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Utility and plant patents are exercisable for up to 20 years from the date the first non-provisional application for patent was filed. A design patent is exercisable for a term of 15 years from the date of grant. Maintenance fees are required to be paid in intervals after the utility patent is issued in order to keep it in force. Provisional patent applications stay “alive” for a year, but will go abandoned if a non-provisional application is not filed within 12 months of the

This simple answer is no, you don’t need to wait for a patent to be granted before starting to use your invention publicly or commercially. However, using your invention publicly or commercially without first filing a provisional or non-provisional application could bar you from later filing an application. In short, once you have filed a patent application, you may use your invention commercially without barring your chances of obtaining a patent, as long as the application

It takes anywhere from 12 to 18 months to obtain a United States trademark registration. After the application is filed, the first examination or office action is typically issued after about 5 or 6 months (based on the caseload of the trademark office). Depending on the effectiveness of the amendments or arguments necessary to respond to the office action, a second office action may issue which may take a few more months. If all the issues and refusals in the office actions

Trademark applications typically involve a two-part fee. The first part is paid to the United States Patent and Trademark Office as a filing fee for filing of the application. The second part is paid to the trademark attorney for their time in preparing the application and filing the application.