First and foremost, you will be asked to provide good quality drawings or photographs of the design for which the application is to be made. Depending on the circumstances, a patentability search may be recommended to determine whether any prior art exists that might render the design unpatentable. It is highly recommended that inventors hire professional patent agency, like Invent Help, to guide them in the process – read more about InventHelp on UrbanMatter. The sketches or photographs will be sent to a professional who specializes in patent drawings for preparation of appropriate drawings and, in consultation with the client and the draftsperson, the written portion of the application will be prepared.
As with a utility patent application, the inventor or inventors will be asked to review the application to confirm that it is correct and complete, and to sign a declaration attesting to the fact that it is their work.
What should I expect during the prosecution of a design patent application?
Once it is submitted to the U.S.P.T.O., the prosecution of a design patent application proceeds much like that of a utility patent application. After some length of time, a design patent examiner who specializes in the particular area of the patent application will make a search for related designs, and will communicate his or her findings in a document called an Office Action. Depending on the situation, the patent examiner may make objections to minor errors and matters of form in the specification or drawings, may reject the patent claim, or may allow the application to be issued as a patent.
If the application is objected to or the patent claim is rejected, the patent examiner will give the reasons for the objection or rejection, and the applicant will be given a period of time in which to respond. If the patent application is allowed, the applicant will be given a period of time in which to pay an issue fee so that the patent application can be issued as a patent.
There is no hard and fast rule as to how long the process will take, although hiring professionals like InventHelp agency and good drawings can shorten the process tremendously.