Patentarea

What is a Patent?
A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor.
-In general, the term of a new patent is 20 years.
-Patent grants are effective only within the country territory.
-Under certain circumstances, patent term extensions or adjustments may be available.

Why do I need a patent?
If your invention has market potential and you think that another company could make profits from your invention, you need protection from a patent.
-A patent gives you the right to exclude others from making your product.
-As a patent gives exclusivity, the patent holder has time to market the invention without competition making him/her able to charge higher prices.
-It gives the right to initiate legal action against anyone that is making or selling, without permission, the patent holder invention.
-You can make money by licensing or selling your invention to someone else.
-It gives you priority over third parties wanting to register their patents in countries that do not require registration.

Why Patentarea.com?
We have a team of patent attorneys and engineers, with years of experience making patent searches, filing patent applications and following up on the patent process in more than 30 countries, which allows us to assure you:
-Competent professionals will perform all the necessary procedures for filing and following up your patent application.
-You will receive timely information regarding updates for the application process.
-If objections or rejections arise in the patent application process, knowledgeable attorneys will advise you on the appropriate course of action.
-All information provided to us will be kept in absolute confidentiality. Before entering any business relationship we electronically sign a confidentiality agreement with you that protects your interests (View our confidentiality agreement).

Who will be in charge of my application?
In countries where services are offered, Patentarea.com relies on teams of recognized and experienced patent attorneys, allowing us to assure a high quality service.
To learn about the attorney directly in charge of your request select the link “Attorney in charge” located on the toolbar or in the “About Us” section.

Who decides if patents are granted or not?
Applications, other than provisional applications, filed with the Patent Office and accepted as complete applications are assigned for examination to the respective examining technology centers having charge of the areas of technology related to the invention.
Applications are taken up for examination by the examiner to whom they have been assigned in the order in which they have been filed or in accordance with examining procedures established by the Director.
The examination of the application consists of:
-A study of the application for compliance with the legal requirements
-A search through granted patents, publications of patent applications, foreign patent documents, and available literature, to see if the claimed invention is new, useful and non-obvious.

What problems could occur?
During the patent examination process, rejections and objections to the claims may arise. It is not uncommon for some or all of the claims to be rejected on the first office action by the examiner; relatively few applications are allowed as filed.
In order to avoid and minimize rejections or objections to the claims, PatentArea.com recommends to order, before the Patent Application (STEP 2), the Patent Search Study (STEP 1). With this report the client would be properly informed and would have more elements to evaluate the risks involved. Nevertheless, if any rejection or objection arises, PatentArea.com has a team formed by experienced attorneys that will advise you on the appropriate course of action.

What happens if my application or claims are rejected?
You will be notified in writing of the examiner’s decision by an Office “action” which is normally mailed to the attorney or agent of record.
The reasons for any adverse action or any objection or requirement will be stated in the Office action.
Request for Reconsideration
The applicant must request reconsideration in writing, and must distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the examiner’s Office action.
After the reconsideration the applicant will be notified as to the status of the claims, rejection, objection or whether the claims are allowed. The Second Office action usually will be made final.
Final Rejection
On the second or later reconsideration, a rejection or other action may be made final. The applicant’s reply is then limited to appeal in the case of rejection of any claim. Further amendment is restricted.

In what countries should I apply for my patent?
The patent protection is territorial; therefore, it is advised to apply for your patent in the countries where your business is located or where you plan to be doing business in the future.

When do I obtain my patent issued?
From the patent filing date the patents are examined in the order they were received. The approval or rejection of a patent application can take over three years. Then, if the patent application is found to be allowable, a notice of allowance will be sent to the applicant, or to applicant’s attorney or agent of record, if any, and a fee for issuing the patent is due within three months from the date of the notice.
If payment of the issue fee is not made in time, the application will be regarded as abandoned.