Filing a patent application protects priority rights, signals credibility to investors, and can form a business foundation. Many inventors rush to file and skip essential pre-filing preparation, producing applications that are weak or doomed. Patent novelty requires absence of the invention in any patent, publication, or public use worldwide, not merely market unfamiliarity. Thorough prior art searching—using patent databases or professional searchers—can reveal obscure foreign patents or academic publications that undermine novelty. Identifying such issues early saves significant time and expense. Answering seven targeted pre-filing questions strengthens prosecutability, enforceability, licensing potential, and investor appeal.
Filing a patent application is one of the most important steps an inventor can take. It protects your priority rights, signals credibility to investors, and can form the foundation of a business. But it's also one of the easiest steps to get wrong. During my 15 years as a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), I reviewed thousands of applications. Time and again, I saw filings that were doomed before they even reached my desk.
A patent is only granted for something new. Too many inventors skip a proper prior art search, relying instead on a quick Google query or their belief that "I've never seen this before." But novelty in patent law isn't about what's on store shelves. It's about whether the invention already exists in any patent, publication, or public use anywhere in the world.
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