USTPO Patent Registration for Your Inventions

Types of patents

There are three different types of patent applications that can be filed.

Please select from the three options to learn more.

Securing a Provisional Patent

Working with a provisional patent lawyer will provide you with an expedient way to establish a priority date for an invention with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Doing so is an effective and relatively cost-friendly way to safeguard your place in line with the USPTO while you decide whether to file a regular patent application.

A provisional patent application by itself is not a patent, but simply a holding place. To receive the benefit of the earlier provisional patent application date, a regular patent application must be filed within one year.

Importantly, the 12-month period cannot be extended. Filing a provisional patent application also allows you to immediately start labeling your invention as “patent pending.”

Acquiring a Design Patent

A design patent lawyer will help you protect the unique shape, look, and form of a product.

The design patent does not focus on usefulness; instead, it focuses on the ornamental design of the invention. If the product has no unique or distinctive shape or appearance at the time it was created then it cannot obtain a design patent. A design patent allows the owner to exclude others from making, using, copying, or importing a design substantially similar to the design claimed in the patent.

Design patents are granted for a term of 15 years from the date of issuance (14 years if issued before 12/19/2013) and are not subject to maintenance fees.

Like all patents, a design patent application should be filed with the assistance and guidance of a patent attorney due to its complexity.

What is a Utility Patent?

A utility patent protects the creation of a new or improved product, process or machine and is by far the most common filed patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

To obtain a utility patent, the invention must be useful and serve some practical or functional purpose. While utility patents are more expensive than design patents, which protects a product’s ornamental design, they typically provide broader patent protection.

A utility patent expires 20 years from the application filing date, subject to the payment of appropriate maintenance fees.

Filing for a utility patent application on your own is no easy task and carries too much of a risk for making a mistake. That’s why so many turn to the top notch patent attorneys at Lloyd & Mousilli for their patent needs.

Got an invention you want to patent?