Intellectual Property Blog

By Alan Yomtobian, Esq. | Patent Bar #81,255 Takeaways You can patent software in 2026. The law does not categorically exclude software from patent protection. What the law does require is that your claims be directed to a specific technical improvement rather than to an abstract idea carried out on a generic computer. If your application satisfies that requirement, it can survive examination and, in many cases, survive litigation. The Supreme Court's decision in Alice Corp.

By Alan Yomtobian, Esq. — Patent Bar #81,255   KEY TAKEAWAYS A design patent protects the ornamental appearance of a functional article — the way a product looks, not how it works. Under 35 U.S.C. 171, a design patent is granted to anyone who has invented a "new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture." Design patents last 15 years from the grant date, require no maintenance fees, cost significantly less than utility patents ($3,000-$8,000 total vs. $7

By Alan Yomtobian, Esq. — USPTO Patent Attorney #81,255 KEY TAKEAWAYS The total cost of obtaining a patent in 2026 ranges from approximately $7,000 to $20,000 or more for a utility patent, $3,000 to $8,000 for a design patent, and $2,000 to $5,000 for a provisional applic ation. These totals include USPTO government fees, attorney fees for drafting and prosecution, and potential office action response costs. For the official fee schedule, see the USPTO Fee Schedule and the U

By Alan Yomtobian, Esq. — Patent Attorney #81,255 KEY TAKEAWAYS A patent restriction requirement is a USPTO communication under 35 U.S.C. 121 informing you that your patent application claims multiple distinct or independent inventions that cannot be examined together in a single application. The examiner requires you to elect one invention group for examination, while the remaining groups can be pursued through divisional applications. Restriction requirements are common in

By Alan Yomtobian, Esq. | U.S. Patent Attorney #81,255   KEY TAKEAWAYS A USPTO patent office action is a multi-page legal document that identifies every objection and rejection the patent examiner has raised against your application. Reading an office action requires understanding its standard structure: the header identifying the application, the summary of the examiner's disposition, specific claim rejections organized by statutory basis (35 U.S.C. 101, 102, 103, or 112), f