The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) is the government agency responsible for examining patent applications and issuing patents. A patent is a type of property right. It gives the patent holder the right, for a limited time, to exclude others from making, using, offering to sell, selling, or importing into the United States the subject matter that is within the scope of protection granted by the patent. The USPTO determines whether a patent should be granted in a particular case. However, it is up to the patent holder to enforce his or her own rights if the USPTO does grant a patent.

There are ways to file a utility patent application. A patent application is a complex legal document. It shouldn’t be taken lightly. Patent application is best prepared by one trained to prepare such documents. There are various types of patents - utility, design, and plant. There are also two types of utility and plant patent applications - provisional and non-provisional. Each year the USPTO receives approximately 350,000 patent applications. Most of these are under non-provisional utility patents.

Patent Application Requirements

A non-provisional utility patent application must be in the English language or be accompanied by a translation in the English language. All papers must be typewritten or produced by a mechanical printer. The text must be in permanent black ink or its equivalent; on a single side of the paper; in portrait orientation.

A non-provisional utility patent application must include a specification, including a claim or claims; drawings, when necessary; an oath or declaration; and the prescribed filing, search, and examination fees. A complete non-provisional utility patent application should contain the elements listed below, arranged in the order shown.

• Utility Patent Application Transmittal Form or Transmittal Letter
• Fee Transmittal Form and Appropriate Fees
• Application Data Sheet (see 37 CFR § 1.76)
• Specification (with at least one claim)
• Drawings (when necessary)
• Executed Oath or Declaration
• Nucleotide and/or Amino Acid Sequence Listing (when necessary)

According to the law, only the inventor may file patent application. There are certain exceptions to this rule. If a person who is not the inventor should make patent application, the patent, if obtained, would be invalid. The person applying in such a case who falsely states that he/she is the inventor would also be subject to criminal penalties. If the inventor is dead, the patent application may be made by legal representatives, that is, the administrator or executor of the estate. If the inventor is insane, the patent application may be made by a guardian. If an inventor refuses to make a patent application or cannot be found, a joint inventor or a person having a proprietary interest in the invention may apply on behalf of the non-signing inventor.