Patent Applications

What is a Preliminary Amendment? A Preliminary Amendment is a submission filed prior to the issuance of an Office Action in a patent application. The…

What is an after-final response? An after-final response refers to a reply to a Final Office Action that is filed without a Request for Continued…

What is the PCT national phase? A PCT application extends the deadline for filing utility patent applications in both the US and foreign countries. That…

Why does micro entity status matter? USPTO patent fees are generally proportionate to the size of the applicant. A large entity with over 500 employees…

If you have multiple inventions related to a main idea or product, when does it make sense to combine them into a single utility patent…

How final is a Final Office Action? Do not get anxious when you receive a Final Office Action (FOA) in your patent application. It is…

What does it take to respond to a Patent Office Action? Since the probability is high (approximately 88%) that a utility nonprovisional patent application will…

What makes someone a patent inventor? Every US patent application requires an identification of each inventor. A patent inventor must be an individual who contributes…

Can prior public disclosures of my invention kill my chances of getting a patent? Revealing your invention to the public before filing a patent application…

Does Your PCT Application Require Any Amendments? Before delving into the complexities of filing amendments to a PCT application, the initial question to consider is…

Can a patent application be amended after allowance? Maybe. An amendment after a Notice of Allowance in a patent application is not a matter of…

What is supplemental examination? Supplemental examination is a USPTO process to reconsider an issued patent as requested by the patent owner. If USPTO grants a…