The process of a patent application
What is the process of a typical normal patent application?
A clock starts upon submission of the first patent application. A typical patent application process can be described as follows:
How long does it take:
The processing time from submission to grant of a European patent is about 5 years. There are several possibilities to accelerate the procedure throughout this time, and in several countries patent protection can be obtained within a smaller time frame such as 1-2 years from submission.
What are the costs?
The prices for patenting vary greatly depending on the scope of the patent i.e. how many countries are designated for protection. It also depends on how much work is done yourself versus outsourcing the task to patent attorneys. If there is a need for a patent agent to write the application the prices usually run around DKK 25,000 – 150,000 depending on the complexity of the application. In addition, there are official fees associated with submitting and maintaining the application.
In some cases, it is possible to get financial support and funding for patent applications.
Do it yourself
It is possible for the inventor to write and submit a patent application himself without any assistance. The applicant still has to comply with several requirements for the patent application and submission process.
In this section, VALUA describes aspects that the inventor must consider in connection with “Do it yourself” patenting.
Quick and Dirty
In some cases, there may be customers who demand a quick and cheap patent application in order to secure protection for their invention.
These “Quick and Dirty” patent applications can easily be generated. In this section, VALUA describes more about such situations.