There are a few important steps to hire a provisional patent attorney to draft, file, and prosecute your application. While hiring a top-rated intellectual property (IP) lawyer isn’t required, it is highly advised. These qualified professionals understand the ins and outs of patent law. As you draft your first provisional patent application (PPA), they can provide valuable insights, process knowledge, and strategic guidance. This way, you can increase your chances of securing a well-written, binding, and enforceable patent with the USPTO. Read on to learn about hiring a provisional patent attorney to draft your application.
Understand The Filing Requirements
Before you hire a provisional patent attorney, you need to clearly understand the associated filing requirements. PPAs need to be drafted, filed, and submitted in accordance with United States patent law. Specifically, you need to attach a thorough description that clearly describes your invention’s functionality and unique characteristics. In addition, you’ll be required to provide highly-detailed, easy-to-interpret drawings. Regarding your specification, this document must be incredibly detailed. After all, the USPTO will refer to this document to learn about and define your invention. The specification also has to establish your priority claims filing date. Indeed, understand the filing requirements before hiring a top patent attorney Denver CO for provisional applications.
Get An End-To-End Cost Estimate
Once you clearly understand the filing requirements, ask your provisional patent attorney for an end-to-end cost estimate. You’ll should have an expectation of what to pay before you begin the filing process. Many attorneys charge by the hour — leaving you with costly legal fees at the end of the process. Instead, try to hire a flat fee online patent attorney to keep costs affordable and predictable. For a PPA, these attorneys charge around $179 for reliable, fast filing service. This is in exchange for a USPTO priority filing date and one year “Patent Pending” period. Absolutely, get an end-to-end cost estimate when working with a USPTO provisional patent attorney.
Learn Your Attorney’s Prosecution Strategy
At this point, it is time to ask your provisional patent attorney about their preferred prosecution strategy. Unfortunately, many patent attorneys do not have a clear, actionable prosecution strategy in place. Of course, this could seriously jeopardize your patentability. Ultimately, you don’t want to work with someone who will rush through the patenting process with minimal effort. Instead, look for a strategic partner that can increase your chances of USPTO approval and PPA issuance. Absolutely, ask your provisional patent attorney about their prosecution strategy before making a hiring decision.
Perform A Prior Art Search
Before submitting your application, a great patent attorney Colombus will recommend conducting a thorough prior art reference search. Only new, novel, and non-obvious inventions are eligible for patent protection in the United States. An advanced patent search will scan published patents, trade documents, inventor journals, and existing publications. After all, prior art isn’t limited to just patents. For your patent search, you should expect to spend around $199. Of course, this includes a detailed and automated search of patents dating back to 1790. Certainly, perform a prior art reference search with a qualified provisional patent attorney in the United States.
Draft Your PPA And Get Patent Pending
Now, you are ready to draft your PPA with a top-rated provisional patent lawyer. Thankfully, filing a PPA is much faster and easier than with non-provisional, utility patent applications. Typically, the entire provisional patent application is less than fifteen pages long. Included is your invention specification, technical journals, as well as any drawings. Of course, you will additionally need to attach the provisional patent fees due to the United States Patent Office. For provisional applications, you’ll owe $60 to the USPTO and $179 to your patent attorney. Surely, draft your PPA and get patent pending with a registered intellectual property attorney for provisional applications.
There are several key steps to hire a provisional patent attorney for your invention application. To get started, you need to carefully understanding the USPTO’s filing requirements and restrictions. Next, get a clear, accurate, end-to-end cost estimate. From here, ask your attorney to walk you through their prosecution strategy. With this in-mind, you are ready to preform an advanced, comprehensive prior art search. Now, it is time to draft and submit your application, then get patent pending. Follow the points above to learn about hiring a provisional patent attorney for your application.
