IP Legal Services www. ipprocure.com E-mail:ash@ipprocurement.com Tel: 1-866-387-5386 |
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APPLY FOR A PATENT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The first step in obtaining a patent is to file the specification and drawings along with the required forms with the U.S.PTO. This is known as the “patent application”. A patent application may be a “utility”, “design” or “international” (PCT) patent application. A “Utility” patent application may be either a provisional or non provisional patent application. The format and forms prescribed for each of these is different and is further explained in this chapter.Once the application has been submitted, the U.S. PTO will review the application and will revert back to the applicant or the applicant’s attorney if they require further information or clarification. If the inventive concept applied for does not satisfy the patentable criteria of novelty, non obviousness and usefulness, the examiner will issue an office action. The applicant will be given a prescribed time within which a suitable response must be filed. Failure to respond within the time limit without applying for a time extension will result in the application going abandoned. If the examiner is satisfied with the response, the patent will be granted. However, if the response does not meet the requirements of the office action, subsequent office actions may be sent. Details of office actions and their responses are explained in Chapter 5. Patent applications may be posted to the U.S. PTO or be filed with the U.S. PTO electronically. This chapter will explain how to apply for a patent, the procedural requirements, electronic filing and the legal forms required. |
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Filing Deadlines
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Understanding the time limits and deadlines when it comes to patent law is crucial to ensure the maintenance of an efficient patent portfolio. A simple structure of the kinds of patent applications and the law determining the required dates of filing is below:
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