We prepare and prosecute patent applications and represent clients in connection with other patent matters before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). An attorney registered to practice before the USPTO may prepare and prosecute patent applications and otherwise represent clients in other patent matters before the USPTO, regardless of where the attorney is located. Therefore, we can help you secure and protect your U.S. patent rights regardless of where you are located. Patent Applications Many individuals and small businesses need patent protection to prevent others from making, using, or selling their inventions which may include methods, processes, machines, articles of manufacture, compositions of matter, or new and useful improvements thereof. A patent application provides protection and peace of mind if you need to disclose your ideas to manufacturers, suppliers, marketers, or potential licensees. If you have invented a novel device, created a new game, or developed a unique process or method, you may be eligible to apply for patent protection. Our applications are carefully drafted with consideration of both technical and legal issues. In an effort to help you control and budget your costs, we usually use a flat-fee system for our time in drafting and filing your patent application. As we realize that you know the subject matter of your invention better than anyone, we value your input and will work with you during the drafting process to ensure that the patent application accurately describes your invention and includes all aspects and details of your invention. After the patent application is filed, we correspond with officials from the USPTO. We make any necessary amendments to the patent application and prepare substantive and legal arguments to advocate for our clients. Provisional Patent Applications A provisional patent application allows you to start using the term "patent-pending" for your invention, and provides you with a full year to market and develop your invention while retaining your intellectual property rights. Within one year after filing the provisional patent application, you may then decide if you would like to file a full patent application, or allow your provisional patent application to expire. If you decide to file a full patent application before the year is up, you retain the earlier filing date from your provisional patent application and may be granted up to an additional 20 years of patent protection. A provisional patent application is often a good way to protect your invention (and prevent others from beating you to the punch) at a relatively low cost while you investigate and decide whether you intend to pursue a full patent application for your invention. We usually charge a flat fee for the preparation and filing of provisional patent applications. If you decide to file a full patent application based on a provisional patent application that we have prepared, we will provide a credit toward our fee to draft and file the full patent application. Please contact us regarding your specific patent needs.