EVERYPATENTQUESTION.ONE CLEARANSWER.

An invention must be novel (not in prior art), non-obvious (not obvious to someone skilled in the field), and useful. It must also fall into a patentable category: process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter. Abstract ideas, laws of nature, and natural phenomena are not patentable under 35 U.S.C. § 101.

Software-implemented inventions can be patented if they produce a concrete, useful result and are not merely an abstract idea. Post-Alice (Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank, 2014), software patents must show that the claims are directed to a specific improvement in computer functionality, not just a generic computer performing abstract steps. Framing matters enormously.

Prior art is any evidence that your invention was known before your filing date — patents, published applications, academic papers, products on sale, public demonstrations, or even your own public disclosure (subject to a 1-year grace period in the US under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)). If your invention is disclosed anywhere before you file, it may destroy novelty outside the US entirely.

20 years from the earliest non-provisional filing date, provided maintenance fees are paid at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years post-grant. Failure to pay any maintenance fee results in expiration. Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) may extend the term for USPTO delays during prosecution.

File a provisional when you need to establish a priority date quickly — before a conference, investor pitch, or product launch — but aren't yet ready for full prosecution. You have 12 months to convert to a non-provisional. The provisional buys time and costs less, but it expires if not converted and never becomes a patent on its own.

In the US, you have a 1-year grace period under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)(1) to file after your own disclosure. However, this grace period does NOT exist in most other countries. A public disclosure before filing will permanently bar patent protection in Europe, Japan, China, and most PCT member states. File before you publish, present, or sell.

A continuation is a new application that claims priority to a parent application and pursues additional or different claims on the same disclosure. File a continuation before the parent issues if you want to capture broader claims, different embodiments, or pursue claims that were rejected in the parent. Continuations are a core portfolio-building tool.

USPTO basic filing fees for a non-provisional utility application range from $320 (micro entity) to $1,600 (large entity). Agent/attorney fees typically add $8,000–$15,000 for drafting and filing. Total cost through grant, including examination, responses, and issue fees, commonly runs $15,000–$30,000+ for complex technologies.

An Office Action (OA) is an examiner rejection or objection — it is not a final denial. You have 3 months to respond without extension fees (6 months maximum with fees). Analyze each rejection type: § 102 (novelty), § 103 (obviousness), § 112 (written description/enablement). Amend claims, argue the examiner's position, or both. A well-crafted response is often the difference between grant and abandonment.

Average time from filing to first Office Action is 16–22 months for utility applications. Total prosecution to grant averages 2–3 years. Track-One Prioritized Examination can reduce this to 6–12 months for an additional $4,200 (large entity). Design patents average 18–24 months.

Consider abandonment when: (1) the examiner issues a Final Rejection and the claims cannot be amended to overcome it without losing commercial value; (2) the technology is no longer relevant to your business; (3) prosecution cost exceeds the likely value of the patent; or (4) a competitor has already designed around any claims you could obtain. File a continuation before abandoning if the underlying disclosure still has value.

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) allows you to file one international application that reserves your right to seek patents in 150+ member countries. You file a PCT application within 12 months of your priority date. You then have 18 months (30 months total from priority) to enter national/regional phases in specific countries. The PCT does not grant an international patent — it delays the cost of national filings.

Yes — there is no single "world patent." You can use the PCT to streamline and delay the cost, or file directly under the Paris Convention within 12 months of your priority date. Regional offices like the EPO (Europe) allow a single application covering multiple countries. Each jurisdiction has its own prosecution, fees, and grant requirements.

If you file a patent application in any Paris Convention member country, you have 12 months from that filing date to file in other member countries and claim priority back to your original filing date. This means your international applications will be evaluated as if they were filed on your original priority date — protecting you against intervening prior art.