Steps in the Patent Process

To review the process for obtaining a utility patent, please view this page at the USPTO website.

Events in the Patent Process
Excerpted from the American Bar Association’s Intellectual Property Committee Publication entitled “A Short Description of the Patent Process”
 
Application: The application consists of a specification, claims and drawings of the invention, clearly set forth.
Filing: After drafting the patent application, it is filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Examination: The Patent Office receives the application and assigns it to a group of Examiners who examine patent applications in that particular classification of invention. Upon receipt, the application is added to the queue behind other pending patent applications. When it rises to the top of the pile, the application is examined. The Examiner does a patent search, reviewing the application’s claims against patented inventions. The Examiner then communicates in writing with the inventor (or his/her attorney) via an Office Action, which explains whether or not the application can issue as a patent.
Office Actions: Very few patent applications are allowed upon submission. The Examiner may find that the invention has been invented before and no patent will issue. Sometimes, the Examiner finds similar inventions which when combined with others, yield the same invention as yours. Applicants are offered an opportunity to respond to the Office Action.
Reply: If the Examiner has not allowed the claims, you may respond in writing my amending the claims and/or explaining how the Examiner may have misinterpreted or incorrectly applied the patents found or the laws applicable to patent applications.
Further Examination: The Examiner further examines the application after receiving the applicant’s reply. If the Examiner is persuaded that the application should issue as a patent, a Notice of Allowance is sent to the inventor. If not, the Examiner issues a Final Office Action setting forth why a patent cannot issue.
Final Office Action: If the Examiner had determined that the claims are not allowable, you may appeal or re-file the application. If a patent eventually issues, the 20 year patent term will begin on the date of the initial filing.
Notice of Allowance and Issue Fee Due: If the Examiner has determined that the application should issue as a patent, the issue fee must be paid.
Patent Issues: Upon receipt of fees and submission of any items required by the Examiner, the patent is issued and is enforceable up to 20 years from the date of initial filing.
Maintenance Fees: To maintain a patent, maintenance fees are die at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years from the date of issue. The owner of the patent is responsible for payment; failure to pay results in abandonment of the patent.
Patent Expiration: By affording protection for inventors during the patent enforcement period, society as a whole belenfits from the disclosure of new and useful inventions. Having had exclusive rights to the invention for the period of the patent, anyone can practice the invention once it has expired.
 

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