Posted: 10/31/2011 7:04:06 AM EDT
| I've got a couple of things that I'd like to patent, but I'm wondering what has changed now that First to File has been signed in. Does that make it less expensive to get a patent? Anything I need to know? |
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Things are more expensive now as the fees just got raised. However, if you qualify as a microentity (primarily if your gross income less than 3 times the median) you have a 75% reduction in USPTO fees. Really, it is the legal fees to the patent attorneys that are the majority of the expense, though for those small inventors that qualify, this could be helpful.
The rules now read that a patent cannot be obtained if "the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention." The exception to this is that disclosures made by the inventor within one year of the filing date are not prior art. The first-to-file aspects don't take effect until March of 2013, so right now it isn't much of a concern. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. |