How should a patent application be filed?
Once the non-provisional patent application has been drafted, it is then filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). A nonprovisional application must include an enabling description of the invention, one or more drawings, and a set of patent claims. Each Application part must comply with a number of requirments.
The application can be e-filed with the USPTO or filed by Express Mail. Using Express Mail gives you a filing date as the date deposited in the mail rather than the date received at the USPTO.
How will I know if the application was filed properly?
If filed properly online, a filing date and serial number are provided immediately. A postal filing returns a filing receipt within about 3 to 4 weeks. If there are deficiencies in the filing, you will receive a Notice, e.g., a notice of missing parts, from the USPTO describing the deficiencies, and provided a short time to cure those deficiencies.
What’s contained in the filing receipt?
- The filing receipt lists your application number and filing date. This date is important for other patenting steps you may take such as filing foreign patent applications;
- The filing receipt also lists your identifying inventor and applicant information, which you should check for accuracy; and
- The filing receipt will also indicate whether a foreign filing license was granted, permitting you to file the patent application in a foreign country or a Patent Cooperation Treaty – PCT patent application.
What is the affect of a patent application filing?
- Once the application is filed, you can describe your invention as “patent pending”;
- The patent application filing does not grant any enforceable rights, only the right to pursue your filed patent application and preserve your right to protect the invention and your claims as the first inventor to file on the date the patent applcation was filed.
For information on how Mitchell Law PLLC can help you file a patent application, please contact us today.