Utility Patent Application Quiz
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1.
When did you first conceive of your invention?
If your answer is in the last week,
Wow, you are fast! That is great. It's best to file a patent application as close to the time you conceive of your idea as possible. Remember, great minds think alike and others may have thought of or are thinking similar ideas. However, you need to think through (as opposed to actually implement) all the ways someone might make and use your idea to have a good provisional patent application prepared.
If your answer is in the last few months,
It is good that you are thinking of the process now. It’s best to file a patent application as close to the time that you conceive of your idea as possible. Remember, great minds think alike and others may have thought of or are thinking similar ideas. However, you need to think through (as opposed to actually implement) all the ways someone might make and use your idea to have a good provisional patent application prepared.
You need continued effort after the conception of your idea to convince the patent office of your invention date. Unless you have already done this, it is best in the future to at least create a lab notebook of your invention as close to the time of invention as possible, and have the notebook witnessed by two parties as close to the time of conception as possible.
Ideally, witnesses who have signed non-disclosure agreements should have singed your lab notebook. That way, there may be admissible evidence that can help establish your invention date if someone else files a patent application before you.
If your answer is in the last year,
Good, but make sure you have not abandoned, suppressed or concealed your idea. You need continued effort after the conception of your idea to convince the patent office of your invention date. Unless you have already done this, it is best in the future to create at least a lab notebook of your invention as close to the time of invention as possible. Have the notebook witnessed by two parties as close to the time of conception as possible.
Ideally, witnesses who have signed non-disclosure agreements should have singed your lab notebook. That way, there may be admissible evidence that can help establish your invention date if someone else files a patent application before you. Its best to file a patent application as close to the time you conceive of your idea as possible. Remember, great minds think alike and there might be others who have or are thinking of similar ideas. However, you need to think through (as opposed to actually implement) all the ways someone might make and use your idea to have a good provisional patent application prepared.
If your answer is more than a year ago,
Good, but make sure you have not abandoned, suppressed or concealed your idea. You need continued effort after the conception of your idea to convince the patent office of your invention date. Unless you have already done this, it is best in the future to create at least a lab notebook of your invention as close to the time of invention as possible. Have the notebook witnessed by two parties as close to the time of conception as possible.
Ideally, witnesses who have signed non-disclosure agreements should have singed your lab notebook. That way, there may be admissible evidence that can help establish your invention date if someone else files a patent application before you. Its best to file a patent application as close to the time you conceive of your idea as possible. Remember, great minds think alike and there might be others who have or are thinking of similar ideas. However, you need to think through (as opposed to actually implement) all the ways someone might make and use your idea to have a good provisional patent application prepared.
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2.
Have you publicly disclosed your invention?
If your answer is yes,
You may have lost your rights to this invention if you publicly disclosed your invention more than 12 months ago. Under U.S. law, you have 12 months to file a patent application after any public disclosure. In many foreign countries, you lose rights immediately after a public disclosure if you have not yet filed a patent application.
If your answer is no,
That’s great that you have not publicly disclosed your idea. You have to file a U.S. patent application within 12 months of any public disclosure. In many foreign countries, you lose rights immediately after a public disclosure if you have not yet filed a patent application.
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3.
Have you offered your invention for sale to others?
If your answer is yes,
You may have lost your rights to this invention if you offered your invention for sale to others more than 12 months ago. Under U.S. law, you have 12 months to file a patent application after any offer for sale. In many foreign countries, you lose rights immediately after an offer for sale if you have not yet filed a patent application.
If your answer is no,
That’s great that you have not offered your invention for sale yet. You have to file a U.S. patent application within 12 months of any offer for sale. In many foreign countries, you lose rights immediately after an offer for sale of your invention if you have not yet filed a patent application.
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4.
Have you fully conceptualized how someone would be able to make and use your invention?
If your answer is yes,
That’s great. It is important to fully conceptualize how someone might make and use your invention before filing a U.S. patent application.
If your answer is no,
Ok, you have some work to do before filing a U.S. patent application. Even though you don't reduce or make your invention to practice yourself, you need to fully think through how someone might make and use your invention before filing a U.S. patent application. These details must be included in the form of figures and description in your patent application filing.
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5.
Are there any published papers or web pages that you or others have written which disclose your invention?
If your answer is yes,
You may have lost your rights to this invention if your idea was published more than 12 months ago. If someone else was the author of this publication, you may have rights to file a patent application because you must be the first and original ‘inventor’ of your idea (unless you made an independent discovery). Under U.S. law, you have 12 months to file a patent application after you publish of your idea and you are the author. In many foreign countries, you lose rights immediately after a publishing of your idea.
If your answer is no,
That's great that you have not published your idea yet. You have to file a U.S. patent application within 12 months of publishing your invention. In many foreign countries, you lose rights immediately after a publishing of your idea if you have not yet filed a patent application.
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6.
Have you filed a provisional patent application on this invention more than 1 year ago?
If your answer is yes,
That’s too bad. Under U.S. law, you only have 1 year to file a utility patent application after filing a provisional patent application. You have probably lost your rights forever for this invention. There is little that you can do, other than try to claim improvements to your base idea in your utility application. This requirement to file a utility application within 1 year of a provisional filing is a hard and fast deadline by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
If your answer is no,
That’s great. Keep in mind, you have only 1 year to file a utility patent application after any provisional filing. This is a hard, non extendable deadline.
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7.
Are there any central features of your invention that are common to different sub-features or aspects of your invention?
If your answer is yes,
Good. These central features will probably be important for you to rank and organize because they will serve as the basis for independent claims that will be written for your patent application filing. The sub-features or aspects of your base invention will probably be written through Patent Express as dependent claims.
If your answer is no,
It’s useful to identify exactly what you want to protect in your patent application filing, and what exactly is the central concept of your idea. You can only protect one base idea in a single patent application filing. You can have dependent ideas on this base idea, but you need to identify one single, distinctive, inventive concept that will serve as the basis for narrower features of your invention. That is why it is often helpful (though not completely necessary) to think of your idea in terms of central features and sub-features or aspects of your central idea. Patent Express will help you think this through further
Disclaimer
The information provided in this site is not legal advice, but general information on legal issues commonly encountered. Though started by attorneys, Patent Express is not a law firm and is not a substitute for an attorney or law firm. Patent Express cannot provide legal advice and can only provide self-help services at your specific direction. Please note that your access to and use of PatentExpress.com is subject to additional terms and conditions.