Securing a patent through the traditional paper process is slow and expensive, averaging some $10,000 per application. Pursuing patents via the Internet is quicker and more affordable, and makes good business sense. Unfortunately, existing online patent software is cumbersome and difficult, leading many inventors and attorneys along the better-known paper path.

Filing Patents Online: A Professional Guide presents a step-by-step guide for filing and pursuing patents electronically. This comprehensive analysis of online patent systems from around the world recommends the proper choices for filers, saving time and money and increasing the odds of success. Features include identification of shortcuts around many of the U.S. Patent Office's complex logistical hurdles; explanations of how to secure critical time stamps on ideas and of an online process that allows full monitoring of patent review status; and more.

From the Preface: “...Using a step-by-step approach, [this book] teaches how to harness the unlimited power of the Internet in three important ways: (1) evaluating patentability, (2) writing patent applications electronically (using the software prescribed by worldwide patent offices), and (3) filing patent applications online at a fraction of cost in time and money, compared to what it took just a few years ago...”

Target Audience: Engineers, scientists, patent attorneys, laboratory researchers, information retrieval specialists, market researchers, inventors — anyone interested in the patent filing process.

Table of Contents:

The Patent Filing Systems

Patent Application Essentials

Online Patentability Search

Online Filing Basics

USPTO EFS Overview

USPTO EFS Scenarios

USPTO: PASAT

USPTO TSA

USPTO PatentIn

USPTO ePAVE

USPTO Direct

WIPO PCT-EASY

WIPO PCT SAFE

EPO epoline

Appendix

Index