Design Application or a Utility Application?
What is the difference in procedure between a desing appliocation and a utility application?
After the Design application is filed, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office takes the application up for examination (usually in about 12-15 months, as opposed to 18 months to 36 months for a utility patent application). The Examiner conducts his own search and issues an Office Action which may reject the application. We have a right to respond to the Office Action by arguing that the design of the invention is different from the designs located in their search. In general, the Patent Office rejections are usually related to the drawings, but can be subject to argument as to the applicability of prior art, or differentiating the invention from the prior art.
Usually, any such rejections are overcome by presenting Replacement Drawings, that is, making the changes to the Drawings that the Examiner requires. Usually, the Patent and Trademark Office allows the application if the drawings are acceptable. Any amendment to the Design application may incur a legal fee. If the only amendment is the Replacement Drawings, the fees due will be drawing fees and a fee for document preparation, which may range from $200 to $600, depending on the rejection and required response. Each application is different, and the above presented fees are only estimates, and subject to change without notice. However, if I present an inventor with an estimate for my services, and the inventor agrees and has me do the work, then that estimate is binding. As stated above, I do all I can to avoid any surprise to the client inventor.
After allowance, and upon payment of an issue fee of $430 plus a $200 document preparation fee, the application issues as a design patent. Accordingly, design patent prosecution generally takes 8 to 15 months and costs generally between $1,500 and $2,500. This cost may vary if the subject matter is complex or if difficulty is encountered during the prosecution of the patent application.
An application for a design patent must be on file in the United States Patent and Trademark Office within one year from the date on which the invention was first used or placed on sale in this country, or patented or described/illustrated in a printed publication in this or a foreign country. Moreover, many foreign countries require an application to be filed before the invention is disclosed in any manner, anywhere in the world. Failure to comply with the above requirements will prevent you from obtaining patent protection in the United States and/or many foreign countries.