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256 | PATENT IT YOURSELF Inventor’s Commandment 16 Before signing any document, whether in the patent field or elsewhere, read it carefully and be sure that you understand and agree to it fully. After signing, obtain and be sure to save an identical copy of what you signed. Inventor’s Commandment 17 Avoid Fraud on the PTO: In addition to making a full disclosure of your invention in your patent application, promptly tell the PTO, in an Information Disclosure Statement, about any pertinent “prior art” or other material facts concerning your invention of which you are aware or of which you become aware. Inventor’s Commandment 18 Except for the actual application (which you can mail or file via the Internet), you can and should Web-file or fax all papers to the PTO to avoid loss in the mail. When you Web-file or fax to the PTO, be sure all blanks on all forms are completed, all forms and documents are signed, a Credit Card Payment Form is completed or included, if needed, all pages are present, and the document is timely sent. If you do mail any papers, follow the admonitions for Web-filing or faxing (you may pay by check as well as a credit card) and always include a receipt postcard addressed to you with all of the paper(s) listed on the back of the card. Inventor’s Commandment 19 Orderly File: Prepare and maintain file folders for (1) Official Papers and (2) Correspondence. Include a copy of every paper you send to or receive from the PTO in the Official Papers file. Include a copy of every paper you send to or receive from anyone other than the PTO in the Correspondence file. Write the date received on every incoming paper, and date and make sure your address and phone number is on every outgoing paper. Now that you’ve drafted your patent application, it’s time to put it in final form. Since the PTO places great emphasis on thoroughness, this chapter is, accordingly, filled with many picky details. In the event you want to rebel and simply pass over those requirements that are inconvenient, remember that the PTO has many rules with which you must comply. In addition, your patent examiner has discretion to approve or reject your application. An application that fully meets the requirements and standards of the PTO will have much smoother sailing than one that doesn’t. If you fail to comply with certain rules—for example, you forget to enclose a declaration or a check—the PTO will impose substantial monetary penalties. Fortunately, while you must pay attention to detail, meeting the PTO’s requirements and standards is relatively easy if you’ve followed my suggestions in the previous chapters. Because you’ve reviewed a number of patents in the same field as your own, you’ll be familiar with the standards for writing the specification and claims (Chapters 8 and 9). Because you’ve prepared preliminary drawings (Chapter 8) in basic conformance with the rules for final drawings, putting them in final form will not involve great difficulty. Because you’ve analyzed all relevant prior art known to you and can distinguish it from your invention, you are in a good position to follow through with your application to a successful completion (Chapter 13). Electronic Filing Note: The PTO has implemented an electronic filing system called EFS-Web that enables patent application filing via the Internet. While it’s gratifying to file an application online, it will take you several extra hours to learn and use the EFS-Web system. You must prepare the application as if you were going to file by mail (except that you can eliminate a few forms), convert all papers into <strong>PDF</strong> files, and fill out various forms online. If you file via EFS- Web the filing fee is less. Also, it may be worth your time to become a registered eFiler with the PTO, which will require additional work and red tape. Since you already have to do a lot of learning to file a patent application, the extra time to learn and use EFS-Web may discourage you. Nevertheless, because of the lower cost and numerous advantages of electronic filing, I still recommend that first-time filers file by EFS-Web. However, if you’re not game for a new adventure, or don’t have the time, or are too exhausted from the substantive preparation of your application to learn some extra procedures, I provide full instructions for mail filing as well as filing by EFS-Web in this chapter. A. The Drawing Choices You have two basic choices for your drawings. You can file the application with:
ChaPter 10 | FINALING and MAILING Your APPLICATION | 257 • formal drawings (generally CAD drawings or other computer-created drawings or xerographic copies of ink drawings done with instruments on Bristol board or Mylar film and in accordance with all the rules), or • informal drawings (generally xerographic copies of good pencil or ink sketches, which include all the details of the invention). Further, in each case the drawings can be filed in either: • the U.S. letter size (8½" x 11"), or • the A4 international size (210 mm x 297 mm or (8¼" x 11 1 /16"). Should you submit formal or informal drawings? I strongly recommend that, if at all possible, you submit formal drawings. However, if cost and time are important considerations, you can file informal drawings. If you do, the PTO usually will require you to file formal drawings before they will examine your application. If they neglect to object to the informal drawings after filing, they will do so when the application is allowed (see Chapter 13, Section I). At that time you will have to pay an issue fee and file any required corrected drawings within three months. Also, if you want to file abroad, you’ll have to prepare formal drawings on A4 size paper approximately 11 months after filing. As far as the choice of the U.S. or international sizes is concerned, if you have ink drawings and have any serious thoughts about filing abroad, it’s better to use the international (A4) size, since you can make good photocopies, file these for your U.S. application, and later use the originals (or another good set of copies) for the international application. (I discuss foreign filing in Chapter 12.) If you do make paper drawings in the U.S. size and later decide to foreign file, you can still make A4 copies by using a scanner, photocopier, or a patent drawing service in the Arlington, or Alexandria, Virginia, area (about $20 a sheet). If necessary to illustrate the invention properly—that is, if color is an essential part of the invention—color photos or color drawings may also be used. File three sets of color photos or drawings in one of the two permitted sizes with: 1. a petition explaining why color is necessary; use the format of the petition of Fig. 10U (Form 10-9 in Appendix 7) but change the title. For example, write “Petition Explaining Why Color Is Necessary” and change the body of the form to provide an explanation 2. the petition fee (see Appendix 4, Fee Schedule), and 3. a statement in the specification just below the title reading as follows: “The file of this patent contains at least one color drawing. Copies of the patent with color drawings will be provided by the PTO upon payment of necessary fee.” Black and white photos may no longer be used for patent drawings, unless necessary to illustrate the invention, for example, to show a photomicrograph of a composite material. File one set of black and white photos in one of the two permitted sizes on double-weight photographic paper or mounted on Bristol board. You must also file a petition explaining why black and white photos are necessary. No fee is needed. All photos must be of sufficient quality that all details can be reproduced in the printed patent and the photos must illustrate all features of the invention, just as ink or CAD drawings must do. B. PTO Rules for Drawings The PTO has a number of rules for preparing formal drawings. Even if you plan to submit informal drawings, the rules should be followed as much as possible so that much of the work will already be done when you later need to submit formal drawings. For step-by-step instructions and examples on how to implement these rules, see How to Make <strong>Patent</strong> Drawings, by Jack Lo and David Pressman (Nolo). When your drawings arrive at the PTO, whether with your application or after allowance, your drawings are inspected by the PTO’s drawing inspectors. If they find that any of your drawings are informal or in violation of any of the above rules, they will fill out and insert a drawing objection sheet in your file. A copy of this (shown in Fig. 10A) will be sent to you before or with your first Office Action or after allowance. (See Chapter 13.) You must correct the drawings before the patent will be examined or before a patent can issue; the drawings are “corrected” by substituting new drawings. Thus, you should keep the originals of your drawings and send in good copies. Then if you have to correct the drawings, you can correct your originals and then send in new copies. The most common drawing defects are listed on the drawing inspector’s sheet (Fig. 10A). These and other frequently encountered defects are as follows: • Lines are pale. • Paper is poor. • Numerals are poor. • Lines are rough, blurred, or matrixy (zig-zag). • Copier marks are on the drawing. • Shade lines are required. • Figures must be numbered. • Heading space is required. • Figures must not be connected. • Crisscross or double line-hatching is objectionable. • Arrowheads are used on lead lines for individual parts.
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N O LO ® “The best roll-up-your-
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About the Author David Pressman is
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