Applying for Patent Protection

A Georgetown-based patent litigator and licensing attorney, William Bryan Farney has over three decades of experience in the field of law. William Bryan Farney has also been acknowledged by Chambers U.S.A. repeatedly as one of the country’s top patent litigators.

By obtaining a patent, an inventor of a technology secures the right to prohibit others from using, selling, or making the technology throughout a specified period of time. Before an invention can qualify for a patent, it must satisfy a series of criteria, including novelty. An invention is considered novel if it has never been created before, or has one or more features that set it apart from similar inventions.

To obtain a patent, an inventor must apply for it through the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The application must be submitted within one year of public disclosure or announcement of the innovation (such as through sale offer or a publication).

An inventor or their attorney ideally should make a preliminary patent search to check if such a patent has not been obtained or applied for by another inventor, which may render their application invalid. If the result of the search shows that their application may result in a patent being issued, they can proceed with the application. The application and necessary fee will be tendered to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. After the application is submitted, it will be reviewed by a patent examiner. If the patent is granted, the inventor will pay an additional fee, and the invention’s description and use will be published by the federal government.