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A non-provisional application for a patent is made to
the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark
Office and includes:
(1) A written document which comprises a specification
(description and claims), and an oath or declaration;
(2) A drawing in those cases in which a drawing is necessary;
and
(3) Filing, search, and examination fees. Applicant
must determine that small entity status is appropriate
before making an assertion of entitlement to small entity
status and paying a small entity fee. Fees change each
October. The fee schedule is posted on the USPTO Web site.
All application papers must be in the English language
or a translation into the English language will be required
along with the required fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(i).
All application papers must be legibly written on only
one side either by a typewriter or mechanical printer
in permanent dark ink or its equivalent in portrait orientation
on flexible, strong, smooth, non-shiny, durable and white
paper.
The papers must be presented in a form having sufficient
clarity and contrast between the paper and the writing
to permit electronic reproduction. Each document in the
application papers must all be the same size - either
21.0 cm by 29.7 cm (DIN size A4) or 21.6 cm by 27.9 cm
(8 1/2 by 11 inches), with a top margin of at least 2.0
cm (3/4 inch), a left side margin of at least 2.5 cm (1
inch), a right side margin of at least 2.0 cm (3/4 inch)
and a bottom margin of at least 2.0 cm (3/4 inch) with
no holes made in the submitted papers. It is also required
that the spacing on all papers be 1 1/2 or double-spaced
and the application papers must be numbered consecutively
(centrally located above or below the text) starting with
page one. The specification must have text written in
a nonscript font (e.g., Arial, Times Roman, or Courier,
preferably a font size of 12) lettering style having capital
letters which should be at least 0.3175 cm (0.125 inch)
high, but may be no smaller than 0.21 cm (0.08 inch) high
(e.g., a font size of 6). The specification must have
only a single column of text.
The specification must conclude with a claim or claims
particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the
subject matter which the applicant regards as the invention.
The portion of the application in which the applicant
sets forth the claim or claims is an important part of
the application, as it is the claims that define the scope
of the protection afforded by the patent. The claims must
commence on a separate physical sheet of paper.
More than one claim may be presented provided they differ
from each other. Claims may be presented in independent
form (e.g. the claim stands by itself) or in dependent
form, referring back to and further limiting another claim
or claims in the same application. Any dependent claim
which refers back to more than one other claim is considered
a " multiple dependent claim. "
The application for patent is not forwarded for examination
until all required parts, complying with the rules related
thereto, are received. If any application is filed without
all the required parts for obtaining a filing date (incomplete
or defective), the applicant will be notified of the deficiencies
and given a time period to complete the application filing
(a surcharge may be required)šat which time a filing date
as of the date of such a completed submission will be
obtained by the applicant. If the omission is not corrected
within a specified time period, the application will be
returned or otherwise disposed of; the filing fee if submitted
will be refunded less a handling fee as set forth in the
fee schedule.
The filing fee and declaration or oath need not be submitted
with the parts requiring a filing date. It is, however,
desirable that all parts of the complete application be
deposited in the Office together; otherwise each part
must be signed and a letter must accompany each part,
accurately and clearly connecting it with the other parts
of the application. If an application which has been accorded
a filing date does not include the filing fee or the oath/declaration,
applicant will be notified and given a time period to
pay the filing fee, file an oath/declaration and pay a
surcharge.
All applications received in the USPTO are numbered
in sequential order and the applicant will be informed
of the application number and filing date by a filing
receipt.
The filing date of an application for patent is the
date on which a specification (including at least one
claim) and any drawings necessary to understand the subject
matter sought to be patented are received in the USPTO;
or the date on which the last part completing the application
is received in the case of a previously incomplete or
defective application.
www.uspto.gov
See also:
• Patent
• Patent
Prosecution Process
• Patentable
Subject Matter
• Patent Expert Offer Free Do-It-Yourself Patent Course to Independent Inventors
Online information resources. Patents-i.net
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