Patent registration in the US. The United States of America (USA) is a federal constitutional republic in the Americas. The United States is the world’s largest economy in terms of nominal GDP and the second-largest in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). Therefore, many businesses want to expand their business activities here and one of the most essential things businesses need to do before entering this market is to register a patent in the US.
Documents required for patent registration in the US
Documents required for patent registration in the US include:
- Name, full address, and nationality of the Applicant and Inventor;
- Invention description (English).
- Notarized copy of priority document (if any);
- Patent assignment contract (notarized) if the applicant is not the author;
Patent registration procedures in the US
The patent registration procedures in the US include:
Look up patents at the US Patent and Trademark Office
Before businesses invest more money or time in the US market, they should conduct a patent search at the US Patent and Trademark Office to ensure that their ideas have not been filed by others applicants for patent registration.
Find a reputable intellectual property law consultant
The US patent application process can be made much simpler with the assistance of an experienced attorney. In addition, they can also help businesses avoid mistakes that can be costly in the long run.
Submit a provisional application
Filing for a provisional patent provides a temporary protection in the event someone claims they have that idea before the business can file a patent application. The US is a country that follows the first filing principle, so businesses need to quickly file a patent application in the US to be able to protect their invention before some other parties quickly registered it beforehand.
Submit an official application
Businesses will have to prepare a patent application that includes information of author/co-author, patent owner, US patent statement, abstract, detailed description of the invention. In addition, the enterprise will have to determine the legal scope of its patent.
The applicant prepares the application documents in 02 sets. Patent applications are processed at the US Patent Office and will take on average one to three years to process.
Patent examination process in the US
After receiving the application, the examiner of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will conduct an examination and decide whether the registered invention meets the conditions of novelty, inventiveness, and usefulness or not.
If the above conditions are satisfied, the Department will issue a notice of granting a Protection Certificate.
If, after the examination process, the Department rejects the application, the application owner has the right to prepare and return to the Bureau a written response to the substantive examination results within a certain period of time. The Bureau will review the patent application and if the Bureau finds that the reply is reasonable, the Bureau will proceed to grant a patent.
If an applicant’s US patent application is denied twice, the applicant may file an appeal with the Patent Appeals and Trial Panel.
You can find a list of United States’ IP firms here.