Registered
Patent Agent
Reg. No. 78,412
IP Law
Section Member
Since 2011
American IP
Law Association
Active Member
Patents
Granted
2011 – Present
Int'l Filing
Authority
28 Countries
Grant Rate
vs 53% Avg
USPTO Data 2024
USPTO-registered patent agent. Provisional applications, utility prosecution, PCT international filings, and continuation strategy — handled with the precision your invention demands.
Grant Rate
94%
vs 53% national avg
Patents Filed
340+
Utility & Design
Avg. Prosecution
18mo
First Action to Grant
Representative Clients
When Prior Art Predates the Internet, You Need Claims That Reach Further.
The Problem
A Dallas aerospace engineer had developed a novel actuator seal for hypersonic re-entry vehicles. The examiner cited a 1987 McDonnell Douglas internal report as invalidating prior art — a document the inventor had never seen.
Prior-Art Obstacle
The cited reference disclosed a similar sealing geometry but operated at a fundamentally different temperature range. The examiner's rejection conflated structural similarity with functional equivalence.
Claim Strategy
We drafted dependent claims specifically reciting the thermal-expansion coefficient differential and filed a detailed technical declaration distinguishing operating conditions. A single continuation claim was preserved for the broader genus.
Grant Outcome
US Patent 11,842,107 granted. The examiner withdrew all rejections after the response. The continuation issued 11 months later covering the broader sealing class.
2
Rejections Overcome
11mo
Continuation Grant
Representative Clients
Alice Rejections Don't Kill Good Software Patents — Weak Arguments Do.
The Problem
A San Francisco startup's IoT sensor firmware received a §101 Alice rejection six months before their Series A close. The original outside counsel had filed a generic eligibility argument that the examiner rejected in two paragraphs.
Prior-Art Obstacle
The examiner characterized the claims as directed to the abstract idea of "collecting and organizing data" — a broad characterization that would have invalidated the entire application if left unchallenged.
Claim Strategy
We amended the independent claims to recite the specific hardware-sensor interaction and the unconventional data-compression algorithm. Filed a pre-appeal brief rather than a full RCE, saving the client four months and $4,200.
Grant Outcome
Pre-appeal conference allowed. US Patent 11,934,551 granted with 22 claims intact. Client closed Series A at $8.4M, citing the granted patent in their pitch deck.
22
Claims Granted
$4.2K
Saved vs. RCE
Representative Clients
A U.S. Grant Is a Starting Point. Protecting a Market Requires a PCT Strategy.
The Problem
An Iowa agritech R&D director had a granted U.S. patent on a precision-irrigation valve system but had missed the 12-month PCT window — or believed they had. Competitors were filing in Brazil and Australia.
Prior-Art Obstacle
The U.S. priority date had been established by a provisional application, but the PCT deadline calculation required careful analysis of the actual filing date versus the publication date of the inventor's own prior disclosure.
Claim Strategy
We identified that the PCT deadline ran from the provisional — not the publication — restoring the international filing window. Filed PCT/US2024/034812 designating 18 countries with claims specifically drafted to the Brazilian and Australian examination guidelines.
Grant Outcome
PCT application entered national phase in 14 jurisdictions. Brazilian INPI granted within 26 months. Australian patent granted with all independent claims. R&D director has since retained us for a 6-patent continuation portfolio.
14
Jurisdictions Filed
6
Patent Portfolio
Get a Free Patentability Assessment.
Before you file anything — before you spend a dollar on prosecution — know whether your invention is patentable, what prior art threatens it, and what a defensible claim scope looks like.
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Written summary delivered in 3 business days
Prior art landscape overview included
No NDA required — attorney-client privilege attaches immediately
USPTO-registered agent, not a paralegal or AI tool
From Napkin Sketch to
Granted Patent Number.
Patentability Assessment
3 business days
Prior art search across USPTO, EPO, and non-patent literature. Written landscape summary identifying closest references and distinguishing claim scope. No retainer required.
Provisional Application
12-month priority window
Full specification drafted with claims reserved. Establishes priority date and gives you 12 months to refine the invention before committing to full prosecution costs.
Utility Application & Filing
Before 12-month provisional expiry
Formal claims drafted — independent and dependent. Specification finalized. Drawings executed to USPTO standards. Filed electronically via EFS-Web with official filing receipt.
Office Action Response
USPTO allows 3–6 months
Every rejection answered with a technical declaration, claim amendment, or interview request. Pre-appeal briefs filed when appropriate to avoid costly RCE cycles.
Continuation & Portfolio Strategy
Before parent patent issues
Continuation, CIP, or divisional applications filed to protect improvements and broaden claim scope. PCT international strategy developed for markets requiring foreign protection.
Not sure where you are in the process? The free assessment will tell you exactly what stage you're at and what it costs to move forward.
Start with Free Assessment →The Record Speaks
in Patent Numbers.
Get Free Assessment →We received a §102 rejection citing a patent from 1999 that we had never seen. FilingPatent responded with a 12-page technical declaration that the examiner accepted without a second rejection. Patent 11,934,551 granted 4 months later.
Dr. Priya Venkataraman
CTO, Luminos Sensors
Austin, TX
US 11,934,551
IoT / Electrical
I had a napkin sketch and a PCT deadline six weeks away. They drafted a full specification, filed the PCT, and identified three continuation strategies I hadn't considered. The Brazilian patent granted 22 months later.
Marcus Whitfield
Founder, AgroVision Systems
Ames, Iowa
PCT/US2024/034812
Agritech / Mechanical
Our outside counsel had filed three RCEs on the same application. FilingPatent took over, filed a pre-appeal brief, and got the examiner to allow all 18 claims. That patent became the cornerstone of our Series B raise.
Sarah Okonkwo
VP R&D, Meridian Medical Devices
Minneapolis, MN
US 11,842,107
Medtech / Biotech
Secondary Conversion Path
Not ready to file? Stop making mistakes in the meantime.
Download the Inventor's Filing Checklist — 8 mistakes that invalidate patents before they're ever filed. Used by our clients before every provisional application.