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.

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.

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