Seeking a Vermont Patent Attorney Agent? Patent Agent GMI provides the expertise needed to evaluate & protect inventions and technology – in VT & all 50 states
CONSULTATION
Advisement on patenting and the process of developing inventions.
PATENT STRATEGY & MANAGEMENT
Guidance on turning lists of ideas into patents, then tailoring the patents to the venture.
VERMONT PATENT ATTORNEY AGENT
Patent Agents & Patent Attorneys/Lawyers work with inventors to protect rights to inventions
Specialties
BICYCLE INDUSTRY PATENT SERVICES
GMI has extensive experience in bicycles and the bicycle industry.
Earlier in his career, GMI Principal Alan Coté worked as Contributing Writer to Bicycling Magazine, the world’s largest circulation bicycle publication. He competed as an elite road racer for more than a decade. He is also an inventor in four bicycle-related patents.
Related services include:
- Invalidity Searches: if you are a company or attorney looking for invalidating prior art for bicycles, especially beyond the patent databases, GMI is your source
- Patentability Searches, with appreciation of the many century-old bicycle designs
- Patent applications prepared by a practitioner with a deep understanding of bicycle technology
- Expert Witness services for bicycles and bicycling, where Alan Coté is a Person of Ordinary Skill in the Art. See expertwitnessbike.com
DESIGN PATENTS – A GMI SPECIALTY
A utility patent protects the way an invention is used or works, but there is another type: a design patent.
Design patents protect the appearance of inventions.
Examples range from the iPhone to Crocs sandals to bottle caps. A design patent is significantly less expensive and easier to obtain than a utility patent, and can be overlooked as potentially valuable intellectual property.
GMI has obtained dozens of design patent for clients, including a design patent and utility patent on the same invention in some cases.
Contact GMI to learn if this lower-cost approach to patenting is a good approach for protecting your invention.
ALAN COTÉ
Patent Agent & Principal
Green Mountain Innovations
Patent Law Services, Patent Attorney/Lawyer Alternative
Steering Companies & Individuals Through the Complexities of Patents.
Starting with evaluating new ideas against prior art right through driving patent applications to issuance at the US Patent and Trademark Office, GMI manages patenting of inventions from start-to-finish. Companies ranging from venture capital backed startups, to a $3 billion/year global manufacturer, to universities, to individuals tinkering in their garages have all trusted GMI to pilot the patent process for them.
Alan Cote is a Registered Patent Agent, providing the same services as a Patent Attorney/Lawyer for patents and patent applications at the US Patent and Trademark Office. Patents Agents are not attorneys and do no practice other kinds of law other than patent law. GMI offers patent services from its Vermont location for all 50 states. A Vermont patent attorney agent provides services such as: patent searches, provisional patent applications, utility patent applications, design patent applications, right thru patent prosecution and issuance.
Patent FAQ
Typically, there’s a four-step process:
Step One: Prior art search. Using a disclosure statement – a 1-2 page concise summary that you write – a search is performed against issued patents, patent applications, and the marketplace to find inventions that are closest to your idea.
Step Two: Search evaluation. The results of the search are used to make a decision as to whether to proceed with a patent application, or a provisional application. In essence, you must be the first to invent something in order to be issued a patent on it.
Step Three: Prepare & submit application. If step 2 is positive, a patent application or provisional application can be drafted and filed.
Step Four: Get Patent to Issue. Usually the Patent Office rejects the claims of the application and states why the invention is not eligible for a patent. Written arguments then go back-and-forth, sometimes fine-tuning the claims. While inventors often find this unsettling, many IP experts consider that this vetting process results in a stronger patent than if the application simply went straight-to-issue as it was submitted.
Costs vary significantly according to the particulars of an invention. Typically:
Search: $500 – $1500
Search evaluation: $200 – $2000 +
Draft provisional application: $2000 +
Draft full application: $2500 +
Draft design application: $1600 – $2000
Get patent to issue: as needed
In addition, the patent office requires fees for each application. These range from a provisional application fee of a little over $100, to maintenance fees (only after a patent issues) of several thousand dollars.
There are many inventions described in patents that have never made it to market and that you’re very likely unaware of. The patent office does not require you to search before submitting a patent application, but the patent office performs its own search while examining your patent. If your idea has already been created or patented, it’s much better to spend a little money and find that out sooner than spend a lot of money and find out later.
See the FAQ’s on the website for the US Patent and Trademark Office. Of course, there are many other resources found on the internet as well.
Have a question not answered here?
Contact Green Mountain Innovations
Please do not include any proprietary or detailed information concerning your invention with this form or in any other initial contact. All content on this website is for informational purposes and is not legal advice. Use of this website or contacting GMI LLC does not establish an agent-client relationship.
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