What is the average wait time for an examiner to begin review your utility patent application? Experienced utility patent filers know something that might be a shock to first time applicants. The utility patent wait time for a first review of your application can be unbearably long. Known as “first Office Action pendency,” just how […]
Articles Tagged: utility patent application
Can you change a patent application after filing?
Can you change a patent application after it has been filed? Do ideas simply stop churning in your head after a patent application has been filed? Anyone creative enough to file a patent application would likely continue to think and improve upon their innovation. When your brain has been in a constant mode of creation, […]
How to file US patent application based on foreign priority claim (Paris Convention, not PCT)
What is a conventional priority claim? Aside from the PCT, a US utility patent application may be filed claiming the benefit of an earlier filing date of a foreign priority application for the same invention. This conventional priority claim under 35 USC Section 119 may go by different names such as “straight priority” or “Paris […]
How much does a utility patent cost?
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 as initial filing estimates, start-to-finish costs, prices of Office Action responses, and more? If you search for “how much does a utility patent cost” online, you may get some rough […]
What to do before utility patent application is published
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 patent application is published, applicants should consider at least two questions: Have any improvements or modifications been made? Do you want to protect those changes in foreign countries? Applicants who […]
What technical information should clients send to their patent attorneys for filing utility patents?
What technical information about your invention should you send to your patent attorney for filing a utility patent application? When you’re ready to move forward with a utility patent application, you will need to provide sufficient technical information to enable your patent attorney to understand your invention. We often receive questions regarding the amount of […]
From Start to Finish: Life Cycle of Utility Patent Application
What is the life cycle of a utility patent application? It may help to think of the life cycle of a utility patent application as having a beginning, middle and end: Beginning: Initial filing of non-provisional patent application (approx. 1-2 months); Middle: Prosecution of patent application (approx. 1-5 years); and End: Grant or abandonment of […]
What are the foreign filing deadlines for patent applications?
What are patent foreign filing deadlines? A foreign filing deadline refers to a specific date by which an applicant must file a foreign patent application to claim the benefit of an earlier domestic patent application. That benefit is called a priority claim. Different types of patent applications have different foreign filing deadlines. What is the […]