A 5-Step Guide on How to File for a Patent

Consider filing a patent if you’ve invented something and want to protect it. The process only has five steps, and legal advisors can help you complete the process correctly. When you guard your ideas with patents, you guarantee that you have control over taking your creations to the next level.

Here is a 5 step guide on how to file for a patent.

Hire someone to help you legalize it

The experienced patent attorneys at Dennemeyer Group can help avoid costly mistakes. While the application process isn’t overly complicated, working with an attorney can review the legalese and provide additional protection for your idea and product.

The attorney can also help you choose the correct type of patent: utility, provisional, and design. Each patent has slightly different filing requirements and protections for the owners of the patents.

Conduct a patent search

Before you file your provisional application, search through patents to see if another inventor has a patent on a product or idea like yours. Searching for a similar patent can help you save money in the long run.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has a searchable database that gives you the information you need on current patents. Your lawyer can help you with the search to ensure you have a legitimate, patentable invention.

File a provisional patent application

Because patents have time constraints, you should file for a provisional patent as soon as possible. Promptly doing so protects your idea if someone claims it is theirs. If you’re the first to file a patent, the United States government doesn’t care if someone else invented it before you did. What matters to the U.S. Patent Office is the application date.

A provisional patent application is more accessible to file than a complete patent application. Many users rely on the online service to hold the patent in the system before working with their lawyer to craft the utility patent.

Collect the information you need and keep quiet about it

When you have an idea for a patent, your best course is to keep it a secret from everyone except your lawyer. If you share your invention, someone could take it and file the patent before you.

While working on the patent application, you’ll need several specific documents, including an abstract, background, detailed description, and a summary. You’ll have to share the ramifications and scope along with legal terminology connected to the idea. The patent office will need detailed renderings, photos, or other proof of the invention.

This is a labor-intensive procedure, so you must maintain motivation during this part of the process.

Complete the full application

Eventually, the provisional patent expires, so you’ll need the complete patent to protect your invention. The Patent Office requires one to three years to award a patent. You can speed up the process by completing the application accurately and completely. When your patent examiner contacts you, respond immediately.

Wrap up

You can protect your invention and earn a patent with a knowledgeable attorney and a complete application. Remember to keep your idea to yourself and apply for the provisional patent as soon as your vision becomes viable.