Patent Preparation & Prosecution

Protecting your invention

When you create something and hope to market your invention, a patent can help provide you exclusive rights to your innovation. Zackson Law LLC in St. Louis represents inventors, universities, research institutions, and corporations throughout the United States and overseas in obtaining patents for inventions. The firm focuses on biotechnology inventions but regularly represents those outside of the life science and laboratory research fields in acquiring national and international patents.

The patent process

Patent preparation involves searching for prior art—what has been done before? How does your invention differ? The firm searches databases of issued patents, published patent applications, and non-patent literature from the United States and abroad. The search allows Mr. Zackson to prepare a patent application aimed at providing you with the maximum breadth of coverage.

The patent application itself is an extremely complex document which must meet many legal requirements. Depending on the complexity, it can take anywhere from one day to more than a week to prepare an application before filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Zackson Law LLC works with you to determine if you need a provisional patent application, a non-provisional (utility) patent application, a PCT application (for obtaining patent rights internationally), or need to obtain some other form of protection for your intellectual property.

 

Patent prosecution is the process of obtaining an issued patent after the application is filed. Patent prosecution begins with a patent examiner's review of the patent application. The examiner often rejects the initial patent application, citing legal reasons and prior art. There is often an exchange between the examiner and your attorney on the legitimacy of a rejection. Through amendments, legal arguments, and appeals, patent prosecution can continue until claims are allowed. Mr. Zackson has argued successfully to the USPTO, and has brought many patents to allowance that were initially rejected by the USPTO.

For patents outside the United States, Zackson Law LLC frequently files international "PCT" patent applications, and maintains connections with patent attorneys in many countries. The firm sends to foreign associates patent applications to file in their jurisdictions and works closely with them during patent prosecution to help bring your patent application to allowance. Examples of countries in which Zackson Law LLC has obtained patents include Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Switzerland and United Kingdom. Zackson Law LLC also files and prosecutes patent applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office on behalf of foreign associates. 

What Zackson Law LLC can do for you

While you are able to file a patent application yourself, Mr. Zackson carefully examines the prior art and determines the ways your invention stands out from the rest. Concentrating on patents in life sciences and biotechnology, he draws on his experience in the field to find the differences and argue on your behalf. Mr. Zackson's experience in science and patent law extends to many technologies, including:

  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Research tools
  • Molecular cloning
  • Diagnostic methods
  • Medical devices
  • Cell biology
  • Analytical tools
  • Monoclonal antibodies
  • Plants
  • Formulations

Zackson Law LLC can help you obtain the rights to your intellectual property with knowledgeable and articulate, strong arguments for your patent's success in the initial application and any subsequent office actions. For some examples of Mr. Zackson's published patent applications, click here.

Get Started Today

Zackson Law LLC employs the shrewd attention to detail required when obtaining intellectual property rights. Call us now or fill out an email form and we will get right back to you.