5 Patent Filing Steps For Provisional, Design And Utility Applications

There’s a few critical patent filing steps to keep in mind for provisional, design, and utility applications. Applying for a patent application can sometimes be a complex, long, and overwhelming process. Fortunately, it can easily be broken down into five straightforward steps. It helps tremendously to know these steps before beginning the USPTO patent filing process. As a novel inventor, this will provide you with confidence and peace of mind as you look to protect your innovative creation. To help you get started now, read on to learn about the important patent filing steps for provisional, design, and utility applications.

Assess Your Invention’s Commercial Potential

Likely the very first patent filing step you’ll encounter is all about commercial viability analysis. At the end of the day, filing for a patent is an investment and business decision. You could end up paying thousands of dollars to properly draft, file, and prosecute a patent application with the USPTO. Before you finalize your investment, thoroughly research the market, industry, as well as the top competitors. This will help you decide whether it is worth the risk. Plus, it will give you a better understanding of your potential for success and commercial viability. Absolutely, commercial assessment is one of the most important patent filing steps you’ll need to navigate as a novel inventor.

Perform A Novelty Search

One of the most important patent filing steps involves conducting a formal novelty search. This will tell you if your new and non-obvious idea already exists. This can seriously impact your patentability, so it is really important to perform early-on. These searches aim to uncover any prior art references that are similar to your invention. Of course, this does not guarantee that your invention can be protected with patent protection. However, it will help you eliminate redundant research, lower your risk of infringement, and gain actionable insights into competitor activity. Plus, a properly-filed search report can also help you accelerate the time to legal protection and commercialization. Certainly, performing a novelty search is one of the most important patent filing steps to closely follow.

Gather All The Required Information

Now, you are ready to gather all the information needed for your design, provisional, or utility patent application. Thankfully, this is one of the final patent filing steps you will need to navigate. During this phase, you’ll need to prepare a formal specification. This should include a properly-drafted summary, background, invention description, and abstract. You’ll also want to highlight some details regarding ramifications and scope. Even more, you’ll want to further describe the legal scope of your application. Unless you are fully-confident in your own abilities, this is when it is especially helpful to work with a patent agent Boston. Certainly, gathering all the required information is one of the most important patent filing steps every inventor will need to follow.

Submit Your Application

At this point, it is officially time to submit your patent application to the USPTO. Provisional, design, and utility applications include multiple key elements. Once you have all of these prepared and organized, you’ll need to submit them with the USPTO. Afterwards, the US Patent Office may raise objections, ask for further documentation, or request additional information about your invention. Your attorney will work closely with the USPTO to respond to any demands, and promote your chances of approval. Depending on your goals, you may also want to submit a non-publication request. This will keep the USPTO from publicizing your application for a year-and-a-half after filing. Indeed, submission is one of the most important patent filing steps every inventor will encounter.

Maintain Your Patent Application

Maintaining your provisional, design, or utility application is arguably one of the most important patent filing steps to follow. You’ll be required to pay patent maintenance fees every four years to keep your application enforced. This means you should set a reminder for the fourth, eighth, and twelfth year after issuance. If maintenance fees aren’t promptly paid, your application will ultimately expire. Of course, this can cause you to lose the intellectual property (IP) rights you once held. Definitely, application maintenance is one of the most important patent filing steps you need to know about.

There’s a few essential patent filing steps for provisional, design, and utility applications. First off, assess the commercial viability and profit potential of your unique idea. Then, work with a patent search agent to assure your invention is truly new, novel, and non-obvious. Now, you are ready to gather all the required information for application filing, preparation, and prosecution. At this point, it is officially time to submit your application. Even after submission and issuance, you still need to carefully maintain your intellectual property application. Follow the points highlighted above to learn about the important patent filing steps for provisional, design, and utility applications.