Patent Applications

Has your utility patent application been rejected? If your utility patent application has been rejected, welcome to the club. Approximately 90% of utility patent applications…

When is a divisional application appropriate? The option to file a divisional application arises if an Examiner thinks that your patent application contains multiple inventions…

What is a species restriction? A species restriction differs from the more commonly known Restriction Requirement which arises when an Examiner feels that a patent…

Expecting unexpected patent costs I still remember the one piece of sage advice given to prepare me for my wedding day: expect the unexpected. Having…

What is a realistic cost estimate for obtaining a utility patent? Why write another post on patent costs when I’ve already written several articles, such…

If you want to know what makes for a well written patent application, it may help to understand what USPTO examiners really think. According to…

Utility nonprovisional patent applications are typically published around 18 months from the priority date. This event usually comes and goes without much fanfare. Before your…

What is the purpose of a patent specification? One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to read a patent specification and think you…

What does a provisional patent application do? As suggested in its name, the “provisional” in provisional patent application has a connotation of temporary or conditional.…

What is a Fast-Track Appeal? Appealing a rejected patent application can take years. Normally, an appeal to the PTAB would be taken up for decision…

What is the purpose of utility patent drawings? We all (should) know that the figures, i.e., patent drawings, do not define the claimed invention in…

Thinking like a patent examiner We are privileged to have a former USPTO patent examiner, Lyman Smith, as Of Counsel patent attorney to our firm.…