Patent applications
Prepare your first U.S. patent application.
Parti & Oliveira PLLC helps individual inventors and small businesses prepare and file U.S. patent applications. Work with registered patent attorney Vik Parti to choose a filing route and develop a technical disclosure that supports the protection you seek.
Before drafting
Find the technical contribution.
After engagement, we begin with the problem you or your team addressed, the features that distinguish the approach, and the practical alternatives. Drawings, architecture diagrams, development notes, and a focused inventor discussion help us understand the implementation.
We also discuss planned launches, publications, demonstrations, earlier filings, and commercial priorities. Those facts help shape the proposed scope and filing schedule. You do not need a finished patent disclosure to start a conversation.
If patentability is the first question, a focused patent search and written assessment can help evaluate the filing direction. We discuss the appropriate scope and timing before beginning.
Filing options
Choose the route that fits the work.
Provisional applications
A provisional application can establish an early U.S. filing date for sufficiently disclosed subject matter. It is not examined and is not a granted patent. For the usual U.S. route, a corresponding nonprovisional application claiming its benefit must generally be filed within 12 months. The later claims need support in the provisional; we review the record and timing for your matter.
The value lies in the substance of the disclosure. We consider how much detail is available now and what further development is expected.
USPTO overview of provisional applicationsNonprovisional applications
A nonprovisional utility application is the filing examined by the USPTO. Preparation includes a technical description, claims defining the protection sought, an abstract, and drawings as appropriate.
We develop the application around the disclosed technology, its variations, and your business objectives. Utility patents concern how an invention works; design patents concern ornamental appearance and follow a different application process. Provisional applications are unavailable for design inventions.
USPTO utility application guideWorking together
A deliberate drafting process.
Initial inquiry
Provide a general, nonconfidential overview of the technology, requested work, business goals, and known deadlines.
Confirm engagement
Confirm the firm's acceptance and agree in writing on the proposed filing, deliverables, fees, and responsibilities before substantive technical work begins.
Review, draft and refine
After engagement, share technical documents through the agreed process. We review the invention and inventors, develop the application and drawings, and work through technical questions and your feedback.
File and plan
Submit the agreed filing and identify the next decisions within the engagement.
Budget for the application and what follows.
Preparation and filing are a distinct phase. Patent examiner responses, later applications, government fees, and outside drawing costs should be addressed in the scope and fee proposal. We discuss these distinctions before you commit to the work. Explore patent costs by stage.
Already have a filing awaiting review? Explore help with examiner objections and pending applications.
Your first filing
What should an inventor or small business prepare?
Explain the difference
Identify the technical problem, how your approach works, and what differs from known alternatives. After engagement, diagrams and development notes help us explore useful variations.
Gather the dates
List earlier filings and planned or past launches, demonstrations, publications, offers for sale, or public repository releases. An initial inquiry does not preserve a filing date.
Pre-launch patent planning checklistSet the business priority
Identify what matters most to the next product release and what competitors could copy. That helps frame the scope and budget without assuming every feature needs a separate application.
Do I have to start with a provisional application?
No. A provisional is optional. Depending on the development stage, disclosure, business plans, and timing, a direct nonprovisional filing may be appropriate. We discuss the work involved in each route, including the later filing needed after a provisional, before you choose.
Does filing an application mean I have a patent?
No. Filing and receiving a patent are different steps. A nonprovisional application is examined by the USPTO and may issue only if the applicable requirements are met. Filing does not guarantee allowance or a particular scope of protection. Examiner responses and later decisions may involve additional work and fees.
Do I need a working prototype before filing?
A working prototype is ordinarily not required. The application must still explain the invention with enough detail to meet applicable disclosure requirements. We discuss whether more technical work is needed before drafting. See the USPTO's application guidance.
Can I use ChatGPT or another AI tool to draft a patent application?
AI-generated text is not a substitute for checking whether an application accurately explains the invention and supports the claims being pursued. Review should address missing or invented technical details, consistency between the description and claims, inventorship, filing deadlines, and how confidential information was handled. Our substantive drafting or review work begins only after conflicts, scope, fees, and engagement are confirmed.
Our software and AI worked examples illustrate why implementation details matter.
Who should be named as an inventor or owner?
Inventorship depends on the legally relevant inventive contributions. Ownership is a separate question, and rights may be transferred by assignment. Funding the work or owning a company does not by itself make someone an inventor. Tell us about collaborators and relevant employment, contractor, or assignment agreements so these issues can be reviewed.
Can I file after sharing or launching my invention?
Tell us promptly about public demonstrations, sales, offers for sale, publications, or code releases and their dates. Disclosure can affect U.S. and foreign patent rights; do not assume a grace period protects every filing. We review the facts and deadlines before advising whether and how to proceed.
What if development or earlier filings involve another country?
Identify where the invention was developed, any earlier application and filing date, and countries where you may seek protection. We review that history and timing before recommending the U.S. filing route and discussing coordination with foreign counsel. A U.S. filing does not by itself secure patent protection in other countries.
Can I discuss installment payments for my first patent application?
Yes. Depending on the matter, installment arrangements for attorney fees may be available, with availability and terms agreed in writing. Clients remain responsible for applicable government charges and outside expenses separately from attorney fees. Payment arrangements do not extend filing deadlines. See our payment options and discuss your budget when defining the engagement.
Start a conversation
Discuss your next patent application.
Start with your name, company if applicable, a brief nonconfidential technology summary, and any launch, disclosure, or filing date. An inquiry does not establish representation or mean we are monitoring a deadline.