Patent Applicant

When the application for a patent is received at USPTO and the fees are calculated and paid, the application is classified and published, usually within 18 months. It is now known as a PGPUB (Pre-Grant Publication). The normal process is that the application is placed in a queue awaiting its turn to be assigned an examiner in the order received, which can take several years. In order for an accelerated petition to be granted, however, several conditions must be met. The full requirements are found on the USPTO website, but they include the following:

Applicant must perform a pre-examination search including U.S. patents and published applications, foreign patents and publications, and non-patent literature. Applicant must include a statement that a pre-examination search was made, listing the field of search by class and subclass, databases searched, and the search queries used in such database searches. Based on the pre-examination search performed, applicant must provide a presumptive classification for the application. There is a detailed guide on – how to apply for a patent with InventHelp article.

Applicant must submit an information disclosure statement (IDS) complying with 37 CFR 1.98. Applicant must identify each reference cited in the IDS that is deemed to be the most closely related to the claimed subject matter and include a relevancy discussion for each reference identified.

Applicant would be required to supply a copy of each reference identified as the most closely related to the claimed subject matter in the IDS in an electronic image format;

The examinations process is frequently involves somewhat lengthy negotiations. Issues that arise range from getting the correct document format to highly technical points of law and patentability.

For example, the examiner may determine that the patent application actually claims more than one invention, or that some claims are valid and others non-valid. These objections require the applicant to respond and attempt to resolve the issues, all at an expense in time and money.

The Importance of Support

The examiner has resources at his disposal and expertise for performing searches as he examines the patent application. It is just as important that the applicant have resources and support to “assist” the examiner and negotiate differences of opinion. The InventHelp patent agency can be a valuable resource from start to finish.