Patent Attorneys and Agents
At this point, the question comes up for many inventors: can I do this myself? Theoretically you can, but theoretically you could also fly a jetliner or perform surgery on a friend. But unless you are a pilot or trained surgeon, neither of these activities is a good idea. When you get into an airliner, you expect a well-trained and competent pilot. It’s the same with patents. There are large number of rules and procedures that must be followed. You need competent counsel to file and prosecute your patent application.
Don’t get a DIY book (they probably exist) and wing-it. If you can’t afford competent patent counsel, you probably can’t afford to develop, manufacture, and market your invention either. Even licensing a patent application requires resources. Competent patent counsel will likely not break the bank.
Patent Prosecution (Patent Examination)
After a patent application is filed, it goes into a pile on a patent examiner’s desk for examination. It typically takes (in the US) 18-30 months for a patent examiner to begin the examination process.
There are ways to speed this up this initial step in the United States. In particular, there is an accelerated examination option called “Track One” in which a patent examiner will pick up an application out of turn. This means an examiner should pick this up in about 3 months, instead of 18 months (or more). There is a fee required.
During examination, a patent examiner, who is an employee of the USPTO (or the national patent office in other countries), reviews the application for formalities and substantive requirements. The substantive requirements necessary to get a patent are:
1. Do the claims recite patentable subject matter? (35 USC §101)
2. Are the claims novel? (35 USC §102)
3. Are the claims non-obvious? (called “inventive” in international patent applications and some other countries) (35 USC §103)
4. Does the application meet the written description requirement? This includes enablement and definiteness. (35 USC §112)
During the examination, the examiner will almost always issue at least one patent rejection. In rejection, the examiner must write the reasons she/he believes the claims do not meet one or more of the substantive patent requirements.
Applicants have six months to respond to a rejection, or the patent application lapses. However, in the US, the late fees are required if the applicant does not respond within three months. The response must be in writing and must contain specific arguments addressing the arguments of the examiner. The claims can be amended at this stage, but the rule against adding new matter still applies and the claims must stay within the scope of the specification as originally filed. There is a way to add new information to a patent application using an “inventor’s declaration,” which can be used to add, for example, experimental data not in the original application or some other clarifying information, as long as the material is within the scope of the original specification.
For the basic filing fee, a patent applicant is entitled to two rejections, called a “non-final rejection” and a “final rejection.” If the applicant is still working with the examiner after a final rejection, it is possible to pay fee called a “Request for Continued Examination” and continue the examination.
Allowance and Issue
When the examiner is convinced that the patent application meets the substantive requirements, a notice of allowance will issue, and the applicant must pay issue fees. A few months after that, the patent will issue. After the patent issues, the patent owner has all the benefits of an issued patent as noted above so that it can be a very valuable asset.