How to file and prosecute Patent Applications
Protection of an invention involves several steps:1. A first filing at one particular patent office, generally a national patent office, for securing a priority date. Thus, filing effectively "freezes" the state of the art, that is to say the number of publications and disclosures which can be used to challenge your right to a patent.
2. Foreign filings in different states, within a year of the priority date, to extended protection in different territories. The European patent route, may cover most European countries.
3. Prosecution of all the applications up to the grant of the first and foreign filings. This generally involves dialogue between the patent attorney and the patent office regarding the patentability of the invention.