Intellectual Property - Protection Through
a Utility Patent, Design Patent or Provisional Patent
Design
Patent Application
We will select a qualified, registered patent attorney to work with
you to prepare and complete a Design Patent Application under the
discounted "small inventor's status." We will provide the patent
attorney with full disclosure of your concept, including the prior
art found in the preliminary international
patent search. We will then have our patent illustrator prepare
the illustrations per the patent attorney's instructions and the
requirements of the PTO. The attorney will oversee preparation of
the patent illustrations, the statutory oaths and inventor declarations,
and any other narrative deemed necessary to place in your file folder
at the PTO. Once the formal documents are complete, they will be
forwarded to you for your execution. You will receive official notification
from the attorney of your "Patent Pending" status with the patent
application serial number after approximately six weeks.
You will be responsible for the initial patent filing fee of $155
and, assuming you are successful in obtaining a patent, the patent
"issue fee." The filing fee is to be paid directly to the Commissioner
of Patents and Trademarks by you via the patent attorney when the
application is filed. The issue fee on patents is not due until
the patent issues, which usually takes 18 months to two years from
the date the patent application was filed.
You may place "Patent Pending" or "Patent Applied for" marks on
your concept and the marketing collateral as a notice to would-be
copiers immediately after the patent attorney has sent your patent
application to the PTO by U.S. mail.
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Utility Patent Application
The process for obtaining a Utility Patent is much the same as above.
However,you will be responsible for the initial patent filing fee
of $375 and, assuming you are successful in obtaining a patent,
the "issue fee." The filing fee is paid directly to the Commissioner
of Patents and Trademarks by you when the application is filed.
The issue fee allowing the patent will not be due until the patent
issues, which usually takes eighteen months to two years from the
filing date of the patent application. Additional PTO fees include
the "maintenance fees" to be paid at intervals of 3-1/2 , 7-1/2,
and 11-1/2 years after issue. The purpose of these fees are to encourage
the inventor to commercialize the invention or else allow it to
go into the public domain.
Trademark
Search
To avoid using a name already taken, we perform a trademark search
on the name a client selects. Each trademark search is for one name
only. We perform the search in each of the fifty state registers,
as well as in the Federal Principal and Supplemental Registers.
Having a name available positions a client for common law trademark
within the state, statutory trademark in the state, and federal
trademark, if used or intended to be used in interstate commerce.
A trademark is an invaluable intellectual property that can also
be licensed or sold.
Trademark
Application
We file a federal trademark application under either the "Use" or
the "Intent To Use" laws. Under the "Intent To Use" law, our clients
have six months from the filing date to show evidence of use of
their trademark in interstate commerce. The Trademark Office allows
a six-month extension of this period for good cause. It normally
takes anywhere from four to twenty-four months from the date of
filing to hear from the Patent and Trademark Office about an application.
If the trademark application is approved, the mark is then "Published
for Opposition" (normally a thirty-day period). During this time,
the public has the opportunity to object to the trademark for various
reasons. If the mark remains unopposed, the registration is granted
and the trademark is added to the federal registers.
