Patent Prosecution: Pre Grant

Patent prosecution is a different type of legal action from patent litigation. Whereas patent litigation deals with the infringement of patents, patent prosecution is a process that involves only the applicant, or representative thereof, and the patent office. There is no third party involved except in some post grant cases.

There are two types of patent prosecution cases. These are pre grant and post grant cases. Pre grant prosecution cases deal with anything that comes up before the patent is granted. This generally includes negotiation with the patent office for the grant of the patent.

The laws and rules surrounding patent prosecution are presented in manuals released by patent offices. These differ from country to county. Here in the United States, the laws are laid out in the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, or MPEP. This is a fairly extensive manual that a good patent attorney can help you decipher.

The MPEP goes over all aspects of pre grant patent prosecution. This is everything from preparing and filing an application to examination and registration to appeals and abandonment. Pre grant patent prosecution is a process that can become quite difficult because of all that goes into it.

Once all of this is done, however, a patent is granted or not. If it is granted, you have your patent and can move on.

Call a Patent Litigation Attorney

If you would like more information about patents and patent prosecution, contact the patent attorneys of Williams Kherkher at 800.761.3187.