How patent process works
Let me give you an overview of how the patent process works:
(1) An individual (or group of individuals or a company) file a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
(2) When the patent application is received by the USPTO, it is assigned a serial number and date.
(3) The field / classification of the invention is reviewed by the USPTO and your application is assigned to a Patent Examiner who specializes in the the field / classification of your invention.
Here’s a searchable index of Patent Classifications:
http://www.uspto.gov/go/classification/
Here’s an alphabetical listing of Patent Classifications:
http://www.uspto.gov/go/classification/glossary/index.htm
(4) Your patent application is reviewed by the Patent Examiner. NOTE: The USPTO is experiencing a significant backlog in reviewing patent applications. It may well be over a year before your application is seen by a Patent Examiner.
(5) After studying your patent application, its content, technical requirements, and prior art, the Patent Examiner will respond back to you in writing in what’s called the First Office Action. The vast majority of the time, even for us seasoned inventors, the Patent Examiner will find something amiss and not authorize the issue a patent. So don’t panic. This is normal.
(6) You’ll respond to the First Office Action with what’s called (not surprisingly) the First Response. Your goal is to address the issues the Patent Examiner has found with your patent application. In many cases, the Patent Examiner has found some prior art that he or she believes conflicts with your invention. In this case, your job is to review the prior art and describe in writing the distinguishing elements of your invention over the prior art. You’re essentially “arguing” your case, just like you’d see in a court room. VERY IMPORTANT: Keep all of your correspondence (written and oral) with the Patent Examiner polite and courteous — no matter what emotions you may feel or how “unreasonable” you may feel the Patent Examiner is. I can’t underscore this point enough. The Patent Examiner is just doing his or her job by bringing issues to light that he or she feels is important. They are good people and doing exceptional work. Treat them with respect.
In most cases, you’ll file your First Response in writing. If so, it will likely be many months (typically six months to a year) before you get a reply from the Patent Examiner. This is what I like to call the “very slow dance”. Papers will go back and forth like this, with long periods of silence in between.
(7) At some point you’ll receive your Second Office Action. The Patent Examiner has reviewed your arguments and will either agree with you or still find fault with your patent application. If he or she agrees with you, you’ll receive your “Notice of Allowance” — meaning that your patent is allowed. Hooray! But it is still very common that more work needs to be done…
(8) The Second Response is where you refine your argument(s) and do your very best to convince the Patent Examiner about the patent-worthiness of your invention. In all responses, always make sure you address each and every point the Patent Examiner raises.
(9) After a number of months go by, you’ll receive either your Final Rejection or Notice of Allowance. Hopefully it is the latter, and you can celebrate. If it is the former, you have a number of options — the most likely ones being:
a. Pat yourself on the back, say you did your very best job, and gear up for your next great invention. In patent lingo, you abandon your application.
b. You can file an appeal. An appeal can take years to prosecute. And can be expensive.
c. You can file one of a variety of types of continuing patent applications. I won’t go into the scope and nuances of the various types in this post; I plan to write a special post focused on this topic very soon. However, for some immediate information, visit this wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuing_patent_application
Of the three options above, if you still believe you have a patentable invention, but didn’t express it correctly in your original application, one of the continuing patent application methods might be the path to take. Again, visit the wiki page mentioned above for an overview. And watch for a post from me on this specific topic soon.
– Eric
P.S. This post was written in response to the following common questions:
How patent
How to get a patent
How patent process works
How to patent
How to patent an idea
