Patent Application Process at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
If you have an invention that you need to protect, the United States Patent and Trademark Office is the place to go to start the patent application process. Knowledge of the patent application process usually comes in handy to help you navigate the process. Here is a highlight of the patent application examination process at the U.S. Patent and Trademark office by Panda Patent.
1. Determining whether your product is patentable
The first step is usually to determine whether your invention is worthy of being patented. Some factors are considered here, and they include checking whether your invention is useful, legal, how obvious the invention is and whether you can explain how the invention actually works. You also should know the list of things that cannot be patented and ensure that your invention does not fall as one of the items in the list.
An invention can only be patented if it has not been patented by someone else before. This calls for one to do some research on previous publicly disclosed patents. If you are not able to conduct the search personally, you acquire the services of an agent or a registered attorney to search for you. Thorough research is mandatory since the USPTO will throw out any patent application for an idea that had been registered before.
2. Determining the kind of patent you need
The three types of patents that one can apply for include the design patent, plant patent, and utility patent. One applies for utility patents if they have discovered a new machine, process, a manufactured article or new and useful improvement of an existing product. Design patents are for people who invent new, ornamental and original design for a manufactured article and a plant patent is for people who discover new plant varieties.
3. Patent Application
Before you apply, you need to know the application fee and the how long the application process will take. The application fee usually varies depending on the patent type, but it normally includes a basic fee and other additional fees for the search, examination, and issuance. You also need to determine whether you need international protection or not.
With all the legal requirements at hand, submit the initial patent application need for you to get a filing date. Alongside the initial application, attach the application filing fee. The initial application is normally done online through EFS-Web, which is the electronic filing system for the U.S Patent and Trademark Office designated for patent applications. The initial application has to be handled carefully since one of the rules is that an applicant may not be able to add anything else after they have submitted their application.
While one can file for a patent by themselves, it is always advisable to seek the services of an attorney to ensure that every step of the process is handled efficiently.
4. Application Examination
If your application is deemed incomplete, USPTO will send you an official letter referred to as an Office Action that will inform you of the omissions in your application and the time you have been granted during which you are to have made corrections. One may incur additional charges. If the time given is not adhered to, the application is returned.
Accepted applications are usually assigned an examiner who further examines the application to check whether the basic requirements for a patent have been met and any amendments that need to be made in the application. Applications whose applicants don’t respond to the examiner with regards to the amendments usually have their applications abandoned.
If after the first amendment your application is still rejected, one can opt to appeal the decision of the examiner to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board which will make the final decision.
For applications that go through, the applicants can sign up in Private Pair to be able to view their pending application. They can also sign up for e-Office Action Program to get email notifications whenever new and important office communications emerge. It is important to note that if the application was filed through an attorney, all the communication would be done through the attorney and not the applicant.
5. Receiving patent approval
If the examiner is completely satisfied that the patent application has met all the requirements, the U.S Patent and Trademark Office will issue you with a notice of allowance. The notice includes the issue fee and the publication fee for the patent. Once the fees have been paid, an issue date and a patent number will be issued to the applicant, and an issue notification sent to them after the issue fee has been processed.
The patent grant will be mailed to the applicant on the issue date indicated in the issue notification.
6. Patent maintenance
After being issued with a patent, you may need to pay maintenance fee if the patent is to be maintained beyond four years, eight and 12 years. The patent will expire if the maintenance and the applicable surcharge fees are not paid on time.