Patent Prosecution

Internet Filing

The USPTO totally overhauled their old electronic filing system with a new and improved system in 2006. Prior to this online filing was, to say the least, cumbersome. However, with the new system online filing has become much easier and is finally being used by many practitioners. We are proud to say that Apex has been electronically filing since the first day the new system went online. Because of this, we are extremely educated with respect to USPTO online procedures and we also stay up to date with any changes or advancements that occur at the PTO.

Cost of Filing

Patent filing can be very intimidating and has the potential to be very expensive. We are sensitive to our clients needs and also to their financial situations. We will work with you, advise you of alternative paths that may be less expensive and will even provide payment plans. Please call, email or come in to discuss your options.

Benefit of Seattle

Seattle is the perfect place for a patent office, especially for our Asian clients. Because overhead is lower than on the East Coast and because we are a medium sized firm we are able to keep our fees substantially lower than those of our East Coast counterparts, which thereby allows us to provide our clients with exceptional service at a fraction of the cost. We also are a short flight from our Asian clients which allows us to visit more frequently. Some of our clients in the past have expressed reservations about using a firm that is not located in Washington DC where the patent office is situated. The fact of the matter is that this is becoming less and less of a concern. Yes, in the old days it was beneficial to have an office located in DC because it was easy to go to the PTO and hand file documents. It was also easier to track down an Examiner for interviews and patent searching was better at the PTO library. All of these points are now moot. Paper filing is gradually becoming a thing of the past. The PTO strongly encourages electronic filing so hand filing paper documents is no longer beneficial. Examiners are easy to reach via phone and we have found that telephone interviews are extremely successful. If an in person interview is required we will of course travel to DC, but these trips are not nearly as important as they were in the past. As for patent searching, a vast majority of the documents are now available online. The PTO library, while beautiful and historical, provides very little additional information from what can be found online. Taking all this into consideration, Apex Juris is an exceptional choice.