UNDERSTANDING YOUR OPTIONS
Choosing the Right Type of Patent Protection
Patent protection can take different forms depending on what you have created, how the invention works, and what aspects of it you want to protect.
Some patents are intended to protect the functional features of an invention, such as how it operates, how it is used, or how its components work together. Others are focused on the visual appearance of a product, including its shape, configuration, or ornamental design. The filing approach may also depend on how far the invention has been developed, whether additional testing or refinement is still underway, and how quickly an early filing date may be needed.
In some cases, a provisional application may be used as an initial step before a full non-provisional application is filed.
Understanding these differences early can help you make a more informed decision about the type of patent protection to pursue and choose a filing strategy that aligns with both your invention and your broader business goals.
Provisional Applications
A provisional patent application can establish an early U.S. filing date while giving an inventor additional time to further develop the invention or prepare a non-provisional application. A corresponding non-provisional application generally must be filed within 12 months to claim the benefit of the provisional filing date.
✔ Establish an early U.S. filing date
✔ Gain up to 12 months before filing
✔ Allow more time for development
✔ Prepare for a non-provisional application
✔ Does not itself become a patent
Design Patents
Protect the ornamental appearance of a product rather than how it functions. Design patents can cover the visual characteristics that make a product distinctive, including its overall shape, configuration, surface ornamentation, or combination of visual features.
✔ Product shape and configuration
✔ Surface ornamentation
✔ Decorative features
✔ Visual product designs
✔ Distinctive ornamental appearances
Utility Patents
Protect how an invention works, functions, or is used. Utility patents may cover new machines, systems, processes, technologies, compositions, or functional improvements to existing products. They are generally used when the value of an invention comes from what it does, how it operates, or the method it uses to achieve a particular result.
✔ Machines and devices
✔ Systems and technologies
✔ Methods and processes
✔ Chemical compositions
✔ Functional product improvements
Evaluating an Invention Before Filing
Before investing in a patent application, it is often useful to understand what has already been patented, published, or publicly disclosed.
Patentability and prior-art research can help identify existing technologies that may affect whether an invention is new and sufficiently different from what came before.
Rotek Law helps clients evaluate this information so they can make more informed decisions about whether and how to pursue patent protection.
PATENTABILITY & PRIOR ART
Review existing patents, published patent applications, and other relevant technical materials that may relate to the invention.
01 Search
Evaluate the identified prior art and consider how the invention differs from existing technologies.
02 Assess
Use the results to determine whether filing makes sense and how the patent application may be positioned or structured.
03 Plan
PATENT APPLICATIONS & PROSECUTION
Guidance From Filing Through USPTO Review
Rotek Law assists clients throughout the patent application and examination process, from the initial preparation and filing of an application through the later stages of review by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Depending on the invention and filing strategy, this may include provisional patent applications, non-provisional utility applications, design patent applications, continuation applications, and other related filings.
We also assist with responding to USPTO Office Actions, addressing questions or objections raised by patent examiners, and participating in examiner interviews when appropriate. Throughout the prosecution process, we work to present the invention clearly, respond to examination issues in a practical and organized manner, and help clients understand the options available at each stage.
Our goal is to guide clients through the process with a clear understanding of how filing decisions, claim strategy, and USPTO responses may affect the scope, strength, and progress of their patent rights.
Building Protection Around Long-Term Business Goals
A patent strategy may involve more than protecting a single invention. As products, technologies, and businesses develop, additional filings may be appropriate to protect improvements, related inventions, new designs, or opportunities in other markets. Rotek Law helps clients develop patent portfolios with these broader goals in mind, including continuation strategies, PCT applications, and international filing considerations where appropriate.
PATENT STRATEGY
Identify opportunities to protect new inventions, improvements, product variations, and related technologies as the business develops.
01 Portfolio Development
02 Continuation Strategy
Consider whether continuation or related applications may help pursue additional patent protection based on an earlier filing.
03 International Protection
Evaluate PCT and foreign filing strategies when patent protection may be important in markets outside the United States.