Patent prosecution is where a good idea becomes an enforceable right, and it takes both the technical chops to describe an invention accurately and the legal judgment to claim it well. We come from software engineering backgrounds, so we can actually understand what your inventors built before we draft a single claim. We prosecute patent applications before the USPTO and coordinate foreign filings to win protection that serves your business, not just a certificate to frame.
Invention Capture And Evaluation
Good prosecution starts before drafting, with a clear picture of what the invention is and what protection it actually needs. We run disclosure sessions that pull the real technical detail out of your inventors, then assess patentability against prior art, subject matter eligibility, and achievable claim scope. We also weigh the business angle: how significant the invention is competitively and how it fits your portfolio. That up-front evaluation points prosecution dollars at the inventions where they will return the most.
Drafting Claims That Earn Their Scope
Your application has to satisfy the legal requirements and still cover something commercially worth owning. The specification must enable a skilled practitioner to make and use the invention and provide written description support for what you claim. The claims are where the real work lives: too narrow and they miss meaningful market scope, too broad and they fail allowance or invalidate later. We draft to position the application well for examination while preserving room for continuation practice down the road.
Office Action Responses
Most applications draw rejections before they reach allowance, and how you answer them decides what you walk away with. Office actions hit prior art under anticipation or obviousness, enablement and written description, subject matter eligibility under Alice, and indefiniteness. We respond with targeted claim amendments, arguments that distinguish the cited art, supporting declarations, and examiner interviews when a conversation moves things faster. The goal throughout is meaningful claims without burning unnecessary time and cost in the back-and-forth.
Continuations And Design Patents
Prosecution is rarely one application; it is the ongoing build of a protective family. Continuations claim priority while pursuing new or modified claims, continuations-in-part add new matter, and divisionals handle restriction requirements, all of which let you extend coverage to variations and improvements as your products evolve. We also prosecute design patents, which protect the ornamental appearance of products and interfaces through drawings rather than text, as part of a coordinated protection strategy.
Post-Grant And International Filing
After a patent issues, reissue can correct defects or broaden claims within two years, and reexamination or supplemental examination can shore up validity. For global coverage, the Patent Cooperation Treaty lets a single filing preserve priority across member countries, with national phase entry and European Patent Office prosecution following under local law. We coordinate international prosecution and handle USPTO appeals, petitions, and other proceedings to keep your patents strong everywhere they matter.