PATENT PROSECUTION
Patents written to hold up, from filing to allowance.
We prepare and prosecute U.S. utility and design patent applications and respond to USPTO office actions. You work directly with a registered patent attorney with 25 years of experience prosecuting patents for Fortune 100 companies and emerging businesses.
What we handle
Provisional applications
A faster, lower-cost filing that secures your priority date while you test the market. We draft it with enough detail to support the claims you will want later.
Utility applications
A full nonprovisional application, with claims drafted around your product, the prior art, and the ways a competitor might try to design around them.
Design patents
Protection for the ornamental appearance of a product, often a fast and practical complement to a utility patent, and a strong tool against look-alike copies.
Office action responses
Rejections under 35 U.S.C. sections 101, 102, 103 and 112, objections, and restriction requirements. We respond with arguments, amendments, or both, and interview the examiner when that will move things faster.
Final rejections and appeals
After-final responses, requests for continued examination, and appeals to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board when the examiner is wrong.
Continuations and patent families
Continuation and divisional filings that keep claims pending as your product, and your competitors' products, change.
Applications from another firm
Already have an application pending? We review the file history, take over the deadlines, and pick up where the last attorney left off.
Already have several patents? A portfolio assessment shows which are strong and where to file next.
Why the file history matters
Every argument and amendment made during prosecution becomes part of the public record, and courts read it closely. A careless response to an office action can narrow a patent for its entire life. Because we also review file histories for litigation and patent opinions, we draft every response knowing how it will read later: to a court, a licensee, or a competitor's lawyer.
Every response to the USPTO is a statement your patent will live with.
Already have an office action?
Office actions come with deadlines. You typically have three months to respond without extension fees, and up to six months with them. Send us the office action and your application number, and we will tell you what the examiner is really objecting to and what it will take to respond.
Technologies
Medical devices, software and computer-implemented inventions, semiconductors and electronics, industrial and mechanical products, consumer products, and defense and aerospace. We do not handle pharmaceutical, chemical, or biotechnology applications.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to get a patent?
It varies by technology. Many applications receive a first office action in one to two years, and allowance often takes two to three years. Prioritized examination (Track One) can shorten that to about a year for an added USPTO fee.
Do I need a patent search before I file?
It is not required, but it is usually worth it. A search shows what the examiner is likely to find and helps us write claims that avoid it.
Should I file a utility patent or a design patent?
A utility patent protects how something works; a design patent protects how it looks. Many products deserve both, and we will tell you which fits your product and budget.
Can you take over an application another attorney filed?
Yes. We file a new power of attorney, review the full file history, and take over the deadlines.
Ready to file, or facing an office action?
Schedule a consultation or email info@patentintelligencegroup.com.
Related:
This page is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.