Aggressive and effective examiner interviews during patent examination can significantly reduce software patent costs. Patenting a software invention can be costly, with significant research, document preparation, and review costs.
Examiner interviews can start before the first action from the examiner. If an application has no more than three independent claims and twenty total claims, one can request to have a pre-examination interview. The applicant must electronically file a request for an interview before the examiner files an office action.
In response to the request, the examiner will prepare a pre-interview communication. An interview should be held each time an office action is issued if there are substantive issues that remain to be resolved.
I prefer to schedule an interview as soon as I receive an office action, when the patent application claims and prior art are still fresh on the examiner's mind. Being concise is important because examiners have limited time to prepare for each interview. I forward these to the examiner and arrange for an interview.
By aggressively engaging in a dialog with the examiner, the number of office action/response cycles for a software patent can be significantly reduced.
Reducing Software Patent Costs Through Aggressive Examiner Interviews
Does your invention have a unique selling proposition? Will the product need expensive tooling? Does the manufacturing result in hazardous waste products? If the product or device is of a technical nature will it need a repair service and warranty replacement program? What about product liability insurance?Does your invention provide a convenience for the customers? As a result we invented the Metlund Hot Water Demand system and the Chilipepper hot water demand systems. Build a prototype if applicable and do your marketing research utilizing focus groups, test marketing, compare it with other products it will compete with.Obtain some books on the subjects of patents, new products, marketing and the like.
No comments:
Post a Comment