Utility Patent Applications

35 U.S.C. § 101 Inventions patentable

A Utility patent covers the way an invention or process works,
functions or is used, and is used for an improvement of an existing
product or process. This type of patent is for a mechanical, electrical,
or software program that performs some useful purpose. There are
two other types of Utility applications, Provisional and PCT. Page down
to get additional information about these types of applications.

Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process,
machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and
useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefore, subject
to the conditions and requirements of this title. This includes finding
a new non-obvious use for an item and an improvement to an existing product. A utility patent can cover not only the invention but also how the invention is used. 

When should you file a Utility Patent Application? Many people file for
this type of application when they have a working prototype.   If you have
an invention that is fairly well defined, and you are in the process of final
tweaking of the design, or initial stages of production. You have up to one
year to file for a Utility Application after you first showed or sold the
product. After the patent issues you will have patent rights for 20 years
from the date you filed the application with the patent office.

A Utility Patent Application is what most people call a "Patent" This type of application can be filed after a provisional patent has been filed of can be filed instead of a Provisional Application. A Utility patent covers the way an invention or process works, functions or is used, and is used for an improvement of an existing product or process. As described above, this type of patent is for a mechanical, electrical, for software program that performs some useful purpose.

Utility patents are the most common type of patent. The total cost to obtain this type of patent depends on many factors including, the type of utility application (US, PCT, Provisional), any similar inventions, the level of development of the invention, face-to-face meetings, the number and extent of changes to the application, and the tenacity of the patent office.

To place a typical US Utility application on file, the cost will between $4,000 to $5,000 including all drawings and filing fees and takes about 60 days to have the application “Patent Pending”. Complicated cases can take longer and cost more. Prosecution of a typical utility patent application involves additional charges. The additional charges involve submitting an information disclosure statement, replying to the patent office to argue your patent, and issue fees. These costs are an average of an additional $3,000 and it generally takes two to three years, but can over six years for some applications, until the patent issues (Patented). These estimates assume you are a small entity (less than 500 employees) and the application does not require continuation or divisional applications. When the patent issues, maintenance fees will be required to keep the patent active. The maintenance fees are due at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years. The fees currently run between $565 and $4,730 depending upon small or large entity and when the fee is paid.    To summarize you should budget $8,000 for a typical US utility application and expect the process will take 3 to 6 years.

The schedule below provides an estimate of the entire process from initial consultation until the patent expires, 20 years after the date the Patent Office (PTO) receives the file.