SAN DIEGO PATENT ATTORNEYS 
 
PATENT PROSECUTION
                         

"Patent Prosecution"

  • Patent Prosecution: Strangely enough, the term "patent prosecution" has nothing to do with prosecutors or lawsuits. The term refers to the legal process of obtaining a patent through the United States Patent & Trademark Office ("PTO").  For a discussion of patent litigation, see patent litigation.  For a detailed list of frequent questions regarding patent prosecution, see patent FAQ.
     
  • Patentability Requirements: Inventors must prove that they have a new, useful & nonobvious invention to receive a patent.
     
  • Patentable Subject Matter: Patents can be granted for articles of manufacture, designs on articles of manufacture, living organisms, plants, chemical compositions, nonobvious methods of using existing inventions, processes, and on methods of doing business.
     
  • Patent Duration: Patents currently last 20 years from the effective filing date.  Patents essentially offer a 20-year monopoly to the owner, who can exclude any other person or company from the manufacture, use, sale or import into the United States of infringing technology.    
     
  • Patent Attorneys: Attorneys who practice before the PTO must have a scientific educational background and pass a separate federal bar exam, in addition to the state bar exam, to be able to practice as a "Patent Attorney."  The patent attorneys of Buche & Associates, P.C. have advanced scientific backgrounds and are collectively licensed in the states of Texas, California and the United States Patent & Trademark Office.  Also, the patent attorneys of Buche & Associates, P.C. are collectively admitted to practice in the Federal District Courts of California, Texas, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
     
  • Bars to Patents: You have 1 year to file for a United States patent from the time an invention is patented or published anywhere in the world or sold or known of in the United States.  This one-year grace period is not the standard in foreign countries, therefore, if international patent protection is sought, it is important to file a U.S. patent application prior to making, using or selling a new invention.

  • International Patents: PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) applications can be used to obtain additional time and reserve the right to file international patent applications in member countries.  The PCT is not an "international patent" so much as it is a procedure to expand the time to file for international patents.  It is possible to file separate patent applications in each country in which protection is sought without filing a PCT application, but PCT applications can preserve rights to file foreign applications in most of the developed countries of the world.