Patent It Yourself: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Filing at the U.S. Patent Office

Attorney David Pressman and updater Thomas Tuytschaevers takes you through the entire patent process, providing scrupulously updated information and clear instructions to help you:

determine if you can patent your invention

understand patent law

evaluate the commercial potential of your idea

perform your own patent search

file a provisional patent application

prepare a formal patent application

respond to patent examiners

amend an application

enforce and maintain your patent

market and license your invention

Thoroughly updated to reflect the latest changes in intellectual property law, this edition provides the latest U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rules and forms. It includes up-to-date discussions of the new "first to file" rule, which has to revolutionized patent law.