Do your research

• Search one of the United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries to find out if a patent for your invention already exists. You may also want to find a patent attorney to help you with the process by searching lawyer referral services. You can request information from the USPTO about the patent application process. This information gives you the requirements for a patent.
  
  

Type of application

• When you decide to apply for a patent, you have to decide what kind of application you want to submit. You can choose either a provisional or non-provisional. In a provisional application, the USPTO will send you an application date, but will not begin the examination process, in which the USPTO makes sure your application fulfills all of the requirements. With a non-provisional application, the examination process is begun. A non-provisional application must be completed before twelve months after the filing date of the provisional application. It must be clear the idea in the non-provisional application is the same as the one in the provisional. Both applications can be filed electronically or sent through the mail.
  
  

Pending applications

• It takes approximately two years for the patent application to go through. During that time, you or your legal representative can check on the status of the application by calling the person responsible for your patent application, or you can use the Patent Application Information Retrieval System after you have received your filing receipt for your patent application.