Applying for a patent can be a long and exhausting process. There is nothing worse than going through all of that hard work just to get your patent application rejected. Avoid rejection by knowing the top reasons for patent denial and ways to avoid it!

Novel and Useful

For approval, a patent must be considered novel and useful, along with nonobvious, but we will get to that part in a minute. All of this is considered patentability criteria. This is all based on the opinion of the examiner assigned to your application. The most likely reason for rejection is your patent not being novel. When an examiner finds that a very similar invention or product already exists, they will declare the patent not novel. You can avoid this by doing a patent search to find if any inventions or products exists that may lead to your patent being not novel and getting rejected.

Obvious Invention

Yes, a patent application can be rejected if the invention is considered to be too obvious. This again is also up to the opinion of the patent examiner. This could mean that the examiner feels your invention is not unique enough. Before applying for a patent, try to make sure that your invention is unique enough from others. This is when talking to a Phoenix patent lawyer comes in handy.

Patent Application Errors

It is hard to imagine, but the top third reason for patent application rejection is due to the application being poorly written and filled with errors. After all of the hard work required into filling out a patent application, the last thing you want to do is submit one filled with errors. Informalities with the style and grammar used in your application will definitely result in denial. Also, never exceed the word count. Always proofread and double check your work before submitting the final application.