When You Hire a Patent Lawyer
The concept of a patent goes back a few centuries, and today, the American patent office is hard at work receiving and processing many different patent applications per year. Something similar can be said about intellectual property law, such as for art creations or a brand name. Many business owners or artists may turn to intellectual property lawyers if they feel that their brand name or creation is being imitated for profit by another party, and intellectual property lawyers may use their extensive expertise to settle this matter privately. Such intellectual property lawyers may pursue litigation against the at-fault party to reach a settlement, and some clients may look for these intellectual property lawyers when the need arises or even have them on retainer. Meanwhile, inventors are encouraged to reach out to patent law firms if they have a new invention that they want patented. Patent lawyers may make the profess of submitting a patent faster and more likely to succeed. How might this play out?
When You Want to File a Patent Application
An inventor is anyone who has created a new item and intends to have its designs protected by law so that they can sell that design to companies. Often, inventions aren’t necessarily something flashy that creates a whole new field; rather, many inventions are mundane tools or components that make modern production and work easier. This doesn’t make patent law any less important, however.
To begin with, an inventor will have a working prototype on hand that demonstrates the appearance, composition, and function of their device. That inventor may also have paperwork showing the nature and construction method for that invention, such as blueprints, photos, diagrams, and possibly even text, too. With this prototype on hand, the inventor may submit a patent application to the patent office and await a reply. It may be noted, however, that many patent applications are simply rejected, and an inventor may have to wait an entire year to hear back either way. Inventors are urged to work with a patent lawyer to ensure that their application is more likely to be approved the first time around.
An inventor will need a prototype of their device, as well as all paperwork to showcase its appearance, function, and more. The inventor may also have an industry in mind. That is, around 12 different major industries can be found in the United States today, and a newly invented item should be useful in at least one of them. The inventor may look up local patent law firms and get consultations from the attorneys who work there (this may or may not incur a fee) and find one whose expertise and success rate are to their liking. The inventor may then hire that attorney.
Once a patent lawyer is hired, the inventor will provide that lawyer with all necessary paperwork, such as photos, diagrams, blueprints, and more for their item. the lawyer will use this and more as reference when helping the inventor fill out their application, and the lawyer will ensure that the patent is less likely to be rejected due to incorrect or missing information. The lawyer may also ensure that there is a proper need for the invention in one or more of those 12 industries. If there’s no need for an invention, it may not go far, even if it’s brilliantly designed.
With the attorney’s guidance, the inventor will then submit their application, and they may expect good odds of approval (nothing is being guaranteed here, however). If a patent is indeed approved, the inventor will get what is called a provisional, or temporary, patent while they finalize the design and await a permanent patent. And while the inventor is waiting for the first application’s approval, they may slightly refine and revise their prototype, though they should not actually add new components to it. What is more, the inventor may use this time to pursue other projects in the meantime, such as tinkering with another invention and sending application for it, too. In fact, an inventor may have several applications out at the same time, each for a different invention. That year-long wait can be put to good use.
