USPTO Form PTO/SB/16 ◊
Docket 2026-04-209 ◊
CFR 37 § 1.51 ◊
Engagement letter pending ◊
Docket2026-04-209
ClassUSPC 705 / 7.13
StatusIntake open
NextRFE due 2026-05-22
HoursMon–Fri · 09–18
United States · Patent & Trademark · Counsel Vol. I · Page 07 / 07
Your Business & Counsel · Patents & Trademarks
§ 07   /   Project intake   /   Form PTO/SB/16

Open a file on your invention, mark, or work.

A long-form intake — twelve fieldsets — that reads like a USPTO cover sheet. Tell us what you're protecting, who owns it, what's already public, and when you need filing complete. A registered attorney reviews every submission within one business day and replies with a fixed-fee proposal and prior-art search summary.

A B FORM PTO/SB/16
§ 07.01   /   Form sheet   /   Twelve fieldsets

The intake document.

Every field is required only if the category applies. Add notes anywhere you want context. We're reading it. The submission auto-saves to a docket entry under your inventor name within sixty seconds.
I. Inventor / Applicant — Identification

Who is filing, on whose behalf?

Per 37 CFR § 1.51, the applicant must be identifiable. List the named inventor(s) and any assignee at the time of filing. Real-name only — pseudonyms are permitted only with a separate sworn declaration.

II. Subject matter — Category & class

What category of protection?

If you're unsure, pick the closest match. Our docketing clerk re-classifies before opening the file. A single project may span multiple categories — note that in fieldset XII.

III. Specification — Field of the invention

What does it do?

A 60–200 word plain-English description. Don't write claim language; write field-of-the-invention paragraph 1. We'll handle conversion. If proprietary language is a concern, label this submission "Privileged — Attorney Work Product" — the form is encrypted at rest.

IV. Prior art & public disclosure — § 102 / § 103 risk

What's already out there?

Per 35 USC § 102(a), public disclosure starts a 12-month bar clock. List anything published, sold, demonstrated, or pitched publicly. We'll cross-search USPTO and Espacenet against this list before quoting fees.

V. Filing scope & jurisdictions

Where do you need protection?

USPTO is included by default in every utility / design / plant filing. PCT international stage and individual national filings are quoted separately. Trademarks default to USPTO; Madrid Protocol jurisdictions add per-country fees.

USPTO — United States (default)
PCT — international stage (filed within 12 months of priority)
EPO — European Patent Office
JPO — Japan Patent Office
CNIPA — China National IP Administration
Other (specify in fieldset XII)
VI. Timeline & urgency — Filing-date pressure

When does it need to land?

If a § 102 bar date is approaching, mark "Rush." Rush filings carry a 1.5× attorney fee and a guaranteed 14-day filing turn. Otherwise, our standard pendency from intake to filing is 45–90 days.

Rush filing — needed in < 30 days (1.5× fee)
VII. Engagement type & fee structure

Flat fee, hourly, or retainer?

Most one-off filings run on a fixed-fee engagement letter. Portfolios of 4+ filings or ongoing prosecution work move to a quarterly retainer. Trade-secret / IP-audit work is retainer-only.

Fixed-fee engagement letter — single filing
Hourly engagement — open scope
Quarterly retainer — portfolio / prosecution
VIII. Confidentiality & conflicts

Anyone we shouldn't file against?

List adverse parties, prior counsel, or entities with whom you have a non-compete. Our conflicts clerk runs every intake against the firm's adverse-party register before opening the docket. Mutual NDA is offered on request.

Send mutual NDA before substantive review
IX. Attachments — Specifications, drawings, marks

Drop your materials.

PDF, DOCX, DWG, AI, PSD, MP3/WAV/MP4. Maximum 200 MB per submission. Larger submissions — schematic packages, source-code drops — go to our intake SFTP after the conflicts clerk clears the file.

X. Source of referral

How did you find us?

We track referral source for every intake. Existing-client referrals carry a fee credit equal to one prior-art search ($1,200 value) on the first engagement.

XI. Declaration — Inventor's oath

The oath, in advance.

Per 35 USC § 115, the named inventor must declare original inventorship. This is a soft pre-declaration — the formal inventor's oath is signed at filing.

I am the original inventor (or co-inventor) of the subject matter described in fieldset III.
I have not knowingly omitted prior art known to me at the time of intake.
I authorize Your Business & Counsel to perform a registered prior-art search before quoting.
XII. Free-form notes

Anything else?

Background context, related litigation, parallel filings with other counsel, commercialization plans, investor pressure. We read it — every word.

// 1-business-day registered-attorney response · encrypted at rest · conflicts cleared before review
§ 07.02   /   Engagement timeline

Four steps from intake to filing receipt.

Each step has a fixed deliverable and a written hand-off. The clock between intake and USPTO filing receipt is typically 45–90 days for utility, 30–45 for design, 60–90 for trademark clearance + filing.
[Step 01] Day 0–1
Intake & conflicts

Submission cleared by the conflicts clerk. Lead attorney assigned by tech-area match. Encrypted intake confirmation emailed.

Deliverable · Confirmation memo
[Step 02] Day 2–10
Prior-art search

Registered patent agent runs USPTO + Espacenet sweep. Four-page memo identifies § 102 / § 103 obstacles and patentability score.

Deliverable · 4-page memo
[Step 03] Day 11–30
Spec drafting

Independent + dependent claims drafted around the cleared subject matter. In-house illustrator prepares figures. Draft circulated for inventor sign-off.

Deliverable · Draft spec + figures
[Step 04] Day 31–90
Filing & receipt

Formal filing through USPTO EFS-Web. Filing receipt and application number returned to inventor and assignee within 5 business days.

Deliverable · USPTO filing receipt
§ 07.03   /   Trust band

What every intake is guaranteed.

No part of intake — including this form, your attachments, your bar-date discussions — leaves our SOC-2-audited document system. Conflicts cleared before substantive review. Encrypted at rest with AES-256.
// Response SLA
< 24hr
From submit to registered-attorney reply
// Conflict clearance
100%
Adverse-party register check on every file
// SOC 2 audit
Type II
Document system + intake form, annual
// Engagement letter
Fixed fee
No surprises mid-prosecution
§ 07.04   /   Frequently asked

Six things inventors ask before submitting.

Answered by Maxine Berghoff-Quintero, Reg. No. 67,309, lead intake counsel. Anything not covered here goes to her direct line — listed in the closing CTA.
[01]
Is this privileged?
Yes. The intake form is treated as a request for legal services under MA Bar Rule 1.6. Attorney-client privilege attaches at submission, before any engagement letter is signed. Conflicts review does not waive privilege.
[02]
What if I'm past my bar date?
If § 102(a) has run, a US patent is unavailable on the disclosed subject matter — but trade-secret protection, copyright on technical writings, and foreign filings under earlier-bar regimes may still be available. We assess in fieldset IV.
[03]
Can I file pro se?
Legally, yes. In practice, USPTO statistics show pro-se utility allowance rates near 22% versus 88% for represented filings. We're happy to provide a written second opinion on a pro-se draft for $1,400 fixed fee.
[04]
Do you sign NDAs?
Yes. We have a standard mutual-NDA template, sent on request before fieldset III is reviewed substantively. Conflicts clerk sees only the metadata in fieldsets I, II, and VIII — not the specification text.
[05]
What is your turnaround?
Standard 45–90 days from intake to USPTO filing receipt for utility and design patents. Trademarks 60–90 with clearance search. Rush filings (1.5× fee) hit 14 days. The bottleneck is almost always inventor sign-off on the draft spec.
[06]
What does it cost?
Utility patents from $7,200 fixed-fee through filing. Design patents from $2,400. Trademarks from $1,400 (single class). Copyrights from $850. Full schedule on services.html. Quotes include USPTO filing fees for entities qualifying as small or micro.
§ 07   /   Closing remarks

Or skip the form. Call Maxine.

If your project doesn't fit a form — a portfolio rescue, an opposition we need to file in 72 hours, an adverse litigation move that requires immediate counsel — call our intake lead directly. She's reachable Mon–Fri 09–18 ET at the number below.

Call Maxine — (617) 555-0140 → See fee schedules Meet the attorneys