The Timeline: When Can You File a Patent?

Many people believe that it’s easy just to file a patent and then get one. But it actually takes a few years for your application to actually become a patent.

There is a lot of legal tape to get through and rules to adhere to before a patent can actually be granted. To provide some clarity to the process, here is the timeline of the patent application process.

First-To-File Patents

Like most countries in the world, Australia is a first-to-file jurisdiction. This means that the first person to file a patent application is given priority over others who may have filed. This means that even if the other person created the same invention first, the patent goes to the person who applied first. Contacting IP Lawyers Melbourne to determine if someone has filed before you is important so that you don’t waste your time and money.

Application Deadline

A patent application should be made at least one year before the first offer to sell your invention or within a year of first public use or disclosure of your invention to the public. If a year passes and you haven’t filed a patent application, then you cannot receive patent protection.

In some cases, a provisional patent application can be made before a more complete, non-provisional application is made. A provisional application is basically a placeholder in case there is a threat of someone else wanting to file a patent application.

Waiting For The Patent To Be Granted

After a patent application has been filed, you then have to wait for the patent to be granted. It can be a lengthy waiting process for several reasons, such as what kind of technology is included in the invention (if any) or whether the application is provisional or non-provisional. Overall, it can take anywhere between 18 to 27 months for a patent to be granted.

Receiving An Office Action

Your application will be examined by a Patent Examiner, who will issue an Office Action, telling you which parts of your application have been accepted and which parts have been rejected. You will then have 3 months to respond, where you can make revisions to the rejected parts of your application. This process can go back and forth for a while until the application is exactly what the Patent Examiner is looking for.

You Don’t Have To Make It

Even after your application has been accepted, there’s actually no need to physically implement your invention. However, in order to receive a patent application for an invention you haven’t made, the invention has to be described in sufficient detail so that any person with ordinary skills in your field of technology would be able to create the product without having to undergo any kind of experimentation.

Filing a patent application is a length, time-consuming, and expensive process that takes a lot of fine-tuning to get through. Having an Intellectual Property attorney on your side can help you through this since they are aware of the ins and outs of the application process. If you need some assistance, feel free to contact your local IP attorney to help you with your patent application.