What is the Pre-Appeal Brief Request and Conference Program?
What are your options for responding to a Final Office Action? When faced with a final rejection, a patent applicant has a couple of options in…
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What is the cost and process for filing a utility nonprovisional patent application?
What do we need to file your utility nonprovisional patent application? New to utility patents? This is a good place to start. I want to…
How to Register Your Trademark: Filing Trademark Application Process and Cost
USPTO Trademark Application Process: What are the most important factors? Time and money. In the trademark application process, there tends to be an inverse relationship…
Must U.S. inventions be filed first with the USPTO (foreign filing license)? What about foreign applicants for US patents?
Inventions made in the USA must be filed first with the USPTO unless a petition for foreign filing license is granted Except when permission is…
If prior art references were considered in a parent, must an IDS be filed in a continuing application?
Does a continuing application require an IDS disclosing prior art references already considered in the parent application? No. According to MPEP Section 609.02, it is…
What is a trademark knockout search?
How do we identify the risk of likelihood of confusion rejections before filing a trademark application? A trademark knockout search generally refers to a pre-filing…
How to Prepare Acceptable Trademark Specimens of Use
What is a trademark specimen of use? In nearly all cases, a trademark must be tied to a particular product or service. Trademarks do not…
When is the nonprovisional filing due date if the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday?
When is the nonprovisional deadline? The 1-year anniversary of a US provisional patent application or a foreign priority application may occasionally fall on a non-business…
What is a Patent Office Action?
What is a patent Office Action? After waiting one to two years (or longer) from the filing date of your utility nonprovisional patent application, you…
Is a Power of Attorney Required to File a Patent Office Action Response?
Is a Power of Attorney required to file a patent Office Action response? No, a power of attorney need not be filed in order to…
What is an Information Disclosure Statement or IDS?
What is an Information Disclosure Statement (IDS)? Every patent applicant has a duty to disclose to the USPTO all known prior art or other information…
Patent Marking: How to Mark Patented Products With Your Patent Number
How do you mark products with patent numbers? The question is not if you should mark your patented products (of course you should!), but how.…
What is a Restriction Requirement?
Is my patent application being rejected? If a patent examiner thinks that the pending claims in a patent application are directed to more than one invention,…
Why file a continuing patent application?
Reasons for Filing a Continuing Application A continuing application is basically a child patent application that must be filed while the parent patent application is…
Intent-To-Use Trademark Application Problems: What can go wrong?
What are some Intent-To-Use trademark application problems? Intent-To-Use trademark applications are great. You get to file an application to register a trademark that you have…
