From avionics and flight-control electronics to propulsion, structures and sensing systems, Craige Thompson, a licensed electrical engineer (PE) and USPTO-registered patent attorney, drafts aerospace claims that capture the engineering, not a simplified summary of it.
Aerospace and defense inventions tend to be complex systems where the novelty sits in how mechanical, electrical and software elements work together. We protect:
Some defense-related applications can be placed under a secrecy order by the USPTO when publication could harm national security. We help clients understand how that process works and plan filings, including any foreign filings, with it in mind.
Most aerospace & defense inventions draw on one or more of the patent types we prepare:
Aerospace patents are read by engineers, examiners, licensees and, eventually, opposing experts. Craige Thompson can read your schematics, control loops and test data directly, so the claims describe what is actually new about the system. That precision is what makes a patent useful in licensing negotiations, with investors, and when a competitor tries to design around it.
Tell us about your invention in a Complimentary Patent Needs Assessment. We’ll tell you honestly whether it’s patentable, what it would take to protect it, and what it would cost.
Get a Complimentary Patent Needs AssessmentYes. Defense-related inventions can be patented like any other invention if they are new, useful and non-obvious. Some applications are reviewed for national-security sensitivity, and a small number are placed under a secrecy order that delays publication and issuance.
Under 35 U.S.C. 181, a government agency can ask the USPTO to keep an application secret if publishing it could harm national security. While the order is in place, the application is not published or issued, and filing abroad is restricted. The application is not abandoned, and the order can be lifted later.
For inventions made in the United States, you generally need a foreign filing license before filing abroad. It is usually granted automatically with the filing receipt of a US application, but filing abroad first without one can put your US patent rights at risk.
Yes. Many aerospace inventions are combinations of hardware and software. Claims can be written to cover the system, the method it performs and the control software, which gives broader protection than claiming any one piece alone.
Typically 18 months to 3+ years from filing, depending on the technology area and USPTO backlog. Track One prioritized examination can shorten this for an added fee.
