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US 10,380,707 B2Granted
Patent life cycle management system
AssigneeITIP Development, LLC
InventorThomas F. Quinn, Jr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and system are provided for managing the cost and quality of international patent applications over the life cycle of such applications. The method and system have various process circuitries that generate instructions for administrative and technical tasks and generate communications between a controlling agent and both an administrative patent agent and a technical agent.
Claims11
A system for controlling the life cycle of international patent prosecution comprising:
- a. a computer having a microprocessor and memory components for executing intellectual property docketing software that receives and stores patent application data relating to a patent application, for executing process circuitries and for storing data, wherein said microprocessor in said computer further executes;
- b. foreign filing decision process circuitry that generates a foreign filing decision request in advance of a deadline date for foreign filing, said decision request including at least a portion of said patent application data and said foreign filing decision process circuitry receives and stores foreign filing decision countries, wherein the microprocessor identifies foreign filing as an administrative task by comparing the task with a listing of tasks that have been designated as either administrative or technical tasks in the lifecycle of a patent and the foreign filing decision process circuitry selects an administrative agent to perform the identified administrative task of foreign filing and generates a foreign filing instruction to said administrative filing agent;
- c. grant notification process circuitry that receives and stores grant data relating to said patent application, including a first grant country and a first granted claim, wherein the microprocessor identifies filing a patent prosecution highway request as an administrative task by comparing the task with a listing of tasks that have been designated as either administrative or technical tasks and said grant notification process circuitry selects an administrative agent to perform the identified administrative task of filing a patent prosecution highway request and generates a patent prosecution highway instruction to said administrative patent prosecution highway agent in a second foreign filing decision country, said instruction including said first granted claim and said first grant country;
- d. patent prosecution highway response process circuitry that receives and stores response data relating to an intellectual property office response to a patent prosecution highway request filed by said administrative patent prosecution highway agent in said second foreign filing decision country;
- wherein, when the response data comprises a notice of allowance, the microprocessor identifies paying a grant fee as an administrative task by comparing the task with a listing of tasks that have been designated as either administrative or technical tasks, said patent prosecution highway response process circuitry selects an administrative agent to perform the identified administrative task of paying the grant fee and generates a plurality of instructions relating to said response data including at least a portion of said response data, said instructions comprising a payment instruction to said administrative grant fee agent to make payment of a grant fee in said second foreign filing decision country or wherein, when the response data comprises a substantive rejection, the microprocessor identifies preparing an answer to the substantive rejection as a technical task, said patent prosecution highway response circuitry selects a separate technical agent to perform the identified technical task of preparing an answer to the substantive rejection and generates a plurality of instructions relating to said response including at least a portion of said response data, said instructions comprising an answer instruction to said separate technical answer agent instructing said separate technical answer agent to prepare an answer to said substantive rejection from said intellectual property office in said second foreign filing decision country;
- e. maintenance fee process circuitry that receives and stores patent application data relating to said patent application, wherein the microprocessor identifies paying a maintenance fee as an administrative task by comparing the task with a listing of tasks that have been designated as either administrative or technical tasks and said maintenance fee process circuitry selects an administrative maintenance fee agent to perform the identified administrative task of paying the maintenance fee and generates a maintenance fee payment instruction to said administrative maintenance fee agent in advance of a maintenance fee payment deadline date for paying said maintenance fee, said payment instruction including at least a portion of said patent application data;
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- f. agent payment process circuitry that (i) calculates the amount due to administrative agents for administrative services rendered during a selected period of time, said calculation based on a fixed fee for said administrative services, and (ii) generates a report to said administrative agents detailing the amount payable.
5 more elements
A computer system for controlling the cost of services relating to a patent prosecution highway request for a patent application comprising:
- a. a computer having a microprocessor and memory components for executing intellectual property docketing software, for executing at least one process circuitry and for storing data relating to said patent application, wherein said microprocessor in said computer further executes:
- i. process circuitry that identifies filing a patent prosecution highway request as an administrative task by comparing the task with a listing of tasks that have been designated as either administrative or technical tasks and executes grant notification process circuitry that (i) receives and stores grant data relating to said patent application, including a grant country and a grant claim, (ii) selects an administrative agent to perform the identified administrative task of filing a patent prosecution highway request and (iii) generates a patent prosecution highway request instruction to said administrative patent prosecution highway agent in at least one other country, said instruction including said granted claim and said grant country;
- ii. grant fee process circuitry that identifies paying a grant fee as an administrative task by comparing the task with a listing of tasks that have been designated as either administrative or technical tasks and that, when the response data comprises a notice of allowance, executes patent prosecution highway response process circuitry that (i) receives and stores data relating to a response from an intellectual property office in said one other country relating to said patent prosecution highway request, (ii) selects an administrative agent to perform the identified administrative task of paying the grant fee and (iii) generates a plurality of instructions relating to said response including at least a portion of said response data, said instructions comprising a payment instruction to said administrative grant fee agent to make payment of a grant fee in said second foreign filing decision country or, when the response data comprises a substantive rejection, the microprocessor identifies preparing an answer to the substantive rejection as a technical task and executes patent prosecution highway response circuitry that selects a separate technical agent to perform the identified technical task of preparing an answer to the substantive rejection and generates a plurality of instructions relating to said rejection, said instructions including an answer instruction to said separate technical answer agent instructing said separate technical answer agent to perform the identified technical task of preparing an answer to said rejection from said intellectual property office;
- and
- iii. agent payment process circuitry that (i) calculates the amount due to administrative agents for administrative services rendered during a selected period of time, said calculation based on a fixed fee for said administrative services, and (ii) generates a report to said administrative agents detailing the amount payable.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.