US 11,473,209 B2 ◊
35 USC § 102(a) ◊
CFR 37 § 1.111 ◊
USPTO Reg. 67,309 ◊
Docket2026-04-209
Page02 / 07 — Patents
StatusOffice open
Examiner queueAvg 14 mo
HoursMon–Fri · 09–18
United States · Patent Practice · Volume IIPage 02 / 07
Your Business & Counsel · Patents
§ Volume II — Patents — Title of the practice

Specifications drafted by engineers, prosecuted by registered counsel.

Three patent flavors filed in-house: utility (35 USC § 101), design (§ 171), and plant (§ 161). Every spec is drafted by a Reg. No. attorney with a technical degree in the relevant field — never farmed out to a generalist or a docketing clerk.

[0001] · 35 USC § 101

Utility patents

// Process / Machine / Manufacture / Composition

The workhorse. Software, mechanical, electrical, biotech. We draft 4–6 independent claims with layered dependents, run prior-art sweeps in USPTO + Espacenet + Google Patents, and prosecute past § 102 anticipation and § 103 obviousness rejections.

  • Median pendency21 mo
  • First-action allowance63%
  • RFE survival91%
  • Filed since 20141,820
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[0002] · 35 USC § 171

Design patents

// Article-of-manufacture · ornamental

For the visual look of a product — shape, surface ornamentation, configuration. We retain in-house technical illustrators who prepare USPTO-compliant figure sets in 7-view sets per article.

  • Median pendency14 mo
  • First-action allowance78%
  • 14-yr termFrom issue
  • Filed since 2014240
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[0003] · 35 USC § 161

Plant patents

// New & distinct asexually-reproduced varieties

For breeders of distinct cultivars. Three of our nine attorneys hold agronomy or horticulture training and we maintain a working relationship with USDA-ARS staff for botanical descriptions.

  • Median pendency22 mo
  • First-action allowance59%
  • Specialty practice3 attys
  • Filed since 201480
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P1 P2 P3 P4 P5
§ 03 / Process / 7-step prosecution

From kitchen-table sketch to issued patent in seven steps.

A typical utility-patent file with us moves through these seven stages. We send a status email on the first business day of every month for the duration of prosecution.
[01]
Intake

30-min strategy + free prior-art search.

[02]
Drafting

Spec + claims + figures, 3-week SLA.

[03]
File

Provisional or non-provisional. PCT optional.

[04]
Examiner

USPTO assignment. We track shelf time.

[05]
Office action

RFE response within 3 mo. Interview if useful.

[06]
Allowance

Notice of allowance + issue fee paid.

[07]
Issue

Patent grants. We schedule maintenance fees.

§ 04 / Tech areas / 14 fields

Fourteen technical fields staffed by credentialed counsel.

Every patent attorney here holds a technical degree in their area — biology, ME, EE, CS, chemistry, materials. We will not file outside our credentialed coverage.
USPC 706
Machine learning
// 4 attys · CS / math

Adaptive systems, training-pipeline patents, model-architecture filings.

USPC 380
Cryptography
// 2 attys · CS

PQC, ratchet protocols, secure-enclave patents.

USPC 705
Fintech
// 3 attys · CS / econ

Settlement systems, ledger architectures, payments.

USPC 310
Electric machines
// 2 attys · ME / EE

Motors, generators, axial-flux topologies.

USPC 257
Semiconductors
// 2 attys · EE

Device architectures, fabrication patents.

USPC 424
Pharmaceutical
// 2 attys · biochem

Formulations, delivery vehicles, dosage forms.

USPC 435
Biotechnology
// 1 atty · molecular bio

CRISPR systems, recombinant proteins, assays.

USPC 600
Medical devices
// 2 attys · BME

Diagnostics, surgical instruments, implants.

USPC 250
Optics & imaging
// 1 atty · physics

Imaging systems, sensors, photonics.

USPC 156
Materials & coatings
// 1 atty · MSE

Composites, surface treatments, alloys.

USPC 96
Separation & chemical eng.
// 1 atty · ChemE

Membranes, catalysts, process patents.

USPC 700
Industrial control
// 2 attys · EE / CS

Control systems, robotics, automation.

Sample independent claim with dependents.

EXAMPLE · APP. 18/411-902
[0001]
1. A nanoparticle delivery system for ophthalmic agents, comprising:
[0002]
a plurality of vesicle-targeting nanoparticles having a hydrodynamic diameter between 80 nm and 220 nm;
[0003]
a surface ligand selected to bind ocular epithelial integrins; and
[0004]
a payload domain encapsulating an anti-angiogenic agent in a controlled-release matrix.
[0005]
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the controlled-release matrix is a poly-lactic-co-glycolic-acid (PLGA) copolymer.
[0006]
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the PLGA copolymer has a lactide-to-glycolide ratio between 50:50 and 75:25.
[0007]
4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a fluorescent label conjugated to the surface ligand for imaging-based confirmation of binding.
// Lead magnet · prior-art search

Free preliminary patent search.

Tell us what you're inventing. We run a registered-attorney sweep against USPTO, Espacenet, Google Patents, and the IEEE/PubMed corpus, and email a 4-page memo within 48 hours. No fee, no obligation.

Patent questions, answered.

Should I file a provisional or a non-provisional?+
If your invention is still moving fast, a provisional buys you 12 months of "patent pending" protection at lower cost (around $2,400 + USPTO fees) while you finalize the design. If the disclosure is ready and you want examination to start ticking, file non-provisional directly. We'll recommend in the free prior-art memo.
What does an § 103 obviousness rejection actually cost to overcome?+
Usually included in the original retainer if the rejection is foreseeable from the prior-art map we drafted at filing. If the examiner introduces references we did not cite, we'll quote the response separately — typically $1,800–$3,200 depending on combination complexity.
Do you handle PCT international stage?+
Yes. PCT national-phase entries are handled in-house for 14 jurisdictions; for others we coordinate with vetted local counsel and pass through their fees at cost. Most clients enter at month 30 in EP, JP, KR, CN, IN as the standard package.
How do you charge for office actions?+
First two RFE responses are included in the comprehensive retainer. Beyond that we bill flat-fee per response based on rejection complexity ($1,200–$3,600 typical range). We never bill hourly for prosecution.
Can you handle continuation, divisional, and CIP filings?+
Yes. We routinely file continuations to add claim scope, divisionals when the examiner restricts, and continuation-in-part when later development changes the disclosure. We'll recommend at allowance which to keep open.