Patents are expensive. Before you pick up the phone to the patent attorney to talk about your amazing idea, just as with any other business question, you need to know what you are going to spend, what return you're expecting to get, and what the risk is.
The aim of this article is to lay the groundwork to help you ask and answer those questions.
A patent moves through a number of stages during its lifetime:
- Novelty search, to see if the field is clear
- Prepare and submit a formal filing
- Wait for examination
- Respond to objections arising from examination
- Patent is in force
- Pay for renewal of patent
- - iteratively -
- Patent expires
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