A basic description of the patent process for K-12 students.

1. FROM IDEA TO
PATENT
Basic Information on Patent Law

2. It all starts with an idea…but that’s not enough.
While patentable inventions start
off as an idea, ideas themselves
are not patentable. You must
be able to describe your
invention sufficiently that a
“person of ordinary skill in the
art” could make and use your
invention.

3. The Patent Process
Step One:
Draft your patent application.
Although you are legally allowed
to do this yourself it is usually
best to consult a patent
attorney. They will help you
describe your invention and
create drawings that meet the
legal requirements for filing a
patent application

4. Step Two:
Submit your patent application to the
United States Patent and Trademark
Office.
You are going to have to be patient here.
Once you submit your application it is
likely to take over a year to hear anything
back from the patent office. You also
have to pay the filing fees at this point.
How much you have to pay depends on
your income and the size of your
company (if you have a company).

5. Step Three:
Negotiate with the patent office.
During this part you will talk or write to
the patent examiner. It is likely you will
need to change your patent somewhat
before the examiner will agree that you
have described and claimed your
invention in a way that is allowable. In
some cases you may not be able to reach
agreement and you will have to either
abandoned the application or ask for
reconsideration. But that is more than
we want to get into here so let’s say your
patent is determined to be “allowable”.

6. Step Four:
Pay the required fees.
Once you have paid the fees your patent
will go on to be issued and you will
receive a patent number and a “ribbon
copy” of your patent.

7. CELEBRATE!