How to Patent Mobile App: A Comprehensive Guide

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If you have got a great chance to develop an app for it then you can’t just be telling everyone about it. It is like finding a pearl in the ocean- hard to come but worth all the efforts. It is completely true in the case of mobile applications. Because of high competition, patent mobile app idea needs to be unique and able to attract many customers.

When we told you this, you might be concerned that someone could copy the application and claim it as their own. You must want to avoid any such scenario. And yes this is completely possible.

Many people wonder if they can patent an app concept. The answer is simple yet complex.

To initiate, Yes, it is possible to patent an app idea. It’s crucial to obtain a patent for your mobile app idea before revealing it to the market or investors. This will help safeguard your project from potential theft or copying.

Patents provide legal protection for your intellectual property rights. By securing a patent, you can ensure that you have exclusive rights to your app idea. This will give you a competitive advantage and increase the value of your project. In this article, we will know in detail about the patent and everything about it.

What is a Patent?

You must have heard this term especially if you have aspirations of becoming an entrepreneur. However, there are very few people who know in detail about this term.

Well, a Patent is a right granted by the govt. Inventors can protect their product by authorizing patents. They can sue anyone who copies, uses, sells, or imports the invention without permission. It may initially seem unimportant, but the advantages of patenting an idea can save you from many unfavorable situations.

Intellectual Property Rights are rules set by the World Intellectual Property Organization. They protect creations of the mind such as inventions, artistic works, designs, symbols, and names. Some of the best examples that you must be heard of are Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, and Dropbox.

In the United States, a patent can last for 20 years if you file for one. The system used is first-to-file, not first-to-invent. There are two different types of patents:

· Utility Patents:

These patents are granted to new machines or processes. These are the most common types of patents.

· Design Patents:

These patents are granted for the unique design of the manufactured objects.

Common Mobile App Aspects Which You Can Patent:

• Privacy of Data
• Messaging
• Networking
• Pushing Data
• Authentication or Security
• Interaction between devices
• 3rd Party Mobile Transaction
• 3rd Party Server Involvement
• Reporting Feedback
• Presenting Information on a Smartphone
• Outputting to a smartphone
• Database Creation
• Mobile & Server Processing Combination
• Server Interaction
• Mobile Interface Processing
• Server Processing

Requirements for Patenting a Mobile Application:

You should know that patent mobile app is not something that you can do for every next project. Hence, you must know the requirements of the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). There are 3 main criteria on which basis the application will be reviewed. These criteria are mostly the same in other countries as well.

1. You can’t patent an app idea. When you patent your app, you must include all important information and provide documentation of your project. This includes its code, flow, features, and how the application works.

2. In the second step, you have to know whether the invention (in our case it is an app) is new or not. In short, the application must have something unique and different.

3. The last step is always difficult. The app idea should be unique. It won’t be approved if it’s just a combination or slightly changed version of existing technologies.

Now since we have known the requirements, let’s take one more step forward to know the whole process of filing an app patent.

Mobile App Patent Filing Steps:

In this article section, we will cover the most commonly asked question “How to patent an app?” There are a total of 5 steps. We will discuss each step in detail.

1. Start Finding a Patent Attorney:

You can’t do all things by yourself especially those where the law matters. To ensure your patent application is successful, hire an experienced attorney who specializes in high-end patents. This will increase your chances of getting selected for approval.

It’s best to hire a professional for legal processes and litigation instead of trying to do it on your own.

Read more: React Native vs Flutter: Which to choose for your next Mobile App?

2. Mobile App Invention Disclosure:

“Idea is not the whole journey, it is just half work done”.

You have to realize the idea into actuality for confirming its feasibility. It is highly required as per the eligibility criterion. The court will ask for tangible proof of your invention for issuing a patent against your application. You must create a demonstrating prototype of the application and make a document of the whole development process.

Your lawyer needs to look at the application flow chart to understand how the app processes work, not just the code. This will help them understand what they will patent.

3.   Patent Search Practice:

Make sure you have completed your homework. Your attorney searching for similar applications or processes globally would be helpful. Avoiding any infringement from other companies will help you. You must also do the research on the site of USPTO that we mentioned above.

4. File a Provisional or Non-provisional Patent Application:

There are two main types of applications for patenting a mobile app: provisional and non-provisional.

Provisional Application:

This is a very common type of patent application. In this application, you can file a formal patent declaration, claim, or an information disclosure statement. The best benefits of Provisional application are:

• Grants a time period of 12 months to MVP development
• Allow using the term “patent pending” of the app
• Less expensive to prepare in comparison to non-provisional applications.

Non-Provisional Application:

You can submit a non-provisional application without making any claims or references to a conventional country. A complete claim and specifications must accompany it.

You must be wondering which type of application you should choose for your app patent. You must ask these two questions:

1. How quickly do you want to grant the patent?

2.   For how long do you want to delay the patent examination costs?

If the first question meets your requirements, then a non-provisional application suits you best. However, if it is the second one, then you must opt for a provisional patent application. Here is the brief comparison of Provisional & Non-Provisional Patent Application.

Provisional Application	Non-Provisional Application
Less expensive to file	More expensive to file
Never published and will never become a patent unless non-provisional is filed	Usually published 18 months after filing and may become a patent in 24-48 months.
Expires after 12 months. Must file a non-provisional within that time to keep patent rights alive.	Processed by the patent office right away and may become a patent sooner if no provisional is filled.
Can use the term “Patent Pending” upon filing	Can’t use the term “Patent Pending” upon filing.

5.   Submit Your Application:

Now you have reached the final step of your patent application. After successfully performing all the above-mentioned steps and having prepared a patent application, you need to file it with the USPTO. Yes, it is a tedious process that includes a lot of paperwork, you must go it through.

Worrying about the documents? Here are some important documents that you must carry:

• Oath or Declaration
• Specification
• Entity Status Form
• Information Disclosure Statement
• Application Data Sheet (ADS)
• Claims
• Patent Cooperation Treaty
• Drawings
• Application to Make Special (optional)
• Fee Sheet
• Cover Sheet

Read More:- Microservices or Monolithic Architecture?

How Much does It Cost to Patent a Mobile App?

If you want to know the answer “How much does it cost to patent a mobile application”? then we will say it can vary within different types of patent applications. You must refer to the USPTO listing for knowing the costs including every type of fee. Apart from this, there are a few basic charges that you have to pay:

• Elementary Filing Fee: $70-280+
• Patent Search Fees: $150-600
• Patent Examination Fee: $180-700
• 3.5 year maintenance Fee: $400-1600
• 7.5 year maintenance Fee: $900-3600
• 11.5 year maintenance fee: $1850-7000

In short, the cost for filing a patent through a provisional application can cost you between $2000 to $5000, while for a non-provisional application it can cost you from $10,000 to $15,000.

How Much does It take to Patent a Mobile App?

After knowing the cost, and overall procedure, you must want to know how much time it will take in the entire process.

More often than not, applications get rejected and people file resubmission is done over and over again. The whole process can take 4 to 6 years.

Do you think that it took 6 years for Mark Zuckerberg to get a patent for Facebook which was granted in 2012?

If you create a new process, use it. The benefit is from creating the idea and using it in a business to your advantage. Afraid that some big company might steal the idea? That is life. When you run with the elephants there are quick and dead. That is a challenge every small company faces. A process patent is not going to make your business successful. The successful execution of business processes will. If we had process patents or the culture of software litigation in the 1980s as we have today current technology would consist of running terminals on DEC and Wang Computers at the local library for $10 per hour and there probably would not be a worldwide web.

–      Mark Cuban

Read more: 15 Benefits of Having a Mobile App for Business in 2023

What do We Recommend?

In our vast technical experience, we have gone through the deployment and development of more than 500 digital products but patenting is helpful for nothing.

It is true that the patents are helpful in some cases but if you don’t have an entirely new way of doing things or have come up with a new usage of device it makes zero sense to block or drain your resources in that direction.

It is arduous and also requires resources. So we will say that you must analyze whether you actually want to do or not. Else you can use your resources in better mobile application development by us.