Patents

We take special interest in assisting established enterprises and independent inventors with protecting their intellectual property from those seeking to pirate their established goodwill. The avenues of commerce are expanding exponentially every day, so patent protection is more important than ever. Being proactive now can save you immeasurable time and money in the future as the costs and consequences of litigation are always increasing.

There are three main types of patents: utility patents, design patents, and plant patents.

A utility patent protects the function (i.e., how it works and how it is used) of an invention and is normally pursued in those instances where it is desired to protect how the invention operates. A utility patent can be issued to any person who invents a new, useful, and non-obvious (1) process, (2) machine, (3) manufactured article, (4) composition of matter, or (5) any new and useful improvement to any of these types of inventions. As a stepping stone toward a utility patent application, an inventor can file a provisional utility patent application to establish priority for an invention, but the provisional utility patent application must be "converted" into a standard (non-provisional) utility patent application within one year following the filing of the provisional utility patent application to fully establish the inventor’s rights in the invention. Once converted, the utility patent application receives priority from the earlier provisional utility patent application filing date. In addition, during the pendency of the provisional utility patent application, the product is deemed and may be labeled "patent pending." Accordingly, the filing of a provisional utility patent application is often recommended since it provides an additional one-year "safety period" to pursue and market the invention. At the end of this one-year period, any refinements and improvements that have been made to the invention should be integrated into the converted non-provisional utility patent application.

A design patent is strictly directed to protecting the overall appearance (i.e. how it looks) of an invention. It can be granted for a novel and ornamental design for an article of manufacture.

A plant patent protects the rights of an individual who is first to invent or discover a distinct and novel variation of a plant and reproduces it asexually (by means other than seeds).

A patent search is an important first step when contemplating the filing of a patent application. Determining what obstacles, if any, loom in your path is critical at this juncture. Our services include confidential and comprehensive patent research of the relevant domestic and foreign prior art databases available at the United States Patent & Trademark Office. In addition, we conduct a common law search that is provided at no additional charge. The patent research will be completed in fifteen (15) business days from the date your payment is processed and a patent research report will be subsequently delivered to you.