How do I tell you about my invention?

Initially you call us on the telephone, or you send us an email and we contact you.  We call you back and we confidentially discuss your invention with you.  The details of your invention are confidentially disclosed to us using the internet.

Are our discussions confidential?

We are practitioners registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  The legally binding ethics of our profession prohibit our revealing your confidential information.  However, we are willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement if you require it.

Do I need to prepare my own drawings?

We prefer that you prepare your own drawings.  If you do not wish to do this, we have skilled draftsmen available to prepare patent drawings.  However, we require at least hand drawn sketches so that we may understand your invention.

How do I submit my drawings to you?

The best way to submit drawings or sketches to us is over the internet.  If you prepare the drawings using an approved computer drawing program, just send us the computer file.  Otherwise, scan the drawings into your computer and send us the files.  If this is a problem, you may FAX the drawings to us, or you can send us the drawings by mail.

Must I do a patent or prior art search?

It is not absolutely necessary that you perform a search.  However, it is highly recommended.  It increases the odds of your getting a patent on your invention and of your patent being strong and enforceable.

Can I save money and perform a search myself?

Yes, you can perform a search of patents and published patent applications dating back to 1976 for free on the US Patent Office website http://www.uspto.gov.

How much does it cost to get a patent?

There are three parts to that answer.  First, there are the fees that you pay us for preparing and prosecuting your patent application.  These fees will be quoted to you on a fixed price basis.  You will find that our fees are very much lower than that charged by other patent law firms.  Second, there are fees required by the Patent Office.  These can be seen on the website of the Patent Office.  We do not markup these fees.  Third, there are incidental expenses.  These expenses are optional and are approved by you before they are incurred.

Why are your fees very much lower than other patent law firms?

We are a truly virtual firm.  Although we maintain a home office, our practitioners practice from diverse locations.  Therefore, we have a very low overhead.  We pass these considerable savings on to our clients.

How do I pay you?

You may pay us using a major credit card or by check, money order, wire transfer, etc.  You may also pay us using PayPal.

When do I pay you?

Because we charge lower fees than other firms, we cannot extend credit to our clients.  Therefore, you must pay all our service fees before we begin preparing your patent application.  All US Patent Office filing fees must be paid prior to filing your patent application.  We cannot advance Patent Office fees for you.  We do not markup these fees.  You may pay them either to us or to the Patent Office directly.  However, you get a discount on some of your filing fees either if you pay us or if you provide us with credit card information that we can transmit to the Patent Office.  In addition, all expenses approved by you must be pre-paid.

Do you outsource your work to foreign companies?

No!  All of our work on US patent applications and international patent applications is performed in the United States.  However, for foreign filings, we are required by law to work with attorneys or agents registered to practice in foreign patent offices.

How does my individualized internet client workspace work?

When you become a client, you will be given a confidential, password protected virtual drive that you may access either from our website or from your own computer desktop.  This virtual drive will provide you with the following:

• an interactive folder where we both work on preparing your patent application
• a read-only folder where we store all documents relating to your case that you provide to us and that we generate
• a read-only folder where you can look at every document on file at the Patent Office and where you can examine the current status of your application
• a optional read-only public folder that contains images of your patents and published applications along with your contact information.

How do I monitor the progress of my patent application?

You can monitor the progress of your patent application on your individualized internet client workspace at any time.  Although we are available for telephone and email consultation, and we will be happy to talk to you, it is not necessary for you to call us to obtain this kind of information.

Do you gurarantee that we will be granted a patent?

Sorry!  We cannot provide you with a such a guarantee.  We work with you on a best efforts basis.  This is the same service that you get from any patent firm.