How To Patent A Mobile App Idea
Technology

How To Patent A Mobile App Idea

December 9, 2020

There are millions of mobile applications available in the market and more are coming into the market almost every day. The competition in the world of mobile applications is high and getting higher and fiery every single day. Letting your app succeed in the market is a challenging task however, not impossible.

Moving on to the business, every business wants to succeed in the market and make an impact in the minds of the users but as the competition is fierce, sailing smoothly is a little tough. Also, users instead of choosing your application can choose the competitor’s app if they are offering better services.

By analyzing the situations and everything, you made changes to your app idea and made it exactly the way users want while making it competitive enough for reaching the success graph in no time. Now, what? Connecting with the right and leading mobile app development company can surely help in making your app idea a reality.

During all this hustle and bustle, there are chances when businesses, startups, or a person with an app idea often forgets the importance of an app patent and skips it to get started with the app development process.

Mobile app patent is important as it is the way through which one can safeguard his/her app idea under the laws of the government. By opting for it, one can protect their app idea from getting shared or used by someone else or a third-party. Also, if in case, someone used it for their personal use, the app’s owner can simply sue the person and will be punished as per the government rules.

Now, when we are saying it is a way through which one can safeguard their app idea from leaks and use, but the process of it is also lengthy that has to be followed nicely.

To help you with the app idea patent, here is the overall process of it.

How to patent mobile app idea effectively

Ownership

This is the stage where you will be accumulating and then documenting each and everything about the application. It is also the stage that includes all the innovation or uniqueness you would like to add to the application.

Here are a few questions you should be answering when in this stage working-

  • If the app is solving the issues of the users?
  • If the app got some uniqueness or plus points in it?
  • If your app idea is giving a new shape to the prevailing app ideas in the market?

App research

Skipping research at any point in time is never a good idea to get started with the app development project. Without research, you can come to the app with the perfect application made for the users.

During the app patenting, it is crucial to go research, as you want to see if any similar app is already there in the market, if not in the native land but in a foreign land. Every piece of information is important.

Also, there come times when the app like yours is already ready but not marketed due to some reasons, this shows that the patent holder has their rights with them but haven’t made their app available for the market yet.

Law firm

The next thing to make sure of is to connect with the top attorney or law firm as they will be attending to your app idea patenting. Meet attorneys, look for the best law firm, and don’t just say yes after one meeting to the very first find.

App documentation

It is time to document everything about the application from the beginning to the end. It is basically the app prototype phase where the app developer will be showing the application rough idea.

However, patenting the application via prototype is what the app patent is all about. App patent, in reality, is about safeguarding the app and its functionalities and not just technology, software, codes, and other technical aspects.

Patenting searching

When you are done with the above steps, it is now the time to look at the other parameters of it too. You need to be sure that there might have apps that are quite similar to yours with almost the same functionalities. This is the time when your attorney should have the knowledge of such similar applications.

In any case, your app gets rejected, you can still safeguard your application’s functionalities and other aspects under design patent law like- UI, app icon, visual effects, 3D technologies, and others.

App applications

There are two types of applications for patenting the app idea, the first one is provisional and the second one belongs to non-provisional.

Both are dependent upon the market situation, the app’s solution, and others.

Government authorities

It is the step where a lot of formal things are looked upon. The patenting here involves administrative steps, paperwork, and other aspects. Meanwhile, here are a few things the app owner needs to provide are-

  • Oath/Declaration
  • Information Disclosure Statement
  • Cover Sheet
  • Entity Status Form
  • Application Data Sheet (ADS)
  • Claims
  • Drawings
  • Specification
  • Fee Sheet

This is how you will be patenting your mobile app idea, however, these are the steps that carry a more in-depth process that can help you with the smallest of information also.

To get the benefit of the same, make sure you are hiring the top app development experts to make things happen smoothly and app patent greatly.