Patents are the first line of defense protecting intellectual property. Our firm can seamlessly guide you through the entire process from patent counseling, patent searches, patent drafting and patent prosecution before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as well as foreign patent filings. We also have long-standing relationships with qualified patent searchers in Washington, D.C., and overseas to help achieve an efficient and thorough analysis.
U.S. Patent Law grants a patent on an invention filed on or after such date to the first inventor to file. We have extensive knowledge of the laws surrounding provisional and nonprovisional patent applications, which we will draw upon to assist you with your application.
Preparation of a nonprovisional patent application is subject to specific requirements established by the patent laws and involves describing the invention in a specification and preparing drawings, if necessary. The nonprovisional application will include a series of claims defining the scope of patent coverage sought. The claims are normally drafted to claim the invention as broadly as possible, without claiming anything found in the prior art. Our attorneys work to ensure your application is filed correctly to avoid any complications that could lead to rejection.
If the application is rejected, we may respond and argue against the examiner's rejection, and to amend the claims if necessary.
Foreign Patent Filing
Our attorneys work closely with foreign associates in over 130 countries throughout the world to secure patent rights outside the United States for its clients with international IP portfolios. Corresponding foreign patent applications may be filed in foreign countries or under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) at any time. Such applications should be filed within one (1) year of the United States application to obtain the benefit of the filing date in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The European Patent Office (EPO) allows one to file and have examined a single EPO application covering up to twenty-seven (27) countries. Once the application is allowed, the European Patent may be validated as a national patent in any of these European countries.
To extend the time to file individual foreign patent applications an additional eighteen (18) months, one may file a single PCT application that results in an International Preliminary Examination Report and Written Opinion of patentability.