patent | Inventing Women

March 8, 2016 by Heidi

Answers to Your Questions about Patents

Are you confused about what a patent is and whether you should get one? This is a primer for beginning inventors that answers your most commonly asked questions.

1) What is a patent?

A patent is a form of “intellectual property” which rewards persons whom invent a new and non-obvious:

a) process or method;
b) machine;
c) article of manufacture; or
d) composition of matter.

In return for completely disclosing the invention including how to practice the invention, a “legal monopoly” on the invention is granted to the inventor(s) for a specific period of time.

That legal monopoly is the right for the inventor(s) to exclude other persons and businesses from:

a) making;
b) using;
c) offering for sale or selling; or
d) importing;
the invention in the United States.

2) What is “patent pending”?

Once a patent application is prepared and filed and prior to issuance of a patent, the invention can be marked “patent pending” or “patent applied for”.

While these have no legal significance and grant the inventor(s) no legal rights, the designation tends to discourage other persons or businesses from copying the invention since a patent might issue on the invention granting the legal monopoly to the inventor(s).

3) Are there different types of patents?

There are two types of patents that are typically of interest to inventors, “design patents” and “utility patents”.

A design patent protects the “aesthetics” or the “appearance” of the invention and is a much more limited legal monopoly than utility patents which protect the “function” of the invention.

Therefore, utility patents are desirable over design patents where possible, though an invention can be protected by both design and utility patents.

4) How long do patents provide legal protection for the inventor?

The period of time for which the legal monopoly is granted for a utility patent is 20 years from the filing date of a utility patent application, however, the legal rights do not begin until the patent issues.

The period of time for which the legal monopoly is granted for a design patent is 14 years from the issue date.

5) What are “maintenance fees”?

Utility patents require the payment of maintenance fees 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years following issuance to maintain the patent in force. Design patents require no maintenance fees to maintain the patent in force.

6) Should I keep my invention secret?

The inventor(s) should be careful to maintain their invention secret until the advice of a competent licensed patent attorney or patent agent is sought.

That is because many foreign countries in which the inventor(s)might decide to seek patent protection there is an “absolute novelty” requirement.

This means that if the invention is “publicly disclosed” (i.e. disclosed to people in a non-confidential manner) prior to the “effective filing date” in that country, then the validity of any patent which would potentially issue on the invention in that country could be challenged later.

7) What is the “International Treaty”, also called the “Paris Convention”?

Many countries are members of the “International Treaty”, also called the “Paris Convention”.

These countries allow inventor(s) to claim “foreign priority” based on the filing date of the first filed patent application in a member country, provided a patent application is filed in the member country within 1 year of such first filed patent application (within 6 months for design patent applications).

The United States is a member of the International Convention so as to grant such priority based on a foreign patent application.

8) Are there time limits in which to file a patent application at the U.S. Patent Office?

The inventor(s) MUST file a United States Patent Application within 1 year (if patent protection is desired in the United States) of the earlier of:

a) making an offer to sell the invention (even if the offer is not accepted and sometimes even when the invention is not yet manufactured or otherwise available);
b) use of the invention in public (e.g. using the invention at work or in public on the street corner); or
c) or putting the invention in a printed publication which is circulated (e.g. a sales brochure, catalog, or a web site).

These are called “statutory bars” and if the year period expires without filing the United States Patent Application, the inventor(s) are not permitted to file a patent application in the United States.

Foreign priority (discussed above) or the priority of a provisional patent application (discussed below) can be used to predate the expiration of the 1 year period if applicable.

9) What is a “provisional patent application”?

A provisional patent application can be filed in the United States which provides a disclosure (description) of the invention, but which does not have the formal requirements of a utility patent application.

Priority can be claimed for a utility patent application (but not a design patent application) and foreign patent applications in countries which are members of the International Convention if filed within 1 year of the filing date of the provisional patent application.

The bottom line, timely consult a competent “patent attorney” or “patent agent” to discuss the details of protecting your invention!

April 19, 2015 by Heidi

The Costs Involved in Getting A Patent

A patent protects your valuable invention from unauthorized usage. Just imagine you doing all the hard work and someone else taking the credit. You can avoid such a situation by applying for a patent. Once you obtain a patent no one can steal or copy your patent. A patent is nothing but a set of rights that are given by the government in order to protect your invention from any unauthorized usage. A person who disobeys the patent laws is likely to go to jail.

If you have entrusted the responsibility of acquiring a patent to a lawyer then the cost for getting a patent is high. In fact, it can run between $5,000 and $25,000 depending on the type of patent you are seeking as well as numerous other factors. These factors can include the number of claims being sought for the patent, the complexity of the invention and the need for and ability to acquire broad patent protection.

The cost for getting a patent is comparatively less if you decide to apply for a patent on your own. You will likely need sufficient knowledge about patent laws if you decide to get a patent on your own. If you want to keep the costs down then you should have a thorough knowledge about how to get a patent.

Cost for getting a patent in the European countries is also higher than applying for and getting a patent in the United States.

Estimating the cost for getting a patent depend on the type of inventing to which you are seeking the patent. It also depends on the technology that is used in the invention. The fee structure in most countries for getting a patent has changed.

The government filing fees are currently in the range of $730 for small entities. And for clarification, most independent inventors and small business will be categorized as small entities. For micro entities the fees start at $400. Filing fees also vary depending upon the number of claims the application contains. drawings will typically add at least another $300 too $500 for a complete set of drawings. These fees do not include the search fees that must be paid in order to make sure there is not a similar patent pending. Search fees by an attorney can run from $1,200 to $3,000.

It is also important to understand how many claims you will have based upon the varying costs of filing, depended upon the number of dependent and independent claims required. The more independent claims, the higher the cost of the patent application and process.

The other consideration is whether you will be filing a provisional patent application (filing fee of $130 – attorney fees $2,500 to $6,000) or a nonprovisional patent application filed by an attorney ($7,500 to $12,500).

The fees quoted in this article can also vary based upon the fees typically charged by local trademark attorneys.

The first thing to consider is the search aspect as this can save you thousands of dollars and hours of time and aggravation should it be discovered that there is no reasonable opportunity to obtain a suitably broad patent claim – in which case its time to consider abandoning the project (or taking it back to the drawing table).