Once you have solved the problem, do you know how to protect and develop the claims to your invention? Let us help you develop your patent application.

We believe that patents can be -- and should be – designed to help you meet your business objectives.  You might think of them as employees – and you should put as much care into designing them as you would put into hiring a key employee.

Neopatents' approach puts you in control and makes your patent attorney’s job easier.  Consider an analogy with home building.

If you were building a house, you could go to a builder and ask him or her to construct a three bedroom house for you.  You’d then wait and see what you got when it was done.  Odds are it wouldn’t match your expectations.

The alternative is to take a set of plans to the builder.  Whether you bought the plans, did them yourself, or hired an architect, you’d have a design to follow.  You and the builder would be on the same page, and your communications would be dramatically improved by having a design from which to work.  You would get the house you wanted, and the builder would have a satisfied customer.

What is “patent design”? 

Simply put, it is the new way to patent.  Traditionally, an inventor would go to a patent attorney with an idea, and the attorney would put that idea into a patent application and submit it to the Patent Office for examination.  It the idea met the three tests of patentability, then a patent would issue.  If it didn’t, the patent would be rejected.  The cost to the inventor would be the same.

Patent Design is a three-step process.  Each step builds upon the prior one, and allows you to make a business decision to continue to the next phase.  Each phase is separately priced, and quoted to you before we start.  We produce content that is ready for your attorney to take forward to the USPTO.

Our design process starts by transforming your ideas into inventions.  The Invention Capture Stage is a consultation with the inventors that uses our PatentMatrix® software to construct the “claims” of the patent.  The interactive nature of our process brings out additional areas of coverage, almost always making the resultant patent more comprehensive and stronger than it started off to be.

The next step – which is optional but highly recommended – is a Patentability Search.  We use our proprietary Spore® Search software to search the US Patent Database (and other relevant databases) to find any “prior art” that would preclude you from getting a patent.  We use the results of this search to modify the claims to maximize the probability of getting an application smoothly through the examination process.  If the search turns up prior art such that the application cannot be modified, you can terminate the project.

The smart way to patent is to only commit financial resources to those inventions that are likely to result in a valuable patent.  Cost savings of $8,000 - $20,000 can be realized when a non-patentable invention is not filed.

The third phase is Patent Development.  We optimize patent value by ensuring that the scope and detail in an application are designed to fit the space available within a patent landscape.  Comprehensive technical writing and drafting services produce ready-to-file patents designed with commercial value in mind.