Straight answers to every question we hear.

A utility patent protects how an invention works: its structure, function, and mechanism. It is the strongest and most valuable form of patent protection, and it is the only kind this firm handles. It gives you the right to stop others from making, using, selling, or importing your invention in the United States for roughly 20 years from filing.

Physical products. Consumer goods, tools and hardware, mechanical devices and assemblies, home goods, outdoor and sporting equipment, garden and shop products, manufacturing improvements, and non biotech medical devices. If you can hold it in your hand, or it is made of parts you could, it is probably in our lane.

Software and mobile apps, algorithms, cloud services, biotech, pharmaceuticals, chemical compositions, and business methods. A narrow practice is a sharper one, and it keeps the process fast and predictable. If your invention is outside our lane, we will say so on the first call and point you in the right direction.

Yes. Patent law is federal. As a registered patent attorney with the USPTO, John Roberts represents clients in all 50 states for patent matters.

No. Many excellent patents are filed without a prototype. What you need is a complete idea: you can explain what the invention is, what its parts are, and how they work together. Rough sketches and photos are plenty.

You can legally file on your own, and some inventors do. But claim drafting is the part of a patent that determines whether it is worth anything, and it is genuinely difficult. A patent with weak claims can be worse than no patent, because it announces your invention to the world without actually protecting it. That trade is the thing to understand before going alone.

Three steps, in order, each with one job and one flat fee. Step 1 is a readiness and eligibility call, currently free for a limited time. Step 2 is a worldwide prior art search ending in a written Green, Yellow, or Red recommendation, $1,500. Step 3 is drafting, expedited filing, and prosecution of your utility application, $13,500. You decide after each step whether to continue.

The combination: a search first process with a straight written recommendation, flat fees published in public, USPTO fees and drawings included, Track One expedited filing on every case, and every piece of work performed personally by a registered patent attorney and engineer with more than 25 years in patent law. Ask other firms to quote that combination, apples to apples.

No. Each step stands alone, and the process is designed so you can stop at any point with useful information in hand. A meaningful share of clients stop after Step 2, on our recommendation, having spent $1,500 to avoid spending $15,000.

A one on one call with the attorney, up to 60 minutes. We confirm your invention is the type a utility patent can protect, that it is developed enough for a real search, who the true inventors are, whether anyone else might own rights, whether you qualify for micro entity status, and whether any deadlines are running, like the one year clock after a public disclosure. We also answer your questions about the firm and the patenting process.

No, deliberately. Patentability cannot be honestly assessed without a real prior art search, and a real search takes more than a phone call. Step 1 determines readiness. Step 2 determines patentability. Anyone offering a patentability opinion on a first phone call is guessing.

The Step 1 fee is $500, and it is waived for a limited time. The call itself is identical either way: same length, same analysis, same straight answers.

A plain English description of your invention, a rough idea of when you conceived it, any public uses, sales, offers, or disclosures with approximate dates, the names of anyone who helped conceive it, whether an employer or partner might claim rights, and whether you have filed anything before. No drawings or prototype required.

The USPTO charges its fees on a sliding scale, and micro entities pay the lowest rate, an 80 percent discount off standard fees. In general terms, you qualify if you have not been named on more than four prior U.S. non provisional applications, your gross income is under a USPTO threshold that adjusts annually, roughly three times the median household income, and you have not assigned or licensed the invention to a company that exceeds the threshold. Most first time and individual inventors qualify. The official details are on the USPTO micro entity status page, and confirming your status is part of the Step 1 call.

Every inventor, and every company receiving ownership or license rights, must qualify. If even one does not, the application is filed as a small or standard entity and the USPTO fees increase. We can absolutely still file; only the USPTO fee difference is added to the published pricing, and you will approve the exact numbers in writing first.

Nothing about the process changes except the USPTO's own fees. The attorney fee stays flat. The difference between micro entity and your actual entity status is added at cost, with no markup, disclosed and agreed before anything is filed.

Worldwide patent databases, U.S. and international published applications, non patent literature including articles, manuals, and online disclosures, and competing products, searched by technical keywords and by patent classification. The search uses professional techniques and advanced AI assisted tools, and every result is reviewed by the attorney personally.

Green: the prior art looks clear enough to justify drafting and filing, and the written analysis explains why. Yellow: patentability is uncertain; you may proceed if the business case justifies the risk, and the report tells you exactly what the risk is. Red: I recommend you do not file, and the $1,500 that answer cost you is the money it saved you.

Most cases come back Yellow or Red. A Green light here is rare, which is exactly why it means something. The recommendation is earned by the prior art, never sold.

Often, yes. Yellow means uncertainty, not doom. Many valuable patents issue from Yellow light cases. The difference is that you proceed with your eyes open, understanding the specific risks, as a business decision rather than a blind bet.

Sometimes. It depends on why the light is red. If the problem is claim scope, a redesign or a narrower focus can change the analysis, and the report will say so. If the prior art simply got there first, the honest answer is to stop, and the report will say that too.

Because databases update continuously, some pending applications are invisible to everyone but the USPTO for up to 18 months, examiners search differently than attorneys, and novelty judgments have a human element. Roughly a quarter of office actions cite prior art that was unpublished and undiscoverable at the time of filing. Anyone who promises you a patent outcome is selling something other than the truth. What Step 2 delivers is a rigorous written professional recommendation before you commit real money, which is the strongest honest thing that exists.

A written description of the invention and any sketches, drawings, diagrams, or photos, uploaded through a secure portal. They do not need to be professional. Phone photos of a napkin sketch have started many a good patent.

Everything from drafting to done: the complete utility application drafted personally by the attorney, including specification, claims, and abstract; professional patent drawings; USPTO filing, search, examination, and Track One fees at micro entity rates; filing service costs; every office action response your case needs; examiner interviews; claim amendments; and prosecution through issuance or final office action. No hourly billing at any point.

The USPTO's prioritized examination program. A standard application can wait years in the queue. Track One cases target a final determination within about 12 months of being granted prioritized status. Every application this firm files uses it, and the fee is included. Typical pacing: first office action in roughly 3 to 5 months, final disposition in roughly 10 to 12 months. The USPTO controls its own timing.

Almost every application receives at least one rejection. It is a normal part of examination, not a crisis, and responding to it is the craft of patent prosecution. Responses, amendments, and examiner interviews are all included in the flat fee, however many your case needs through issuance or final office action.

Continuation applications, requests for continued examination (rare under Track One), appeals, foreign and international filings, and design patents. If your case ever calls for one of these, you get a straight explanation and a separate quote or a referral without markup, before anything is incurred.

Yes, but the decision has a deadline: generally one year from your U.S. filing date. We flag the date and provide referrals for foreign filing without markup.

$15,000 for a limited time while the Step 1 fee is waived: $1,500 for Step 2 plus $13,500 for Step 3, with USPTO fees and professional drawings included at micro entity rates. If you do not qualify as a micro entity, only the USPTO fee difference is added, agreed in writing first.

No. Flat means flat. The only variable in the entire system is the USPTO's own entity based fee level, which is confirmed in Step 1 and locked in writing before filing.

Yes. Our payment portal offers third party financing with monthly payment options, subject to approval.

Never. No equity, no royalties, no licensing percentages, no interest of any kind in your invention. You pay a fee, you own everything.

No. Each step is separate and stands alone. That separation is what keeps every step honest: there is no financial pressure on the Step 2 recommendation, in either direction.

Anyone who contributed to the conception of at least one claim. Not who paid for it, not who built the prototype, not who owns the company. Getting this right matters, because incorrect inventorship can damage or invalidate a patent. We sort it out carefully in Step 1.

Completely normal. All true inventors are named in the application, and ownership can then be organized however you intend, including assignment to a company.

Yes, through a written assignment. We help document inventorship and assign rights properly. Note that if the owning company does not qualify for micro entity status, the USPTO fee level changes, which we confirm before filing.

Possibly, depending on your employment agreement, what resources you used, and what your job is. This is one of the most important questions in Step 1, and it is far better answered before filing than after.

Maybe not, but the clock is running. In the United States you generally have one year from your first public disclosure, sale, or offer for sale to file. Miss it and patent rights are gone permanently. Most foreign rights are stricter still. If you have disclosed, book the call sooner rather than later.

It is not necessary. Once you engage the firm, attorney client privilege and the rules of professional conduct protect your information more strongly than any NDA would. Before engagement, the Step 1 call is a confidential attorney consultation.

Yes. Consultations with an attorney for the purpose of seeking legal services are protected, and everything you provide for Step 2 moves through a secure portal.

Generally yes, until your application is filed. Once filed, you are patent pending and can mark your product accordingly. The Step 1 call covers exactly what you can safely say to manufacturers, investors, and customers, and when.

You own a U.S. utility patent, enforceable for roughly 20 years from your filing date, subject to maintenance fees. You can make and sell the invention exclusively, license it, or sell the patent outright.

No. The USPTO requires maintenance payments at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years after issuance, and clients are solely responsible for monitoring and paying them. We provide resources to help you calendar them, and the USPTO sends its own notices to the correspondence address of record.

Patent litigation is outside this firm's practice, deliberately. If you ever face an infringer, you will get a referral to qualified litigation counsel, and a patent that was drafted by someone with well over 100 federal IP cases behind him, written for exactly that fight.

Licensing and commercialization are outside the practice, but referrals are available. The patent itself, with claims drafted for strength, is the foundation that makes those conversations possible.

Usually within a day or two. Book the free readiness call, and if your invention is ready, Step 2 can typically begin as soon as the engagement is signed and the materials are uploaded.

All preliminary discussions happen through the Step 1 call, which is currently free, so there is nothing to lose by booking it. This keeps every inquiry confidential, structured, and useful, instead of an email thread that helps no one.

Often, yes. Step 1 works the same way: we assess where things stand, what has been filed or disclosed, and whether the 1-2-3 system fits your situation.

Book the free Step 1 readiness call. Bring your idea and your questions, and get a straight answer about where you stand.