Don't Unintentionally Lose Your Patent Rights Whether you are a sole inventor or part of a business team, developing a new product can be a very exciting process. Just be careful to not let the excitement and eagerness to share your idea derail your intellectual property protection. In both the U.S. and foreign countries, the patent system has statutory bars that prevent patent protection for inventions if certain events occur. In the United States, inventors have one year from the date of first public disclosure, public use, publication, sale or offer for sale of the invention in which to file at least a provisional patent application. After one year, the inventor is barred from filing a patent application for an invention. In most foreign countries, inventors typically cannot have disclosed an invention at all prior to filing a patent application. Statutory bars exist because an invention must be novel in order to be patentable. An invention is not considered novel if any of the following occur more than twelve months before filing of a patent application: the invention was described in a patent anywhere in the world, the invention was described in a printed publication published anywhere in the world, the invention was publicly used in the U.S., or the invention was offered for sale in the U.S. So, how should these statutory bars affect your actions prior to filing your patent application? 1) Only disclose your idea to those who need to know. 2) Require execution of a Non-Disclosure Agreement by anyone with whom you share your idea. 3) Do not offer your invention for sale—either publicly or privately. 4) Do not post about your idea on social media or funding sites. 5) Do not publish any article, story, data, or report disclosing any part of your invention in any format. 6) Do not present your invention at trade shows, conferences, or online forums. 7) Keep detailed records of any experimental tests and conduct such tests in secret. If your invention is publicly disclosed, published, used, or offered for sale before filing of your patent application, keep meticulous track of the dates of these events and do NOT miss your one-year U.S. bar date. Remember, most countries outside the U.S. do not have a one-year grace period. If you think you might be interested in foreign protection, it is wise to file the U.S. application as early as possible to avoid any statutory bar triggers. The U.S. filing date can be relied upon in foreign countries to avoid statutory bars as long as the foreign applications are filed within one year of the earliest U.S. filing.

New Trademark Fees Take Effect January 18, 2025 Every two years the USPTO reviews and adjusts trademark fees. This year several fees have been increased affecting both trademark applications and trademark maintenance. The following are the most impactful changes: Trademark Applications: There are no longer two tiers of trademark filings based on description of goods/services. Instead, all trademark applications will be filed as a base application. If the applicant chooses to customize a free-form identification of goods and services, a surcharge will apply. Base application filing fee: $350/class Free-form ID surcharge: $200 Additional surcharge for free-form ID exceeding 1000 words: $200 Statement of Use (SOU)/Amendment to Allege Use (AAU): $150 (increased from $100) These changes mean that the overall cost to file a trademark application in one class increases by at least $100 on January 18. So, if you are ready to file an application or you are ready to file the SOU/AAU for your already filed intent-to-use application, filing by January 17 can save you some money. Trademark Maintenance: Trademark registrations must be maintained by filing a Declaration of Use and a Declaration of Incontestability between the 5th and 6th year from the registration date and by filing a renewal application every 10 years from the registration date. All of these fees are increasing on January 18. Section 9 Renewal Application fee: $325 (increased from $300) Section 8 Declaration of Use fee: $325 (increased from $225) Section 15 Declaration of Incontestability fee: $250 (increased from $200) These changes mean the overall cost to maintain your trademark registration in one class increases by $175 on January 18. So, if your window to pay maintenance fees is open, filing by January 17 can save you some money. For a full list and explanation of all trademark fee changes you can visit the USPTO website: https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/fees-payment-information/summary-2025-trademark-fee-changes