Patent Attorney and Founder
Check out this chart right here. Did you know that this is the whole process on how to file a patent application? Quite a bit going on there, right? A little complex. Just know that this is the fourth step. This whole thing is the fourth step where there are actually three earlier steps that need to be taken prior to filing a patent application. [Music]
I’m J.D. Houvener, managing partner and CEO here at Bold Patents Law Firm. The patent process can be tedious, and there are a lot of steps involved. Just know that I and our firm of attorneys are here to help you, the inventor, move forward one step at a time toward progressing and making your vision or idea a reality.
Today, I’m going to walk you through how to file a provisional patent application. Before we get started, I want to let you know that what I’ve done is laid out a timeline for you on this video so you can follow along. If you’re short on time, jump to the section you want to hear about.
Today, let’s move right ahead to Step One: Invention Title.
Okay, this is a bit of a nuanced thing. Inventors can sometimes get a little elaborate with titles. I tend to keep titles pretty compact and at least common denominator. There’s no reason to be all frilly and add language to a title. The main reason is you don’t want too much specificity; you want your invention to be really broad. For example, if you’ve invented a new type of container device for liquids with a closure mechanism, the title should not be “New Silicone Rubber Seal for Water Containers.” Instead, the title should be “Liquid Container Closure.” This covers more under that title, not limited to just water or rubber.
As far as the title goes, you need to make sure your invention is categorized properly, and the patent office does that for you, so don’t worry about it. It is part of what you can do to be proactive in writing the patent, so it fits into the right technology unit.
Step Two: General Description of Your Patent Application.
This is the heart of the patent. In the written description, you’re explaining how to make and use your invention. It’s that simple. You’re explaining to a person of ordinary skill in the art (a POSITA) how to make and use your invention so that they could take your writings and your drawings and go make your invention. It’s detailed, but that’s the kind of detail you need to write in your general description.
Step Three: What Does the Market Need?
You have to lay down in your application how your patented product solves a market need. This takes a bit of thinking and your business cap coming on. You need to think about what the customers you’re going to serve currently have, how they’re being served, what makes them happy, and what problem in the market your solution addresses.
Now, if you’re enjoying this video, it’s so important to me that we share this with as many people as we can. Click the like, share this video, and provide us a comment if you’ve been scratching your head. Thank you for your likes, shares, and comments.
The next step is to describe the most basic version of your invention. This is one of the hard things to get inventors to do because they come in with this rad invention and see it hitting the market. This is hard because you’ve got to strip the invention down to its bare bones, its skeleton. This will set the stage for the initial claim set.
The next section is describing alternative embodiments. You have this stripped-down version, and now it’s about how your invention might work if you change materials, structural elements, or moved things around. This section can be quite lengthy. Brainstorm all the alternative embodiments.
Once you get done with that list, now it’s time to describe your Cadillac version. This is where the inventor and the patent attorney work together to describe the full version of your invention—the version you plan to go to market with. This is your selected embodiment, and you’re going to talk about it extensively. This is also where you’ll provide figures, diagrams, cut views, schematics—everything detailed.
The next part is to describe the uniqueness. Break out the uniqueness in the market summary solution. You have to show how your invention is functionally different and how it achieves its job.
Last but not least, include figures. Figures better be outlined in full detail. Figures are there because some things you just can’t explain with words. Figures point back to specific sections of those drawings in the specification.
Once the whole thing is put together, you ship that application off to the USPTO for the examiner to review. You have to put together an oath application data sheet, include a cover sheet, and an information data sheet that has all the priority, spec, claims, and drawing data. Sign it, pay the fees, and off you go. Congratulations! You have just filed a patent application.
Before we go, I want to invite you. If you’ve enjoyed this session, if you like what you’re hearing today, give us a thumbs up. Each stage of this process is key for every inventor to hear. So if you know someone who’s thinking about inventing, share this video with them. Don’t forget to grab this book; it’s on our website, boldip.com. This is my gift to you. I’m your host J.D. Houvener, the managing partner, and CEO here at Bold Patents Law Firm. It’s my pleasure to talk with you today, and congrats on making a big decision to go big, go bold.