Understand Provisional Patent.
What Are the Benefits vs Drawbacks of Filing A Provisional Patent?
Provides basic protection for the idea disclosed in the PPA for one year while you evaluate the business and/or technical merits of your idea…
How to Do Patent Search Yourself (DIY) The Right Way?
It’s best to visit a USPTO research facility. The one in Alexandria, Virginia is preferred because its computers have the Exam Assisted Searching Tool (EAST) and you can talk directly with examiners and other staffers….
How to Use a Professional Patent Searcher?
If you don’t want to research yourself, you can hire professional patent researchers, such as a patent attorney or agent. One advantage of hiring a professional is that he/she understands the concept…
How to Start Your Utility Patent Application Process in 4 Steps
The process for applying for a patent is known as patent prosecution. Here are some things you should do before starting the application process….
Understand American Invents Act (AIA)
The American Invents Act has dramatically changed how the patent system operates. Here’s a brief overview of some of the changes it entails and what it means for you….
How Is Design Patent Different From Utility Patent?
Design patents protect how something looks, while utility patents protect how something operates and the way it is constructed. Consequently, to obtain a design patent, the applicant must…
What is the One Year Rule?
In the United States, a patent application must be filed within one year after an inventor sells his/her idea, offers it for sale, or publicly or commercially describes or uses it. If the USPTO issues…
When is Invention Date established?
This can be the date on which the:
- patent application was filed…
How to know if your invention is “Novel”?
Patented inventions must be different from existing knowledge or previous inventions, otherwise known as prior art. What is prior art?…
Ask yourself these 7 questions to determine whether you should get a patent!
1. Is it commercializable?
Look at the cost of your invention, competitors’ products, the invention’s ease of use, and consumer demand…
What Are The Five Patent Classes?
These are steps for doing or making something. They can be steps that change something physically or even manual steps, like how you type on a keyboard. They cannot, however, consists of only mental steps…
9 Important Elements of A Provisional Patents
The title is a short description of your invention. It should be less than 500 characters….
What happens after filing a utility patent application?
The initial steps that the USPTO takes are similar to what it does for the PPA. Here’s a brief overview of the process…
What Are Optional Elements Of A Provisional Patent?
This is not required in a PPA but it is required in a utility patent application. You should think about these because patent protection rest on what claims you are asserting in your application. …
What To Do After The USPTO Has Issued Your Patent?
- Enforcement
As earlier stated, while the application provides protection for the invention, until the application is published, you should still require confidentiality agreement to protect your invention…..