Practice
Patents for the shape of a thing, and how it works
Helle drafts design and utility patent applications for people who make physical products.
A design patent covers how a product looks; a utility patent covers how it works. Some inventions need one, some both, and some are better kept as a trade secret. We start with what you’ve built and who would copy it, and we tell you plainly when a patent isn’t worth the cost.
What the work covers
Searches of earlier patents and products
Design patent applications with formal drawings
Provisional applications to hold a filing date
Utility applications
Replies to examiner rejections
In order
From a sketch to a patent
- 01
Step 1: Look
You show us the product or the drawings. We search earlier patents and products and send our read.
- 02
Step 2: Hold
Where it helps, we file a provisional application to hold your date while you test the market.
- 03
Step 3: Draft
We write the full application and its drawings with you, and file it.
- 04
Step 4: Reply
The examiner almost always pushes back once. We answer, and keep you told at each turn.
Questions
Before you file a patent
What does a design patent cost?
A design application with formal drawings is a flat fee for one design, quoted in writing first. Utility applications are quoted per invention after the first meeting. Patent Office fees are extra, and we tell you the amount before we file.
Can I show it at a trade show first?
Talk to us before you do. Showing or selling an invention starts a clock that can cost you the right to patent it.
Will the patent be granted?
We can’t promise that. An examiner reviews every application, and many are rejected at least once before they issue, if they issue.