Patent Basics: When and How to File

Patent Basics: When and How to File is a Business-focused course for founders, inventors, product teams, and professionals who need a practical introduction to protecting inventions, timing filings, and navigating the patent application process. You will learn how patents fit into real Business decisions, when filing may make sense, and how to avoid common timing, ownership, and disclosure mistakes.

Build A Smarter Business Patent Filing Strategy

• Learn what patents protect, what they do not cover, and how they compare with trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.
• Evaluate patent potential using novelty, utility, non-obviousness, prior art, inventorship, and ownership considerations.
• Understand when and how to file, including provisional applications, non-provisional applications, filing steps, fees, and deadlines.
• Plan for the full patent lifecycle, from application drafting and prosecution to international strategy, cost planning, and portfolio decisions.

Patent Basics: When and How to File gives you a practical introduction to protecting inventions, timing filings, and navigating the patent application process for stronger Business decisions.

This course starts with clear patent foundations, helping you understand what counts as an invention, what a patent can protect, and where patents fit alongside trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. You will connect legal concepts to Business value by examining the reasons companies file patents, the risks of filing too early or too late, and the situations where filing may not be the best move.

You will then learn how to evaluate whether an invention may be patentable. Lessons cover novelty, utility, non-obviousness, prior art searches, public disclosures, grace periods, ownership, inventorship, and assignment issues so you can approach patent conversations with more confidence and better preparation.

The course also walks through practical filing decisions, including how to document an invention, how to choose between provisional and non-provisional applications, and what goes into strong claims, drawings, specifications, examples, and enablement. You will also learn how to work effectively with patent attorneys or agents and understand common filing workflows, fees, deadlines, office actions, amendments, and prosecution steps.

By the end of this Business course, you will be better prepared to discuss patent strategy, protect valuable inventions, plan filing timelines, and make informed decisions about costs, international options, and patent portfolio priorities.