What's involved in drafting and filing a patent application? Here's an introduction to the steps you need to take.

You're confident that your invention has commercial potential. You've done a thorough patent search, and you can show that your invention is significantly different from earlier developments in its field. Now you have to convince the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) to grant you a patent.

Each patent application filed with the USPTO goes through a rigorous examination process. The application is assigned to a "patent examiner" who inspects it to make sure that:

• the invention meets the requirements for patentability, and
• the application itself follows the required USPTO format and language.

You and the examiner will exchange letters or phone calls until you reach an agreement about which parts of your invention the patent will cover, if any. This process typically takes between one and three years.

Don't be discouraged by the examiner's rigorous scrutiny of your application. Virtually no patent application, even if filed by a top-notch patent attorney, gets approved on the first go round. To reduce the number of problems, however, you need to carefully prepare your application, dotting your i's and crossing those t's.

The Parts of a Patent Application

The key elements of a patent are:

• the specification
• the claims
• the abstract, and
• the drawings.

The specification, with the help of the drawings, explains how to make and use the invention. The claims define the scope or boundaries of the patent. The application must also include an abstract that summarizes the invention. 

The specification is constructed of several elements. Collectively, these elements form a narrative that describes and distinguishes the invention. Every specification must describe the invention so that someone knowledgeable in the field of the invention can make and use it without any further experimenting. The specification must also disclose the “best mode” of creating and using the invention. If the inventor knows of a better way (or “best mode”) to create the invention and fails to disclose it, that failure could result in the loss of patent rights. The specification includes: