Applying for a patent can be an exciting time. You have come up with a brilliant, unique idea and want to make sure you claim ownership to it by registering it with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The process, however, can be complicated, and many innovators in Tampa make mistakes when they file patent applications without a professional. When applying, be sure to consult with a legal professional to get an experienced opinion and a fresh set of eyes on your submission.
Common mistakes include:
1. Forgetting Drawings
If you forget to include the necessary visual materials with patent applications, they may be rejected or delayed. Even if you do remember to include drawings of your invention, the drawings must meet certain requirements. The Manual of Patent Examination Procedure (MPEP) states that drawings must be included in the original submission if necessary to understand the invention. If you submit without the drawings and the examiner requires them, you may only have a short time period of two months to submit them. Two months often isn’t enough time to create drawings with the extensive amount of detail required of these images, so the quality of your submission may suffer.
While you can submit rough sketches and informal drawings, these are not as effective as formal drawings. The former can lead to processing delays and may not be as persuasive to the USPTO as formal drawings.
To make sure you include drawings that meet the MPEP guidelines, trust a patent attorney in Tampa. They will go over your submission and help solidify your application. Your lawyer will ensure your drawings contain brief descriptions, which help the USPTO better understand your idea.
2. Grammatical Errors
Simple mistakes like misspellings or using incorrect words can negatively affect patent applications. These forms can be many pages long, and within those pages can be hundreds of thousands of words. The odds of misspelling a name, incorrectly writing a number or address, or improperly referring to other patents or applications are high. Trust an intellectual property attorney in Tampa to create or review your submission with you before filing. This way, you can catch mistakes and errors that can cause delays.
3. Missing Deadlines or Improperly Filing
Inventors are excellent at being creative and coming up with brilliant ideas. However, in the process of being a creative genius, things like deadlines can fall by the wayside. If you fail to apply in time or simply delay the process of applying, this can be a costly mistake. Yes, patenting a new idea can be intimidating, but you have a short amount of time to apply; inventors must file patent applications within one year of the time their invention is first sold.
Before Filing Patent Applications, Call the Patent Attorneys at Larson and Larson
For an inventor, one of the most disappointing feelings is being turned away by the USPTO for preventable errors after spending so much time developing, designing, and testing a product. To avoid making these mistakes, trust a patent attorney at Larson and Larson in Tampa. We can help perfect your patent applications as well as secure your invention and future profits. Contact us online or give us a call at (813) 223-3226.