August 21, 2008 at 21:53US Patent and Trademark Office Online Patenting
It is possible. Maybe for some this is not news, but for me it was almost a discovery: you can patent your invention in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, for short - USPTO (all Google and Apple are patented there ) without getting up from the computer. In the literal sense of the word. The whole procedure took me exactly 15 minutes. I hasten to share.
Information for consideration:
1. USPTO is an American Rospatent, only with brains.
2. USPTO accepts patent applications from residents of any country, including from the Russian Federation.
3. They have such a wonderful thing as a temporary application (Provisional Application) - this is the priority for the invention in a simplified and expedited form. A kind of announcement of your future patent.
4. The Provisional Application (hereinafter referred to as the Provisional Application) is valid for 12 months, after which it must be confirmed with a “real patent”, otherwise it expires.
5. The provisional application is not published anywhere.
6. The application may be written in Russian (but a translation must be provided no later than 16 months from the date of filing).
7. The application costs from 105 dollars. You can do more, but it depends only on the amount of information that you try to cram into the application. 105 was enough for me
. 8. Registration of the application is done using the EFS-Web web application. It can: add an application to the USPTO database, verify this application, accept a fee for accepting an application and send the applicant a receipt for accepting the application.
9. I am not a patent attorney, not a lawyer and generally not-not-not. Just an amateur. Therefore, if you decide to receive a patent in this way - check. Although I, it seems, everything worked out.
10. The service for registration of the Provisional Application for patent attorneys costs an average of 15,000 rubles. Not counting the duties themselves.
So, let's go.
I submitted just such a temporary application, and I’ll tell you about it, but first of all, some links that may come in handy
on the EFS-Web FAQ www.uspto.gov/ebc/efs_faq.htm
Useful tools (PDF editors, document requirements , presentations describing the EFS-Web system) www.uspto.gov/ebc/portal/tools.htm
Sandbox. Imitation of a real form to fill out. You can practice before the present - data is not sent anywhere. Here are the tutorials. www.uspto.gov/ebc/portal/sandbox/efs0-3-0.htm
We start from here sportal.uspto.gov/secure/portal/efs-unregistered (Unregistered eFilers tab)
First, personal data. We fill only that under the stars. Next, select New application, Utility, Provisional, Continue. Go to the tab "Application Data" - the main data.
Here the title of the invention (Title of Invention) is no more than 500 characters. Again the name. Correspondence Address - fill. Go to the tab “Attach Documents” (Applications).
Here it is necessary in more detail. Applications to the application may be different. As I understand it with my non-patent mind, the main thing is the description of the invention. There may be drawings, and the most detailed patent formulas and much more. For the curious, there is a direct road to Google Patent - there are a lot of examples. All these ext. materials to the main application and there are applications. I had “abstract” and “drawings-only black and white line drawings” - a short description and a black and white diagram, respectively. All this must be done in PDF. They do not exclude txt files there, but are somehow reluctant, so I did it in pdf. Here www.uspto.gov/ebc/portal/tools.htm you can find links to programs for creating pdf. So, I continue.
Attach Documents Tab (Applications).
We attach our applications (the fee will depend on their number), select the Category and Document Description on the right. Click Upload & Validate. He is checking. If everything is correct - they will show you a little blue rhombus, if not - they will write what the error is. Continue
Calculate Fees (The duty calculation) Here the main thing in the column "Current Business Size" select "small entity" (small business or private person) - the amount of payment will be less. A tick in "Provisional". On the contrary, “Amount” is the amount that you will have to pay. Continue
Confirm and Submit. Here we check everything: Personal data, description, applications, amount payable. If something is wrong - on the tabs we roll back to the necessary step and edit. Submit.
Here is a phrase starting with "The USPTO has received your ...". That is, they accepted the application. But in order to receive the much-needed receipt (“Acknowledgment Receipt”), proving that the application was actually accepted, we must pay. So click “YES! I want to pay now. "
Pay Fees. I paid with a credit card Visa - Select method of payment - Charge Credit Card. And “Start online payment process”.
Well, that's all. Here we fill everything under the stars. I paid immediately. After that, a page opens with this very receipt ("Acknowledgment Receipt"). Once again, everything is said in it: who the inventor is, what he invents, the number is assigned to the document, which applications, etc.
The last thing I would like to say is that in the same place, as I understand it, it is possible to patent designs and trademarks. Also online. But he did not check. Good luck.
Information for consideration:
1. USPTO is an American Rospatent, only with brains.
2. USPTO accepts patent applications from residents of any country, including from the Russian Federation.
3. They have such a wonderful thing as a temporary application (Provisional Application) - this is the priority for the invention in a simplified and expedited form. A kind of announcement of your future patent.
4. The Provisional Application (hereinafter referred to as the Provisional Application) is valid for 12 months, after which it must be confirmed with a “real patent”, otherwise it expires.
5. The provisional application is not published anywhere.
6. The application may be written in Russian (but a translation must be provided no later than 16 months from the date of filing).
7. The application costs from 105 dollars. You can do more, but it depends only on the amount of information that you try to cram into the application. 105 was enough for me
. 8. Registration of the application is done using the EFS-Web web application. It can: add an application to the USPTO database, verify this application, accept a fee for accepting an application and send the applicant a receipt for accepting the application.
9. I am not a patent attorney, not a lawyer and generally not-not-not. Just an amateur. Therefore, if you decide to receive a patent in this way - check. Although I, it seems, everything worked out.
10. The service for registration of the Provisional Application for patent attorneys costs an average of 15,000 rubles. Not counting the duties themselves.
So, let's go.
I submitted just such a temporary application, and I’ll tell you about it, but first of all, some links that may come in handy
on the EFS-Web FAQ www.uspto.gov/ebc/efs_faq.htm
Useful tools (PDF editors, document requirements , presentations describing the EFS-Web system) www.uspto.gov/ebc/portal/tools.htm
Sandbox. Imitation of a real form to fill out. You can practice before the present - data is not sent anywhere. Here are the tutorials. www.uspto.gov/ebc/portal/sandbox/efs0-3-0.htm
We start from here sportal.uspto.gov/secure/portal/efs-unregistered (Unregistered eFilers tab)
First, personal data. We fill only that under the stars. Next, select New application, Utility, Provisional, Continue. Go to the tab "Application Data" - the main data.
Here the title of the invention (Title of Invention) is no more than 500 characters. Again the name. Correspondence Address - fill. Go to the tab “Attach Documents” (Applications).
Here it is necessary in more detail. Applications to the application may be different. As I understand it with my non-patent mind, the main thing is the description of the invention. There may be drawings, and the most detailed patent formulas and much more. For the curious, there is a direct road to Google Patent - there are a lot of examples. All these ext. materials to the main application and there are applications. I had “abstract” and “drawings-only black and white line drawings” - a short description and a black and white diagram, respectively. All this must be done in PDF. They do not exclude txt files there, but are somehow reluctant, so I did it in pdf. Here www.uspto.gov/ebc/portal/tools.htm you can find links to programs for creating pdf. So, I continue.
Attach Documents Tab (Applications).
We attach our applications (the fee will depend on their number), select the Category and Document Description on the right. Click Upload & Validate. He is checking. If everything is correct - they will show you a little blue rhombus, if not - they will write what the error is. Continue
Calculate Fees (The duty calculation) Here the main thing in the column "Current Business Size" select "small entity" (small business or private person) - the amount of payment will be less. A tick in "Provisional". On the contrary, “Amount” is the amount that you will have to pay. Continue
Confirm and Submit. Here we check everything: Personal data, description, applications, amount payable. If something is wrong - on the tabs we roll back to the necessary step and edit. Submit.
Here is a phrase starting with "The USPTO has received your ...". That is, they accepted the application. But in order to receive the much-needed receipt (“Acknowledgment Receipt”), proving that the application was actually accepted, we must pay. So click “YES! I want to pay now. "
Pay Fees. I paid with a credit card Visa - Select method of payment - Charge Credit Card. And “Start online payment process”.
Well, that's all. Here we fill everything under the stars. I paid immediately. After that, a page opens with this very receipt ("Acknowledgment Receipt"). Once again, everything is said in it: who the inventor is, what he invents, the number is assigned to the document, which applications, etc.
The last thing I would like to say is that in the same place, as I understand it, it is possible to patent designs and trademarks. Also online. But he did not check. Good luck.