Protect Your IP

Patent Application

What Kind of Patent Do I Need?

  • Utility PatentA utility patent protects the structure and/or function (i.e., how it works and how it is used) of an invention and is normally pursued in those instances where it is desired to protect how the invention operates.  A utility patent can be issued to any person to any person who invents a new, useful, and non-obvious (1) process, (2) machine, (3) manufactured article, (4) composition of matter, or (5) any new and useful improvement to any of these types of inventions.
  • Provisional PatentA provisional patent gives you 1 year from the date of filing to pursue a non-provisional patent.A provisional patent application for a patent is a U. S. national application for patent filed in the USPTO under 35 U.S.C. §111(b). It allows filing without a formal patent claim, oath or declaration, or any information disclosure (prior art) statement. It provides the means to establish an early effective filing date in a non-provisional patent application filed under 35 U.S.C. §111(a) and automatically becomes abandoned after one year. It also allows the term “Patent Pending” to be applied.
  • Design PatentA design patent is strictly directed to protecting the overall appearance (i.e., how it looks) of the invention.  It can be granted for a new, original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture. In most cases, it is better to pursue utility patent protection since protecting the structure and/or function of an invention is preferable over protecting the ornamental design of an invention.  However, where meaningful utility patent protection may not be available, or if the appearance of an invention is more important then its structure and/or function, design patent protection may be the best choice.  There are also situations where an inventor may feel that structure and/or function and/or appearance are important, and when this occurs, the inventor may choose to concurrently file both utility and design patent applications for the same invention.
  • Non-Provisional PatentThe non-provisional patent application is an application for patent filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a); wherein patent application includes all patent applications (i.e., utility, design, plant, and reissue) except provisional applications. The non-provisional application establishes the filing date and initiates the examination process.

Patent Application Form

  • The first step in the patent application process is to conduct a preliminary patentability search. The goal is to reach a decision regarding the the potential for obtaining patent protection for a new invention before you invest time and money into trying to patent an unpatentable idea.
  • Invention Disclosure Instructions:

    Please use the “Brief Description” field to give us a concise definition of your invention.

    Please use the “Attachment” fields to send us any external documents you have on your invention. These may include detailed descriptions, product manuals, drawings, pictures, etc. You must provide enough detail that would allow another skilled in the art to make or use your invention. The more details you give us, the better the search report we will provide.

    If you have more than 3 attachments, please combine them together in a .zip file, or e-mail them to us directly at vincent@lotempiolaw.com.

    If you do not have your documents in electronic form, you may fax them to us directly at (716) 759-1094.

  • Max. file size: 256 MB.
  • Max. file size: 256 MB.
  • Max. file size: 256 MB.
  • $0.00