What is a Registered Patent Practitioner?
In the United States, a Patent Practitioner is a person who is a Patent Agent or Patent Attorney licensed and registered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to represent others before the office and prosecute patent applications. You can search for and find all practitioners at the USPTO. Licensed practitioners can represent your invention in a patent application, and can do all the writing and drawing for you. Start the 5 steps to patent for your invention with our practitioners.
Inventor Tip: Invention disclosures to patent practitioners are covered by client controlled privilege. We ensure confidentiality of our services by doing all prior art searching, patent application writing, patent application filing, and patent application prosecution in-house. Read more about invention confidentiality.
What Does a Patent Practitioner do?
A patent practitioner is a person who provides patenting services for patentable new inventions. Patenting services can be related to new inventions and ideas, as well as new and existing products and processes. For new inventions, patenting services includes all activities needed to help inventors (and applicants) seek patent protection for a new invention. For new and existing products and processes, patenting services includes all activities needed to determine whether a product or process infringes on the intellectual property of others, or is free to operate.
Protect New Inventions with Patent Application Services
Patent practitioners help inventors (or applicants) seek patent protection for their inventions. Patent attorneys and patent agents are the only legal professionals licensed to work with inventors to write, file, and prosecute patent applications for their new inventions. Patent practitioners help protect new inventions by performing all legal services needed to search, write, file, and prosecute patent applications. Check out our patent dos and don’ts.
There are two phases/stages of patenting services involved in seeking patent protection for your invention. The first phase/stage is filing for patent pending status. The second phase/stage is patent application prosecution. Patent application prosecution is all the follow up correspondence with the patent office seeking to advance the application to a condition for allowance and issue.
The first phase/stage, in seeking patent protection is filing for protection. Filing for patent protection includes four patenting activities that align with our first four of our 5 steps to patent. The first four steps of our 5 steps to patenting an invention are: [1] the prior art search, [2] the patentability study, [3] patent application writing, and [4] patent application filing. All four actions are needed to properly file and get a patent application pending for your invention.
The second phase/stage in seeking patent protection is prosecuting the patent application. Patent prosecution is communicating with the patent office about the patent application. This communication usually takes one of four forms. A registered patent practitioner can provide services for all four: [1] responding to an office actions, [2] amendments, [3] new and revised claims, and [4] examiner interviews. Read more about pre-grant patent services.
Evaluate New and Existing Products and Processes for Infringement
For new and existing products and processes, patenting services includes all activities needed to determine whether a product or process infringes on the intellectual property of others, or is free to operate with out infringing. Licensed patent practitioners can provide all needed patenting services needed to determine whether or not a product or process will infringe or is free to operate.
Patent Practitioners Provide Invention Patenting Services Worldwide
A USPTO registered patent practitioner can represent inventions at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and at World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO). USPTO registered patent practitioners can provide patenting services for all types and kinds of patent applications all over the world. Only a licensed patent attorney or patent agent can represent inventions at the patent office and help an inventor seek patent protection for their creations. Licensed patent attorneys and agents can provide the full range of legal services needed for the following types and kinds of patent applications:
- Utility, Design, & Plant Invention Patent Applications;
- US & International (PCT & Hague) Patent Applications;
- Provisional Patent Applications (PPA);
- Patent Pending Applications;
- Provisional to Non-Provisional Conversions & Applications; and
- Continuation, Continuation in Part, Divisional, Substitute, and Replacement Patent Applications.