Patent Management Procedure

• Application: Compilation of specifications, claims and drawings which defines the invention clearly to the Patent Office.
• Filing: After drafting the patent application, it is filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The cost to file a U.S. patent, ranges from $10,000-20,000. Filing in foreign countries can be significantly more expensive.
• Examination: The Patent Office assigns the application to a group of Examiners. The claims of the application are searched for novelty, non-obviousness and usefulness. The Examiner communicates the results to the inventor. If the application meets the criteria, the patent is issued. If the claim is rejected, the Examiner explains the denial in an Office Action.
• Office Action: Office action explains the rejection of one or more claims in the patent application. Claims are generally not allowed if examiners find that the invention already exists or that a combination of existing inventions can result in the same end product.
• Reply: If the Examiner has not allowed the claims, inventors can respond by amending the claims and/or indicating how the Examiner has misinterpreted or incorrectly applied the claims in the patent application.
• Further Examination: The Examiner reviews the amended application. If the Examiner is now persuaded, a Notice of Allowance is sent to the inventor indicating that a patent should issue. If a patent cannot issue, the Examiner explains in the Final Office Action.
• Final Office Action: The Examiner has determined that the claims are not patentable. An appeal or re-file of the application is required to pursue further.
• Reply After Final: The inventor can Reply after the Examiner has made a Final Rejection. These Replies usually amend the application to conform with any requirements set forth by the Examiner.
• Advisory Action: The Examiner issues an Advisory Action, indicating the status of the application when a Reply After Final has been made. The Final Rejection is still in force.
• Appeal, Continuing Application or Abandonment: While an appeal of the Final Rejection can be made, inventors often re-file the patent application or concede to the Examiner's rejection(s), abandoning the application.
• Notice of Allowance and Issue Fee Due: Notice of Allowance indicates that the Examiner believes that the application should issue as a patent. Formal drawings and a fee must be submitted to the Patent Office.
• Patent Issues: Congratulations! The application has issued as a patent and is enforceable for up to 20 years from the date of initial filing(14 years from issue for designs).
• Maintenance Fees: Once a patent is issued, there are periodic maintenance fees which must be paid in a timely manner to maintain the integrity of the patent. Maintenance fees are due at 3 1/2, 7 1/2, and 11 1/2 years. The licensee is usually required to pay for patent costs and continuing maintenance fees, particularly for exclusive licenses.