Chances of Getting a Patent Without a Patent Attorney: Not Good

There is a massive amount of do-it-yourself, self-help material on the internet.

Instructions on how to build a fireplace.

Blogs concerning the diagnosis of medical conditions.

Videos for everything from how to fix a leaky faucet to how to seed your lawn.

It is overwhelming and confusing.

Similarly, there is plenty of information on the internet concerning filing your own U.S. patent applications.

As a registered U.S. patent attorney with about twenty-five years experience (Walter J. Tencza, Jr., Esq., 732-549-3007; PATENTNOW.COM®, email: patent@patentnow.com) I have come in contact with many inventors who have tried to get a U.S. utility patent without legal assistance.

Nearly all of them fail.

Some of them fail in a way that makes it impossible to get a U.S. Patent. For example, their actions may have caused the invention to be put in the public domain.

Does anyone get a U.S. utility patent without legal representation?

Well let’s start with this, the overwhelming number of utility patents are granted to corporations or other organizations, who have legal representation.

For example, according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Statistics, in 2015, out of 298,407 granted utility patents, only 18,899 were granted to individuals (as opposed to U.S. and foreign corporations, and U.S. and foreign governments). http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/h_at.htm#PartA1_1b

That means only about 6.3% of patents were granted to individuals in 2015.

Of these “individual” patents, were any done without legal representation? Well, since I didn’t feel like looking up thousands of patents, I instead did some searching on the internet and found this article:

“The Lone Inventor: Low Success Rates and Common Errors Associated with Pro-Se Patent Applications” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3310007/

The article, dated March, 2012, refers to a study which indicates that pro-se applicants (applicants without legal representation) have a 76% abandonment rate versus 35% for applicants with legal representation.

Bottom line is this: You are much better off getting a patent attorney to prepare, file, and prosecute your patent application, than doing it yourself.

Call Walter J. Tencza Jr., Esq. at 732-549-3007, email: patent@patentnow.com; PATENTNOW.COM® to file for your patent now.

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Copyright 2016 Law Office of Walter Tencza, Jr. All Rights Reserved.

Legal Disclaimer- the information provided herein is not legal advice.  Transmission of this information is not intended to create, and receipt by you does not constitute, an attorney / client relationship.  Although effort has been made to ensure that the answers are correct, Law Office of Walter Tencza Jr. and Patentnow.com® cannot and does not offer any warranty, express or implied that the answers contained are accurate statements of law. This document is provided for informational purposes only.  Viewers must not act upon any information without first seeking advice from a qualified attorney outside the context of this document.

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