes to get a patent, you must understand the process involved, which is covered in the following tips.
Preliminary inquiry
Before they file your patent application, patent attorneys will usually make a cursory inspection to determine whether your invention has a patentable subject matter, is useful or serves some purpose, is new, and is nonobvious as explained over at runrex.com. This preliminary inquiry usually takes 1 to 7 days to complete.
Patent search
Once your attorney determines that your invention is worthy of further consideration, they will perform an in-depth patent search to look for patents that are the same as or similar to yours covered over at guttulus.com. This is done to ensure that your patent will not infringe upon the patents of others ad will take about 1 week to 4 weeks on average to complete. Sometimes, it may take even longer.
Factors that determine how long a patent search takes
Before going any further, we must highlight some of the factors that may determine how long your patent search takes. The time taken will depend on the complexity of your invention as well as the number of clams you are making in your patent application. The more claims made, the more research needs to be done. Your attorney’s workload as well as the amount and organization of the information provided will also determine how long they take to conduct your search.
Drafting a patent application
If your search doesn’t turn up inventions that are the same or similar to yours, then it is time to start drafting your patent application. Usually, an attorney will take about 1-4 weeks to draft your patent application, with the time taken being dependent on the type of application you are applying for, the information you have supplied your attorney, the complexity of your invention, and any changes made to your patent application. Once you file, your invention will acquire patent-pending status.
Tips on how long it takes from the filing stage to acceptance
The type of patent application will affect how long it takes the USPTO to accept your application, as outlined in the following 2 tips.
Non-provisional patent application
A non-provisional application, as discussed over at runrex.com, will go into a queue to be examined by a patent examiner. The average time it takes for your application to be reviewed by a patent examiner is about 21 months.
Provisional patent application
A provisional patent application on the other hand does not go into a queue for examination as is revealed in discussions on the same over at guttulus.com. Instead, it gives you 12 months from the filing date to file a non-provisional patent application. While it doesn’t go into the examination queue, waiting another year to file a non-provisional application extends the time taken to get your patent by a year.
Office Actions
Once your application has been assigned a patent examiner, it is typical that the patent examiner issue at least one Office Action as outlined over at runrex.com. This is a detailed report that outlines any objections to the form of the application or the substance of the patent claims. You will usually receive an Office Action within 24 months of filing a non-provisional patent application.
Responding to the Office Action
Once you receive an Office Action, you must respond to it within 6 months of the date of the patent examiner’s report. If a good-faith response to an Office Action is not filed within the prescribed timeframe, then the patent application will be abandoned.
The examiner’s response
Upon reviewing the applicant’s response to the Office Action, if the patent examiner does not accept that the amendments and/or arguments made overcome the objections raised in the Office Action, they will issue a further Office Action, which in the US is typically designated as a final Office Action. You will also have 6 months to respond.
Allowance
If there are no issues, or the examiner accepts that the arguments and/or amendments overcome the objections outlined in the Office Action and no further objections are made, then the patent application will proceed to the allowance phase as discussed over at guttulus.com. It usually takes between 32-34 months for an application to reach the allowance phase.
When is a patent said to be allowed?
In continuation to the point above, it is important to note that upon successful completion of the examination phase, a patent application is said to be allowed, and a patent will be granted following payment of the issue fee as explained over at runrex.com.
Factors that may affect how long it takes to get your patent after filing
Technology
The amount of time a patent takes to get through the process is dependent in part on the type of innovation being sought for patent protection. According to the experts over at guttulus.com, some areas of technology take longer than others, particularly when dealing with an area where there is a lot of innovation happening and, therefore, there is a lot of references and prior art to sift through.
Applicant size
To the USPTO, there are three types of sizes: Regular, Small, and Micro. Applicants that fall under the Regular category will pay the most while those under Micro the least. The USPTO makes a fair assumption that larger companies can afford to pay higher fees, which is why they want to allow the small or micro entities a fairer opportunity to protect their inventions, hence why they offer a lower fee. A regular-sized company with more than 500 employees will have, therefore, to pay full-price throughout patent prosecution, which may affect how long the process takes for them as costs add up.
Applicant’s age and health
It is also important to note that the USPTO will put inventors who are over the age of 65 or are in ill health at the front of the queue when it comes to prosecution. You will either need to file what is known as a Petition to Make Special based on Age, with evidence of your birth date and photo ID as well as a practitioner’s signature, or a Petition to Make Special based on Health, to have the overall pendency reduced by several months or even over a year.
These are some of the factors that may affect how long it takes to get your patent.
What is Track One?
As is covered over at runrex.com, the USPTO offers a priority examination known as Track One, with utility patents and plant patents being the only ones eligible for this prioritized service. If you opt for Track One service, the USPTO will do its best to give you a final rejection or approval within 12 months.
What is the cost implication as far as Track One is concerned?
While skipping the queue to get your invention prioritized sounds like a great idea, it comes at a great cost according to the gurus over at guttulus.com. Track One costs anywhere from $1,000 to $4,000 in addition to the regular filing fees charged by the USPTO.
How do I file for Track One?
If you feel like the extra costs are worth it and want to fill out a Track One request form, then you can do just that using the EFS-Web Filing Tool as explained over at runrex.com. However, it is important to note that being accepted into the Track One program is not automatic and that the spaces are limited to 10,000 applications per year.
Track One restrictions
Additionally, it is important to note that Track One does have some restrictions, which include:
You can’t make more than 4 independent claims to be eligible for Track One
You are not eligible for Track One if your application makes multiple dependent claims
You can’t make more than 30 claims
Track One is limited to 10,000 applicants per fiscal year as already mentioned.
Track One Office Actions
Finally, it is important to highlight that currently, to get a patent using Track One, you will have to wait approximately 2.5 months to get your first Office Action, and 6.5 months to get a final ruling either rejecting or granting your patent application.
These are just some of the factors to consider when looking to find out how long it takes to get a patent, with more on this topic to be found over at the top-rated runrex.com and guttulus.com.