US Patent Registration – Patents in the United States
Registering patents in the USA is important for many ventures. A US patent is an important tool, since the USA is one of the largest markets commercially and can affect the success of the venture. Therefore, the process of registering a patent in the USA is legally and commercially important in many cases.
Until recently, the United States was the country in which the largest number of patents was filed each year, but it has lately been overtaken by China. Still, a US patent application is in many cases the most important application compared to other countries.
That is why most inventors around the world file a patent application in the USA in addition to other countries in which patent applications are filed.
When to File for a US Patent?
Inventors ask when to file a US patent application. A US patent application can be filed at the beginning of the patent filing process, i.e. as the first patent application, or, for example, an application can first be filed in Israel and only at a later stage in the United States.
Our firm examines the appropriate strategy for the inventor and the company on this question, which has various legal and commercial implications.
Inventors tend to think that if they first file a patent in the USA, they will consequently receive a US patent sooner, but this is not the case. It is possible to file a patent application in Israel with accelerated examination, or as a green track application where possible, and after allowance of the Israeli patent, which can sometimes take as little as one to four months or more, file an application in the USA under an Israeli American agreement.
In other words, based on the allowance of the Israeli patent, under the PPH (Patent Prosecution Highway) agreement it is possible to request expedited examination in the USA claiming the Israeli priority date. In this way, an Israeli applicant who first filed a patent in Israel and, based on the allowance of the Israeli patent, files an application in the USA under the PPH, will receive a faster response from the US patent examiner than if he had first filed a US patent application without the PPH agreement between Israel and the USA.
US Patent Registration Compared to a Patent in Israel
There are fields in which it is easier to obtain patents in the USA than in Israel, since Israeli patent law differs from US patent law, for example in the fields of software and methods of doing business.
However, in many cases Israelis usually file patents in Israel first, and only before 12 months have passed from the Israeli filing date is the US application filed, claiming the Israeli priority date, which will be recognized in the USA by filing the priority documents of the Israeli application.
Postponing the filing date of the US patent also postpones the costs of the US application, which is more expensive to file than the Israeli application.
Our firm has American associate representatives who file the US patent application in accordance with US domestic law.
The above information is partial and incomplete. Please consult an attorney experienced in the field of intellectual property on each specific case individually. For more details, call +972-3-9711014.