Patents

Our Goals at Great Plains Patent

At Great Plains Patent, our mission is to provide comprehensive and expert legal services to inventors, businesses, and innovators. We aim to protect intellectual property rights, foster innovation, and support our clients in navigating the complexities of patent law. Our goal is to ensure that your inventions are safeguarded, enabling you to focus on bringing your product to market and achieving your commercial goals.

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What is a Patent?

A patent is a legal document granted by the government that gives an inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, and distributing an invention for the term of the patent, which is typically 20 years from the filing date. Patents are designed to encourage innovation by providing inventors with a temporary monopoly on their creations, in exchange for publicly disclosing the details of the invention. This disclosure allows others to learn from and build upon the patented technology, fostering further advancements in the field.

The Patenting Process

Idea Conception and Documentation

The first step in the patenting process is to thoroughly document your invention. This includes detailed descriptions, drawings, and any other relevant information that clearly explains how the invention works, with particular focus on unique features that address the problem being solved. It is not always immediately clear what the invention is when a new idea, product or other innovation has been identified, and the attorneys at Great Plains Patent can assist you as you document your innovation and drill down to its point(s) of novelty.

Patent Searching and Analysis

Conducting a patent search is necessary to get a first-pass determination whether your invention is novel and non-obvious, which are two of the main requirements for patentability. A search involves locating and reviewing existing patents and publications to determine the general state of the existing art, and ensure that your invention includes aspects and features that would qualify as patentable subject matter. We will perform searching and discuss the results with you, along with providing you with an exemplary claim that we believe, based on the search results, would be patentable. If the search results indicate that further innovation is required to refine and expand the inventive subject matter, we will work with you on that as well. At Great Plains Patent, we will never prepare and file a patent application unless we believe that there is a realistic probability that some claims will issue into a patent.

Patent Application Preparation

Once the patent search confirms the novelty of your invention, the next step is to prepare a patent application. This includes drafting detailed claims that define the scope of your invention, as well as providing a comprehensive written description and detailed drawings. It is necessary that the patent application be sufficiently detailed to allow a person with skill in the art be able to practice their invention without undue experimentation on their part. Hence, specific details and alternatives envisioned by the inventor will be included. It is not necessary to build a physical prototype, but it is necessary to build a “virtual prototype” on paper through the detailed description and drawings in the application. The patent attorneys at Great Plains Patent will work with you to get your invention fully described and fleshed-out.

Filing the Patent Application

The patent application is then filed with the relevant patent office, such as the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This filing date is critical as it establishes the priority date of your invention. It is important to keep your invention secret and to let the attorney know if and when you first publicly disclosed or discussed your invention in a non-confidential setting, since there are important bar dates that must be observed (for example, inventors normally have up to one-year in which to file a patent application after public disclosure, sale or use).

Patent Prosecution

After filing, the patent application undergoes examination by a patent examiner during a patent prosecution process. The examiner reviews the application to ensure it meets all legal requirements and that the invention is indeed novel and non-obvious. The Examiner will perform a separate search to ascertain the closest reference(s) to the claimed subject matter, and will make a determination of patentability. Most (at least 90% of) patent applications receive at least one Office Action rejection where one or more of the claims are rejected. The attorney will have the opportunity to respond to the rejections by amending the claims and presenting arguments for patentability. Depending on the circumstances, multiple Office Actions and requests for continued examination may be necessary to ultimately gain allowance of the claims. Administrative appeals of final rejections are also available if warranted.

Patent Grant and Enforcement

If the patent examiner is satisfied with the application, a Notice of Allowance will be mailed and, upon payment of the necessary issue fee, the patent will subsequently issue as an officially granted patent. Enforcement of the granted patent can then commence against third parties for infringement of the issued claims, provided the infringement began after the earliest effective filing date for the issued patent.

Maintenance

Once granted, it is necessary to periodically pay maintenance fees. These are due in the U.S. every 3-1/2, 7-1/2 and 11-1/5 years after the date of issuance. In most non-U.S. jurisdictions, these fees take the form of annuities which are required to be paid every year to the associated national patent office for that jurisdiction.

What Do Patents Cost?

Patents are among the strongest forms of intellectual property protection, but are also among the most expensive to obtain. Depending upon the technology and the issues involved, a regular U.S. utility patent application will cost from around $8,000-12,000 to prepare and file. Depending upon the complexities and length of the prosecution process, the prosecution costs may be from around $1,000-10,000 or more. Adding the maintenance fees of around $3,000-6,000 (depending on the size of the patent owner), total lifetime costs for a patent may range from as little as around $15,000 to upwards of $30,000 or more. Deciding whether to seek patent protection is always a strategic marketing decision, and the attorneys at Great Plain Patent will help you as you evaluate the best strategy for your venture.

What Can Be Patented?

The U.S. patent laws allow any new and useful machine, process, article of manufacture or composition of matter to be patented. As such, an “idea” is not patentable per se until it is embodied into and classified as an “invention,” which must have some form of physical embodiment. Software by itself is not patentable unless it is embodied in a computer system or tangible and non-transitory medium, and meets the other requirements for patentability.

Why Use Us?

We, the Attorneys at Great Plains Patent, each have decades of IP experience working in a wide variety of technical areas, and are committed to providing you with the highest quality legal services at reasonable costs. Most work is flat-fee based, so you will know up front what to expect. We are responsive, client-oriented, and committed to your success.

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