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How To Register A Patent For Mobile App Idea

Posted by Barry Choobin | Sep 21, 2022 | 0 Comments

There are several important steps to register a patent for a unique, creative mobile app idea. In the highly-competitive world of smartphone games and applications, securing intellectual property (IP) is critical. To qualify for IP, a mobile app must meet the same originality standards that tangible products would. Of course, today's smartphone devices have unique capabilities that can bring ingenuity, innovation, and non-obviousness to modern-day applications. Features like GPS technology, biometric sensors, and accelerometers can be employed to guarantee novelty. As an app inventor yourself, you should know how to showcase these traits and obtain a patent application for your idea. To get started now, read on to learn how to register a patent for mobile app idea.

Hire A Software Patent Lawyer

First and foremost, hire a USPTO-registered software patent lawyer to help draft, file, and prosecute your mobile app intellectual property. Find a patent attorney with years of hands-on experience in IP acquisition, defense, and registration. Take time to assess their filing expenses, areas of expertise, as well as their legal and support team. You should also think about their communication skills and general “fit.” After all, you'll spend a great deal of time working directly with your intellectual property lawyer. Certainly, hire an experienced attorney to register a patent for your mobile application.

Determine What Can Be Protected

Together, you and your mobile app patent lawyer can determine what can be protected with IP. In most cases, the entire mobile application doesn't need to be protected with a patent. Instead, you can use intellectual property to defend specific elements, features, or components. Protect your information privacy mechanisms, user authentication protocols, or data management operations. You can additionally defend content displays, interaction processing, or database control. With a better understanding of these patentable elements, the end-to-end patent registration process will be far easier. Surely, determine what can be protected to register a patent on a smartphone application.

Gather Required Documents

Next, focus on getting all the required patent registration documents in order. Safeguarding a mobile application requires tremendous amounts of paperwork. Once you have all these forms organized, the patent acquisition process will be much easier. Most importantly, you'll need an oath or declaration, idea specification, and business entity classification form. You also need to prepare invention disclosure records, app protection claims, and invention drawings. The USPTO may additionally require a formal cover, face, application data sheet (ADS). If you are seeking international prosecution, you'll need a version of the patent cooperation theory (PCT) as well. Indeed, gather all the required documents to register a patent for a mobile application.

Conduct An In-Depth Patent Search

Now, you are ready to conduct a thorough, in-depth patent registration search. An advanced USPTO patent search helps you reduce redundant research, lower the risk of infringement, and gain actionable insights into competitor activity. It can also help you accelerate the time to application release and idea commercialization. During a patent search, your lawyer will scan for any similar prior art references – which may be comparable to your original app idea. Investing the time, money, and resources into patent searching is almost always worth it. Absolutely, conduct a thorough IP search to register a patent for smartphone mobile apps.

File & Submit Your Application

At this point, it is officially time to file, submit, and register a mobile app patent application. For a mobile application, there are two main types of applications to choose from – provisional or utility patent. A provisional patent application (PPA) is best during the early stages of app development and invention protection. These documents give you a one year “Patent Pending” status and establish a priority USPTO filing date. After the pendency expires, you should consider filing a full non-provisional, utility application. This will give you legally binding protection for up to twenty years. Definitely, file and submit a mobile app patent to protect your idea today.

There are several important steps to successfully register a USPTO patent for mobile application ideas. First off, hire a skilled, knowledgeable, and experienced patent lawyer in Philadelphia PA. Next, think about what features and elements of your mobile app qualify for protection. Then, focus on getting all the required forms and documents. From here, conduct a thorough, in-depth, and advanced patent search. Now, it is officially time to submit, file, and prosecute your intellectual property application. Follow the points highlighted above to learn how to register a patent for mobile app idea.

About the Author

Barry Choobin

Barry Choobin with Jonathan W. Dudas. Jonathan W. Dudas served as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office until January 18, 2009. Barry Choobin is Chief Executive Officer at Patent 360 LLC. Applying his business and tech...

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