A utility patent is enforceable for a period from its issue date as a patent and expiring 20 years from the earliest non-provisional patent application filing date claimed by the patent. It should be noted that a provisional patent application never issues as a patent under any circumstances and does not start the 20 year period.

What are the steps of getting a patent application filed?

Briefly the steps involved in getting a patent application filed at the US patent office involve the following:

• Contact Passé Intellectual Property and discuss your invention using our free, confidential, no obligation consultation service with a patent attorney to determine costs and risks
• Engage Passé Intellectual Property to perform a patentability search and opinion to determine potential patent scope and likely hood of Patent Office approval 
• If the patentability opinion is positive, order the writing of a patent application. This preparation process takes about 60 to 120 days depending on the complexity of the application and how many drafts are produced. A rush service is available for urgent situations. We will then prepare an application for filing of from about 15 to about 250 pages
• Prepare the Patent Office paperwork for filing a patent application, about 1-2 hours paralegal work for a provisional application and about 4-5 hours work for a non-provisional (regular) patent application including an Invention Disclosure Statement.
• Electronically file the patent application with the Patent Office including paying the Patent Office filing fee
• Provide you with all filing information including a filing receipt, filing serial number giving you patent pending status within 24 hours of completion of filing the application.