As Austin patent lawyers, every day, we hear from inventors who are stunned and dismayed at the amount of time they could potentially spend dealing with the United States Patent Office when seeking approval for their patent.
Those worries are not unfounded.
“Pendency” is the length of time a patent application takes from the day it is filed until the day it leaves the Patent Office—either because it was allowed or abandoned.
According to USPTO statistics from March 2016, the average pendency during which a patent bounces around in the patent office is over 34 months.
In other words, the average patent applicant spends almost three years before they either get a patent — or give up and quit!
For an inventor who has worked tirelessly to “crack the code” on a formula or create a product/software that could be revolutionary in the marketplace and wants to get their invention out there as soon as possible, these statistics can be daunting.
But, the inventor should also know that their choice of attorney factors into how long they will spend dealing with the Patent Office.
A firm that prioritizes minimizing office actions and anticipating issues from the start will have better success in trimming down the amount of time spent tied up in the approval process.
Here at Thompson Patent Law, our unique patent process is designed to get to allowance in a minimum number of office actions. This avoids expensive process steps like appeals and RCEs, and saves the client time and money, while significantly improving patent value.
As shown in the figure below, TPL’s process has produced patents significantly faster than the averages reported by the PTO.
Remember, the longer it takes to get a patent through the patent office, the further your monetization potential falls.
Don’t be afraid to ask ANY patent attorney about their average time to allowance compared to the average time published by the PTO.
Here at Thompson Patent Law, we welcome such questions and would be happy to share our past results, including our track record of shaving over eight months off the average time to get through the U.S Patent Office.
When every day, week, and month counts until your patent is approved and marketable, it can be game-changing having this level of efficiency on your side.
Worried that your Patent Application may be rejected? Our patent attorneys can help. We are here to offer advice, and if we feel you have a patentable idea, we can help you through the patent process.
To schedule a consultation via phone or video conference, please get in touch with us at (512) 649-1046.
