Do You Need a Lawyer to File a Patent?

Many individuals wishing to file for intellectual property patent protection with the United States Patent and Trademark Office must discern whether or not a lawyer will be required during the process of filing their patent application.  Technically speaking, any individual can file their own patent application without the assistance of a patent attorney, however, a litany of factors make this decision a highly unattractive option to most individual inventors, let alone inventing businesses, organizations, or other enterprises.For these reasons, it is always recommended that anyone wanting to file for a patent consult with an intellectual property lawyer.

The process of filing a patent begins with a patent application submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which can comprise of one of two forms.  The first form being a provisional intellectual patent, which simply allows inventors to retain a legally defined date of patent application, affords them the right to utilize the term “patent pending”, and reserves their exclusive rights to file for the comprehensive and concrete non-provisional patent with a time period exceeding no more than twelve months from the initial filing date of the provisional patent.  The other form of patent filing, a non-provisional patent filing, is an actual application for a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  Non-provisional patents require a litany of research, documentation, and other items that only a patent attorney is best suited to handle, including:

• Ascertaining the patentability of an item, including usefulness, innovativeness, novel, and non-obvious
• Creating, documenting, and filing all applicable application documents, including descriptions, claims, drawings, and other forms
• Performing patent research, both in the United States and in foreign countries, regarding the existence of potential patent infringements
• Filing the actual patent application, including oaths of authenticity and understanding
• Paying all applicable patent application fees
• Working alongside United States Patent and Trademark Office reviewers during the patent review process

Utilizing the aid of a Patent Attorney can greatly expedite the process, and often the cost is outweighed by the time and financial savings of getting approved quickly the first time.

With the filing of a non-provisional patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, individuals are attempting to obtain exclusive rights to produce, reproduce, utilize, and distribute the specific inventions noted in the patent.  Likewise, the process of obtaining this bundle of intellectual property management rights requires exhaustive research and preparation, which is best handled by a patent attorney.  Additionally, the patent process can take several years to complete, requires in-depth documentation and communication with the patent office itself, and can cost several thousand dollars per application filing.  The specific and numerous uniform procedures utilized by the United States Patent and Trademark Office generally require experience and a high level of understanding of this process, as well as the terminology necessary to be used during any application filing.  For these reasons, the vast bulk of individuals, as well as organizations and business, seeking patent protection will utilize the expertise and counsel of one or more patent attorneys in ensuring the acceptance of a patent application.