Patents are one of the most effective forms of Intellectual Property Protection that keeps your inventions safe for 20 years. Though patents reserve your rights to your properties, the patent registration process is a bit tedious and time-consuming. The patent registration process and the associated costs may vary according to the patent type.
Once you have successfully filed a patent application with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office), your job doesn’t end there. Your application should be correct and accurate enough to explain your invention or product. If not, it will be revised and come under the amendment. Let us look at how to correct or revise a patent after submitting a patent application to the USPTO.
Know How to Correct or Revise the Patent
Patent Revision and Amendment
Once a patent application is filed, the USPTO will review and examine it before approving it. If an application is correct, accurate, and doesn’t need any changes, it will be approved by the USPTO. If not, the USPTO will allow the inventor to make the required modifications or amendments.
Patent applications that fail to perform the amendments within the time provided may face the risk of rejection by the USPTO. There are generally two possible amendments a patent application may have. They are,
- Amendments to Inventors’ Names: If an invention or a product involves more than one inventor, including every inventor’s name is important while registering the patent. No matter whether a patent has been registered or is under review if a patent owner’s name is not included in the patent application, you can add it through the USPTO’s Assignment Recordation Branch. The Assignment Recordation Branch will expect you to submit a Recordation Cover Sheet through the EPAS (Electronic Patent Assignment System) for adding or altering the names of the patent owners. To add the missing inventors’ names, the EPAS will expect you to submit supporting documents to prove their ownership of the patent. Once the names are updated on the patent, you will receive a confirmation from the Assignment Recordation Branch.
- Amendments to Patent Claims: After registering your patent with the USPTO, there might be some changes in your patent claims. For that, you don’t need to file a new application. You can follow the patent claim rules provided by the USPTO to change your patent claims. If you want to modify or make changes to your patent, you can do them in the existing claim. However, if you are going to add something new to your patent claim, you must go for filing a new patent application.
Not every patent requires amendments after it is registered. However, if anyone feels their patent’s description needs more specificity, they can opt for amendments to protect their patent’s uniqueness and prevent infringements.
Requirements for republication
In case of any amendments, the republication of your patent needs to meet the following requirements expected by the USPTO.
- The republication application’s copy.
- The publication fee and the processing fee
Conclusion
Now you know how to correct or revise the patent from the above explanation. Once a patent is registered with the USPTO, making necessary changes and amendments is possible by following the process mentioned in this article. To make amendments to a patent already filed, the republication application should comply with the requirements of EFS; otherwise, the application will be rejected. Though amendments are not so common, modifying or making changes to your patents will help you achieve accuracy to define its identity best.
