How long does it take to get a design patent?
On average, a design patent application can take about 16 months for the initial examination. Strip out the fast-tracked design applications from the equation, and the average wait time for non-expedited design applications would certainly be longer. In fact, we have seen design patent applications take two to three years for the initial review by the examiner. What can be done to shorten this wait time?
Need to speed up your design patent application? Contact US patent and trademark attorney Vic Lin at vlin@icaplaw.com to explore how we can fast track your design patent.
Why do design patents take so long?
We’ve stated that the average wait time for an examiner to take a first look at a design application is roughly 1.5 years. This is only the beginning of the process. After examination begins, your application may receive rejections, objections or requests for better drawings.
Those letters from the design patent examiner are called Office Actions. The back-and-forth process in responding to Office Actions can add another year or more to the total length of the design patent process.
Did your patent attorney mention Rocket Docket as an option?
Rocket Docket is the nickname of a request for expedited examination of a design application. Instead of waiting a couple of years, Rocket Docket will lead to examination within a couple of months of the grant of the request.
Here are some key facts about Rocket Docket.
- prior art search required
- USPTO fee in addition to the initial design application fees
- may be requested after the initial filing of a design application
- examination will start in about 2-4 months from the grant date of the request
Can a new patent attorney file a Rocket Docket request in your pending design application?
Yes, a new patent attorney can file a Rocket Docket request. To move forward, you would need to sign a Power of Attorney to have the new patent attorney substitute your old attorney.
Will Rocket Docket automatically lead to an allowance?
No, Rocket Docket does not guarantee that your design application will be approved. It will, however, lead to a much quicker examination. Our firm’s average approval rate for design applications is over 90%.
Did you sell or publicly disclose your product before filing your design patent application?
The US provides a 1-year grace period for applying for US patents. Any public disclosures, including sales, made by the inventor within one year of the patent application filing date will not be considered prior art.
That being said, design examiners will likely find your prior Amazon product listing, for example, and use it to reject your design application. Our firm has successfully responded to such Office Actions with the proper affidavit to overcome the rejection.
So one way to speed up future design applications is to avoid any sales or public disclosures prior to filing your application. This also helps preserve your right to file foreign design applications.
