Overview of the Prosecution Phase of Getting a Patent

The non-provisional patent application is examined by an examiner at the Patent Office approximately one year after filing and typically all of the claims are rejected by the examiner.  We then have a chance to respond to his/her rejections, a task which is billed by the hour and is  typically $800.00-1,800.00, depending on how complex the response is.  Sometimes, a rebuttal of the initial rejection results in obtaining allowed claims.  Once the claims are allowed, about another $1,000.00 is required for the issue fee.  This happens about two years after filing the utility patent application.   More than one round of rejection and rebuttal are possible.  The examination of the application depends on the examiner we get, and how close the prior art is to your device.