Got a New Invention? USPTO Delays May Affect Your Rights
The time it takes to get a patent approved by the United States Patent and Trademark Office is getting longer and longer. The average wait for a first response from the USPTO to a patent application is now more than 2 years. From start to issue, the current average time lag is nearly 3 years!
The USPTO has over 1.2 million patent applications pending and received about 497,000 new applications in 2008. As I discussed in a previous entry, there is something of a budgetary crisis going on at the USPTO right now and unfortunately the agency simply does not have enough resources to dedicate to the examination and review of patent applications at this point. Unfortunately, the current economic situation has forced many governmental agencies to tighten their belts, meaning processing gets delayed, and the public has to wait longer and longer. Inventors are no exception.
What does this mean for your invention? It has become difficult to predict the time frame in which a patent may be issued, and this uncertainty may adversely affect your ability to secure investors and bring in new capital to your firm based on near-future intellectual property rights. Furthermore, infringers may come out of the woodworks while your patent is being processed. The best course of action is to apply early and get the ball rolling ASAP! Issued patents give cease and desist letters a lot more teeth when asking an infringer to stop.
Contact a patent attorney to get started right away with the patent process!
