Call us at (Toll-Free USA): +1 844 MY IIPLA (6944752)
Call us at (Toll-Free USA): +1 844 MY IIPLA (6944752)
Trust International Intellectual Property Law Association (IIPLA) for your Patent Application in the USA.
US Patent Application Filing services by
International Intellectual Property Law Association (IIPLA)
Provisional Patent Application
What is a Provisional Patent Application?
Features of Provisional Patent Application
- Get the “Patent Pending” status for 12 months with Provisional Application
- Consultation with Attorney/Agent
- Fixed Flat Fees.
Govt. Fee For Provisional Patent Application
- Micro Entity: $70
- Small Entity: $140
- Large Entity: $280
Order Provisional Patent Application
Obtain a year-long "patent pending" status.
Start your Provisional Patent Application and Get a Temporary “Patent Pending” Status for 12 month period. Fixed Fee.
Design Patent Application
What is a Design Patent?
Features of Design Patent Application
- Get 15 years of design patent rights
- Licensed Patent Attorneys/Agents file the application
- Fixed Flat Fees.
Govt. Fee For Design Patent Application
- Micro Entity: $240
- Small Entity: $480
- Large Entity: $960
Order Design Patent Application
Obtain "Patent Pending" status for your invention's design.
Start your Application Today
- Send us a design sketch or a snapshot of your invention
- Discuss it with our in-house experts
- We’ll draw your inventions as per acceptable patent drawing standards.
- Receive 15 years of design patent rights if application is approved.
Utility Patent Application
What is a Utility Patent?
Features of Utility Patent Application
- Get 20 years of utility patent rights
- Licensed Patent Attorneys/Agents file the application
- Fixed Flat Fees.
Govt. Fee For Utility Patent Application
- Micro Entity: $430
- Small Entity: $785
- Large Entity: $1720
Order Utility Patent Application
FIle a non-provisional utility patent application
A complete patent application will be written, including specifications, claims, and drawings. Legal “patent pending” status is granted while your patent application is undergoing review by the US Patent Office. Obtain 20 years of patent rights for your invention’s workings. Fixed Fees.
Patent Search
What is a Design Patent?
Features of Design Patent Application
- Get 15 years of design patent rights
- Licensed Patent Attorneys/Agents file the application
- Fixed Flat Fees.
Govt. Fee For Design Patent Application
- Micro Entity: $240
- Small Entity: $480
- Large Entity: $960
Order Design Patent Application
Check if your Invention is Patentable ?
To obtain the most significant search results, we employ search techniques akin to those used by U.S. patent examiners. Comparison Report In Writing Of Similarities And Differences To Your Invention. Start your Application today to check if your invention is patentable.
Inclusions of Pro Provisional Patent Application
- Completion of the provisional application for patent
- Digitizing and color adjustment of your technical drawings
- Professional illustration
- Electronic filing of your application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- Professional review (optional), which includes drafting one independent claim and more
Inclusions of Complete Design Patent Application
- A registered patent attorney or agent will review your information and provide advice and suggestions for improvement
- Professional preparation of your design patent application
- Technical illustrations from up to seven different viewpoints including front, back, left, right, top, bottom, and 3-sided perspective
- Electronic filing of your application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). (Electronic filing ensures the earliest possible filing date)
- Non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement forms to help you seek funding and market your design
Inclusions of Complete Utility Patent Application
- Professional preparation and drafting of a non-provisional utility patent application, including 10 claims (up to three independent claims) and five pages of specifications
- Patent drawings drafted by a professional patent illustrator (up to 4 pages)
- Preparation of an Information Disclosure Statement
- Electronic filing of your utility patent application with the USPTO and payment of initial filing fees
- Follow-up consultation with a USPTO-registered patent attorney or agent
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Application
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Comparision Chart
Utility Patent
Design Patent
Provisional Patent Application
Who seeks this protection?
What does it protect?
What benefits does registration/filing include?
How long does it last?
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Application
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Application
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Application
How it works?
We have built an easy to use a three-step process to deliver peace of mind to you.
Step 1
Submit Online Order
Step 2
Analysis by IIPLA Team
Step 3
IIPLA Team electronically files your Application with USPTO
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Application
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Application
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Types of Entities
Wondering how to choose the type of entity while ordering? Well, compare below and choose yourself.
Micro Entity
- Any of the inventor applicants has NOT been named as an inventor on more than 4 prior patent applications.
- The applicant has an annual income of LESS THAN than $184,116.
- The applicant has not assigned, licensed or otherwise granted an interest in the invention to an entity who has gross income more than the amount listed above (unless the entity relates to an institution of higher education);
- If all of the inventors employed by, and do they all receive a majority of their income from, an institution of higher education.
- If all of the inventors transferred, or if they all under an obligation by contract or law to transfer, a license or other ownership interest in the invention to an institution of higher education.
Small Entity
- a “small business concern” with fewer than 500 employees;
- individual inventor applicants (i.e., “persons”); or
- non-profit organizations regardless of size, including institutions of higher learning (e.g., universities).
Large Entity
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
You should get answers to most of your questions. However, still, if you have any question please, Ask a Question.
Utility Patent FAQs
The USPTO has established certain guidelines that an inventor should follow to describe his or her invention. These guidelines explain that an inventor must include:
(1) A title of no more than 500 characters;
(2) Clear instructions on how to make and use the invention (the “enablement” requirement);
(3) A summary of the invention;
(4) Drawings if necessary and an explanation of any enclosed drawings; and
(5) Claims about the patentability of the invention.
The descriptions in the application must be detailed enough to enable a person in the same field as the invention to make or use the invention using only those descriptions. (If the invention relies on any rare mineral or similar material for its creation or use, the applicant must deposit a sample of that material as well.)
The USPTO has very specific rules governing the appearance of technical drawings accompanying patent applications. Generally, the USPTO will require drawings in black ink. Color drawings are permitted only if necessitated by the invention and are typically not permitted with electronic filings.
Photographs are generally not considered an acceptable way to illustrate an invention. A photograph may only be used if drawings are insufficient, as in the case of molecular structures, for example.
The Non-Provisional Utility Patent process starts with the Step 1 of the patentability search and taking a decision on the further filing of the application. It takes approximately a week to complete step 1 and make a decision on filing a complete non-provisional application. The filing of the non-provisional application includes the preparation of your utility patent application (including the integration of drawings, claims, and all other necessary materials) and USPTO filing. Because of the complicated nature of Non-Provisional Utility Patent Applications, our affiliated patent firm will need at least 4 weeks to prepare and file such applications.
It may take two or more years for the USPTO to review your application and determine whether to issue the patent. An issued patent starts protecting your invention as of its filing date with the USPTO. If you have filed a Provisional Application for Patent relating to the same invention, and your Non-Provisional Utility Patent Application is filed within 12 months of your Provisional Application, your filing date will be the filing date of your Provisional Application.
Inventors seeking full patents must include four things in their applications: (1) a written description; (2) an oath or declaration; (3) a drawing of the invention; and (4) applicable fees.
(1) Written Description
An inventor must include with his patent application a “specification,” which is a written description of his invention. This specification must contain the invention’s title (not brand or product name) and background, a brief description of the enclosed drawings (if necessary) and both summary and detailed descriptions of the invention.
The specification must also include a claims section, which is made up of descriptions of the invention’s key elements and major limitations. In other words, this section is where you lay “claim” to each piece of your invention. The more detailed and complete that your descriptions are, the broader your patent protection will be.
(2) Oath or Declaration
Each applicant must also provide a notarized oath or declaration swearing that he or she believes that they are the original creator of the invention.
(3) Drawings of the Invention
If an invention requires drawings to be understood, you must provide a detailed drawing of every element listed in the claims section and file those drawings with your application.
(4) Fees
Each application must also include all applicable fees.
Because the marketplace for technology is constantly changing, you may not have much time to prove that your machine, process, or discovery is “new.” Given this fact, it’s important to file your application as soon as possible after your invention is complete, since the first person to file a provisional application or a full patent application will more often than not be considered the inventor. Note, too, that for an invention to be eligible for patent protection, a patent application must be filed within one year of (a) putting the patent on the market for sale and public use; (b) disclosing your invention to the public in almost any generally-available form; or (c) filing a Provisional Application for Patent.
The early filing of a patent application has other benefits as well – once the application is published, potential infringers are put on notice that an application is pending. If a patent is granted, the inventor may seek royalty payments from any person who made or used the invention during that pending period.
Put simply, a design patent protects an article’s design –its unique external appearance– while a utility patent protects the article’s function. Utility patents also cover certain subject matter as to which a design patent would not apply (like processes and chemical compounds).
In some cases, an invention may qualify for both design and utility patent protection. Since each is a distinct form of protection, the inventor would need to apply for both types separately, to take advantage of both forms of protection.
If you’re ready to get a patent, IIPLA Team can help. We can help you complete the paperwork, file it with the USPTO, and get you in touch with a patent professional and independent attorney that can answer your questions about your patent.
Design Patent FAQs
All patent application drawings require a sufficient number of views to constitute a complete disclosure of the subject of the application. For design patent applications, this may include any appropriate surface shading or broken lines to indicate non-design elements not claimed in the application. Drawings are usually required to be in black ink on white paper. However, black and white photographs may also suffice if adequate views are shown. Color drawings or photographs may only be submitted if a petition is filed and granted by the USPTO and an additional fee is paid.
The general guidelines for design patent application drawings are similar to those for utility patents. However, with design patent drawings only external features should be shown (nothing structural or internal) and no reference numbers are required.
While not required since the USPTO conducts one as part of the application examination process, it’s always a good idea to conduct a design patent search on your own, prior to filing your application. (The USPTO does require that you conduct your own search if you request expedited processing of your application.) Because a design patent application’s “description” is typically represented in its drawings, keyword searches are typically less effective at finding previously patented designs.
IIPLA Services Network offers a comprehensive patent search service with results that cover relevant prior art in your field of invention.
A design patent protects any new and original ornamental design of an article of manufacture. A trademark protects a word or words, name, symbol or drawing that is used in commerce to distinguish one source of goods or services from another.
Put another way, a design patent would protect the physical appearance of a unique lamp you are planning to sell to the public (so long as that appearance does not affect the lamp’s function in any way). A trademark would protect the symbols or words you use to identify the lamp as coming from your particular business. In certain circumstances, both forms of protection may be available to cover a single design, providing potential advantages for the owner of these rights.
Any unique ornamental design of an article of manufacture (a useful item made by man or machine) may qualify for design patent protection. Generally, a design must satisfy the following to be patentable:
1. It is “part” of the article. That is, the design is intertwined and inseparable from the item.
- For example, the label design on a bottle would not qualify, but the bottle itself would if uniquely shaped and as long as that shape does not affect the bottle’s function.
2. It is purely ornamental. The design cannot be part of the item’s internal structure, nor may it be responsible for the article’s new or improved use. A good test is to ask, “Would the article work the same way if the design was removed or changed?” If the answer is no — that it would work differently (or not at all) — you more likely have a candidate for a utility patent.
- To return to the bottle example above, if the new shape enables spill-proof pouring, this would be a structurally significant change pointing toward a utility patent.
The law also requires a patentable design to be “original” (cannot simulate a well-known or naturally-occurring object or person) as well as non-offensive to any race, religion, sex, ethnic group or nationality.
A design patent owner has the right to exclude others from making, using, importing, selling or offering to sell without permission what is protected by the patent – in this case, your unique ornamental design. A patent holder’s rights include the right to file an infringement suit in federal court and to stop the importation of infringing goods into the US.
Once you file a design patent application, you may legally label your design “patent pending” for the period that your application is awaiting approval.
Prov. Application FAQs
A provisional application for patent lasts 12 months from its filing date. The USPTO will not grant extensions for any reason.
The inventor(s) must file a Non-Provisional Patent Application within that period to take advantage of the Provisional Application for Patent’s filing date. If not, the provisional application is declared abandoned and its filing date is lost.
Another Provisional Application for Patent or even a Non-Provisional Patent Application for the same invention can still be filed, just without the benefit of the earlier filing date.
An applicant who files a Provisional Application for Patent must file a corresponding Non-Provisional Patent Application within 12 months to benefit from the provisional filing date. The corresponding Non-Provisional Patent Application must specifically refer to the Provisional Application.
The USPTO will then compare the Non-Provisional Patent Application with the earlier-filed Provisional Application. If the subject matter of the descriptions is determined to be the same in both applications, the USPTO will grant the applicant the provisional application’s earlier filing date for any patent that issues.
Alternatively, an applicant can convert a Provisional Application for Patent to a Non-Provisional Application. This option saves the applicant little effort, however, and virtually no money. Furthermore, the Provisional Application’s filing date is lost and the filing date for any patent that issues will be the date of conversion.
Descriptions submitted with a provisional application for patent can be informal. This means they do not need to be in a standardized form. However, the USPTO strongly recommends submitting specific descriptions that adequately describe how to make and use your invention. This is because highly detailed descriptions make it easier for the USPTO to later associate your non-provisional patent application with your earlier-filed provisional application. If your Provisional Application for Patent fails to meet this requirement, your corresponding Non-Provisional Application may not receive the Provisional Application’s priority filing date.
On the other hand, with the shift from “first-to-invent” to “first-inventor-to-file,” you will want to file your provisional application as soon as possible. What’s most important is that you file a provisional application as soon as you have enough detail to prove that you filed first for the invention contained in your application. This way, you preserve the earliest possible filing date, at least for what is disclosed in your initial provisional application. Multiple provisional applications can be combined into a single, later-filed non-provisional application. Bear in mind that you must file the non-provisional application within 12 months of any provisional application to take advantage of that provisional filing date.
A Provisional Application for Patent is a simple and inexpensive way to begin protecting your invention while you fully flesh it out, decide whether to pursue a full patent application and do any market testing you may need. Both a Provisional Application for Patent and a Non-Provisional Application for Patent applies to an invention that could ultimately become the subject of a utility patent. A Provisional Application secures a priority filing date if a Non-Provisional Patent Application for the same invention is filed within 12 months. Once a Provisional Application is filed, an inventor has exactly one year (if the invention hasn’t previously been publicly disclosed) to file the Non-Provisional Application for the same invention. If an inventor does not file a Non-Provisional Application within that timeframe, the Provisional Application for Patent is deemed abandoned. This means the inventor loses the right to that filing date and may even lose ownership rights to the invention if it was disclosed to the public more than a year ago. Filing a Provisional Application saves inventors costs upfront and allows them time to assess their invention’s commercial value. They can also conduct research and seek funding before committing to the cost and process of preparing a Non-Provisional Application.
A Non-Provisional Patent Application establishes an invention’s filing date (unless it claims the benefit of an earlier-filed application, such as a Provisional Application). Filing a Non-Provisional Application starts the official examination process with the USPTO to determine if the invention is patentable.
A provisional application for patent is a great first step towards protecting your invention. It establishes an early filing date for your invention while you put the finishing touches on it, finish your non-provisional patent application, seek funding, and do market research. Having a provisional application on file means that you can disclose details about your invention with everyone on notice that your invention is “Patent Pending.” (You can use the “Patent Pending” label for the entire duration of your 12-month provisional period, or for the entire examination period of your non-provisional utility application.) Also, provisional applications are not published by the USPTO so as not to compromise your invention’s secrecy.
Provisional applications are less expensive and easier to file than non-provisional patent applications, can be done quickly, and should be done in advance of an invention’s public disclosure, although following a disclosure is fine also. Most importantly, filing a provisional application establishes an official filing date with the USPTO, and now that the PTO has moved from “First-to-Invent” to “First-Inventor-to-File,” your filing date is the single most important determinant of who gets a patent.
With a provisional application on file, you can feel safe promoting your invention. Finally, if you significantly improve or change your invention after filing your provisional application, or decide not to go forward with a non-provisional application, the lower cost and turnaround time of a provisional application means that you haven’t gone through the more costly and difficult non-provisional process prematurely or unnecessarily. Finally, multiple provisional applications can be combined into a single, later-filed non-provisional application–if your first provisional application sufficiently details the invention that appears in your non-provisional application, you can get your earliest possible filing date for the entire invention!
- A written description of the invention
- Any necessary illustration(s) of the invention
- The names of all inventors
- The filing fee
- A cover sheet or electronic filing identifying
- the application as a provisional application for patent
- inventor name(s)
- inventor residence(s)
- title of the invention
- correspondence address
- name and registration number of an attorney or agent and docket number (if applicable)
- any U.S. government agencies with a property interest in the application (if applicable)
A Provisional Application for Patent is far easier and less expensive to file than a non-provisional Utility Patent Application. Although Provisional Applications receive almost no scrutiny at the time of their filing, they will be reviewed at the time a corresponding Non-Provisional Patent Application is filed, so applicants filing Provisional Applications should take care to disclose the “best mode” and meet the “enablement” requirement and establish novelty. A Provisional Application provides temporary and limited protection for the inventor of the covered item. Filing a Provisional Application establishes an early filing date for your corresponding Non-Provisional Patent Application. In contrast, a Non-Provisional Patent Application is an application for the grant of a full patent, which, if issued, will provide complete patent protection for the applicant’s invention.
People file Provisional Applications to secure the earliest possible start date for patent protection. An inventor who files a Provisional Application can use the term “patent pending” in connection with his or her invention if he or she intends to later file a full patent application. That inventor must file his or her corresponding Non-Provisional Patent Application within 12 months of the date the Provisional Application was filed. If the patent is granted, the patent’s filing date will be the same as for the provisional application, effectively protecting the invention for a total of 21 years.
A provisional Application for patent may be filed anytime after your invention is created – once you are able to fully describe how to make and use it. Some people wait to file a provisional application to delay the start of the 12-month clock. For example, you may want to file a provisional application before an event where you’d like to publicly present your invention with “patent pending” status.
Important note: If you’ve already disclosed your invention to the public (such as by sale, offer for sale, use in public or written publication), a provisional application may still be filed to establish a filing date, but you have exactly one year FROM THAT INITIAL DISCLOSURE to file your non-provisional application. Your disclosure starts the clock. In other words: a non-provisional patent application must be filed no later than one year after the public disclosure. Such disclosures include, but are not limited to: sales, offers for sale, written publication, disclosure to potential partners, or finding a source. Please contact the USPTO or an attorney if you’re unsure whether or not you fall into this category.
Particularly under the recently-enacted America Invents Act, filing a provisional application for patent as soon as possible is best. As soon as you can describe your invention in terms that will be recognizable to an examiner who later reviews your corresponding non-provisional application and has to determine whether the invention contained in both applications is the same, file your provisional application for maximum protection. If you need to file later provisional applications to make adjustments that fit within the original filing, you can always do this and then combine all your provisional applications into a final, corresponding non-provisional application. You can’t broaden the original invention in subsequent provisional applications, but you can clarify, explain, hone or narrow it. This gives you a lot of flexibility as to how to proceed while ensuring that you have the best protection possible while you’re putting the finishing touches on your invention.
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