Patent Applications and Patents Granted

I filed two patent applications in 1994. As is normal in new product development, the developer needed to think of new ideas to overcome various difficulties. As a result there could be more than one invention.

The patenting process involves these steps: (1) file an application, (2) a government examiner studies the application, (3) the applicant and examiner argue back and forth about the application, and (4) a decision is made to allow or reject the application. A patent will be granted if the examiner allows the application.

A patent application contains two parts: (1) a detailed description of the invention and (2) a claim of the scope of the invention. The purpose of the claim is similar to the boundary of land. Anything within the scope of the claim (or boundary of land) belong to the patent owner. Normally the claim is written in one long and complicated sentence. 

After an application is filed, it sits in the Patent Office. Due to the large number of applications and small number of examiners, it is not unusual for an application to sit for a few years before a patent examiner has time to work on the application.

The examiner studies the application. He/she searches various databases in and outside of the Patent Office looking for technology existed prior to applicant’s invention (in patent parlance, “prior art”).  Armed with prior art the examiner typically rejects the application by issuing an “office action.”

The applicant has the right to overcome the rejection. There are two ways: (a) show that the prior art would not render applicant’s invention unpatentable, and/or (b) change the scope of the patent claim. The examiner then responds to applicant's arguments.

After a series of back-and-forth, which can be as short as a few months but may take a few years, the examiner makes a final decision. The applicant has a patent if the application is allowed.  

I went through this lengthy process. Eventually a patent was granted early 2000. Another patent was granted one year later.

Click here to read a description of the patented invention