Question 1

Does a provisional application make my invention 'patent pending'?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Once a provisional or non-provisional application is on file, you may mark the product 'patent pending'. A provisional is never examined and ends after 12 months, so the full application must follow.

Question 2

What is a continuation, and when must I file one?

Accepted Answer

A continuation is a new application with the same description as a pending parent, used to seek different or broader claims. It must be filed before the parent is granted or abandoned. Since 19 January 2025, the USPTO charges an extra fee if it is filed 6 years or more after the earliest US or PCT filing date it claims (provisionals and foreign priority do not count): $2,700, or $1,080 for a small entity and $540 for a micro entity. The fee rises after 9 years.

Question 3

What changed in the 2025 USPTO fees?

Accepted Answer

From 19 January 2025, most fees rose. Filing, search and examination for a utility application now total $2,000 for a large entity. Each claim over 20 costs $200, and each independent claim over 3 costs $600. A first request for continued examination costs $1,500, and later ones $2,860. Small entities pay 40% of these amounts and micro entities 20%.

Question 4

Can I still use my provisional if I missed the 12-month deadline?

Accepted Answer

Possibly. A non-provisional filed within 14 months of the provisional may have the provisional benefit restored.

Question 5

Who has to tell the USPTO about prior art?

Accepted Answer

Each named inventor, the attorney or agent, and anyone else substantively involved. It covers information material to patentability, including art cited by foreign offices.

Question 6

Can I keep my US application from being published?

Accepted Answer

Yes, by filing a nonpublication request with the application. It is only allowed if the invention will not be the subject of a foreign or PCT application that publishes at 18 months.

Question 7

What's the difference between provisional and non-provisional?

Accepted Answer

A provisional application establishes a priority date and gives you 12 months to file a full non-provisional utility application. It is never examined and never becomes a patent on its own.

Question 8

Why do you split fees into Step One and Step Two?

Accepted Answer

Step One covers strategy, prior-art search, and engagement so we can confirm patentability before committing to drafting. Step Two covers full specification drafting, claim writing, drawings, and USPTO filing. See the live per-step fee above.

Question 9

How long does USPTO examination take?

Accepted Answer

Utility patents typically take 24–36 months from filing to grant. Track One prioritized examination is available for an additional government fee and can shorten this to 12 months.

Question 10

Do I qualify for micro or small entity fees?

Accepted Answer

For a utility application, the USPTO filing, search and examination fees total $2,000 for a large entity, $800 for a small entity (generally under 500 employees) and $400 for a micro entity. Micro entity status needs no more than 4 earlier US applications and a gross income of $262,380 or less in the previous year (the limit from 15 September 2026).

Question 11

Do I need a US attorney if I'm a foreign applicant?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Since 20 July 2026, applicants and patent owners domiciled outside the US must use a USPTO-registered patent attorney or patent agent for every paper they file, including maintenance fee payments. We handle this end to end, with no separate counsel needed.

Question 12

Can I file a US application from a foreign provisional?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Under the Paris Convention, you have 12 months from your earliest foreign filing to file in the US claiming priority. Alternatively, the PCT route gives you up to 30 months.

Question 13

What can be patented under 35 U.S.C. §101?

Accepted Answer

U.S. law allows patents for any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof. Abstract ideas, laws of nature, and natural phenomena are not patentable on their own. Software and business methods are patentable when tied to a concrete technical implementation under the Alice/Mayo framework.

Question 14

Patent vs. trade secret, which should I choose?

Accepted Answer

Patents grant a 20-year monopoly in exchange for full public disclosure of your invention. Trade secrets (e.g. the Coca-Cola formula) protect indefinitely but only if secrecy is preserved and they offer no protection against independent discovery or reverse engineering. Choose a patent when the invention will be visible in the marketplace and reverse-engineerable; choose trade secret protection for internal processes that competitors can't observe.

Question 15

How does Track One prioritized examination work?

Accepted Answer

Track One prioritizes your application for examination, typically reaching final disposition within 12 months instead of 24–36. The USPTO charges an additional government fee ($903 for micro entity, $1,806 for small entity, $4,515 for large entity). The application is limited to 4 independent and 30 total claims, and the USPTO accepts up to 20,000 requests a year. It's worth considering when you need patent rights to support funding rounds, licensing deals, or marketplace enforcement.

Question 16

What happens at a USPTO examiner interview?

Accepted Answer

An examiner interview is an informal phone or video discussion with the USPTO examiner, usually scheduled after a first Office Action. To clarify rejections and explore claim amendments that would lead to allowance. Interviews are typically far more efficient than written argument and we recommend them in most substantive Office Action responses.

Question 17

What maintenance fees are due after my patent is granted?

Accepted Answer

Utility patents require maintenance fees at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years from grant to keep the patent in force. Current small-entity fees are $860, $1,616, and $3,312 respectively. Design patents have no maintenance fees. Provisional applications never become patents, so there are no maintenance fees on them. We track and remind you of all deadlines.

Question 18

Can I file internationally after a US provisional or non-provisional?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You have 12 months from your earliest U.S. filing date to claim priority in foreign countries under the Paris Convention. The most cost-effective approach for filing in multiple countries is the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) route, which preserves your rights in PCT contracting states for an additional 18 months before national-phase decisions are required.

Question 19

What if my patent application is rejected?

Accepted Answer

Most patent applications receive at least one Office Action rejecting some or all claims. This is normal. You typically have 3 months (extendable to 6) to file a written response with arguments and/or amendments. If a final rejection is issued, you can file a Request for Continued Examination (RCE), an appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), or a continuation application. We handle all of these.

Question 20

Should I assign rights to my company or hold them personally?

Accepted Answer

Inventors are listed by name on every patent application by law, but ownership can be assigned to a company. If the invention is for a business, assigning to the company simplifies investment, licensing, and enforcement. Assignments must be in writing. Recording with the USPTO is not mandatory, but an unrecorded assignment is void against a later buyer who had no notice of it, unless it is recorded within 3 months or before that purchase. We prepare and record assignments at no extra charge as part of Step Two.

Protect your invention in the United States.

How are you filing?

One engagement, two clear stages.

Strategy & Search

Drafting & Filing

How patent filing works in the United States.

File a provisional

File the non-provisional

Examination

Allowance and grant

A thin provisional

Continuation filed too late

A dedicated team, with you at every step.

All your legal, in one place.

What inventors ask before filing with the USPTO.

Provisional or full application? Ask our attorney.

Filing in more countries, or need the next step?