What
is a Patent?
A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the
inventor.
- In general, the term of a new patent is 20 years.
- Patent grants are effective only within the country
territory.
Why the inventor should need
a patent?
If your invention has market potential and you think that another
company could make profits from your invention, you need protection
from a patent.
- A patent gives you the right to exclude others
from making your product.
- As a patent gives exclusivity, the patent holder
has time to market the invention without competition making him/her
able to charge higher prices.
- It gives the right to initiate legal action against
anyone that is making or selling, without permission, the patent holder
invention.
- You can make money by licensing or selling your
invention to someone else.
- It gives you priority over third parties wanting
to register their patents in countries that do not require registration.
What should I do to apply
for my patent?
STEP 1: Request the Patent Search Study.
STEP 2: Request the Patent Application.
STEP 3: Once your patent has been granted, obtain
your Patent Issue.
The
attorneys in charge of your registration will complete each one
of the above procedures.
Why the three steps?
For the patent services we have separated the process in 3 different
stages that we call the " Steps": STEP 1 Patent Search
- STEP 2 Patent Application -STEP 3 Patent Issuance. The reason
of the separation is that you pay only for the services received,
and only when you advance in the process of registration you are
advised to request the following service(s).
Who decides if patents
are granted or not?
Applications, other than provisional applications, filed with the
Patent Office and accepted as complete applications are assigned
for examination to the respective examining technology centers having
charge of the areas of technology related to the invention.
Applications are taken up for examination by the examiner to whom
they have been assigned in the order in which they have been filed
or in accordance with examining procedures established by the Controller.
The examination of the application consists of:
- A study of the application for compliance with
the legal requirements
- A search through granted patents, publications
of patent applications, foreign patent documents, and available
literature, to see if the claimed
invention is new, useful and non-obvious.
What problems could occur?
During the patent examination process, rejections and objections
to the claims may arise. It is not uncommon for some or all of the
claims to be rejected on the first office action by the examiner;
relatively few applications are allowed as filed.
In order to avoid and minimize rejections or objections to the claims,
markpatent.com recommends, the Patent Search Study (STEP 1). With
this report the client would be properly informed and would have
more elements to evaluate the risks involved. Nevertheless, if any
rejection or objection arises, markpatent.com has a team formed
by experienced attorneys that will advise you on the appropriate
course of action.
What happens if application
or claims are rejected?
You will be notified in writing of the examiner's decision by an
Office "action" which is normally mailed to the attorney
or agent of record.
The reasons for any adverse action or any objection or requirement
will be stated in the Office action.
Request for Reconsideration
The applicant must request reconsideration in writing, and must
distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the
examiner's Office action.After the reconsideration the applicant
will be notified as to the status of the claims, rejection, objection
or whether the claims are allowed. The Second Office action usually
will be made final.
Final Rejection
On the second or later reconsideration, a rejection or other action
may be made final. The applicant's reply is then limited to appeal
in the case of rejection of any claim. Further amendment is restricted.
In what countries should
I apply for my patent?
The patent protection is regional; therefore, it is advised to apply
for your patent in the countries where your business is located
or where you plan to be doing business in the future.
When do I obtain my patent
issued?
From the patent filing date the patents are examined in the order
they were received the examination request. The patent will be examined
only after the publication (after 18 months) of the patent only
after making request for examination within 36 months from date
of filing. But for early examination the applicant can make the
express request for examination. The approval or rejection of a
patent application through examination can take six months. Then,
if the patent application is found to be allowable by the examiner,
a notice of grant of patent will be sent to the applicant, or to
applicant's attorney or agent of record, if any, and fees for renew
the patent is due within three months from the date of the notice.
If payment of the renew fee is not made in time, the application
will be regarded as abandoned. |
