There is nothing called a patent application form. Rather, it is one of the most complex of legal documents that an attorney prepares. One can get an idea of that by taking a look at issued patents through search engines. Issued patents are just composed versions of patent applications which include modifications made to the initial application as well.

Below is a break-up of the stages of application and costs incurred at various stages of patenting, all of which together can take 24-36 months for completion.

Patent ability search
This is a preliminary search to verify if the process/object is patentable. This can cost about $650 to $1000 if an attorney is approached, or the individual can perform the search themselves. Although a bit expensive, it is a good option to go for it before filing a patent application, given the expenses involved in the process.

Filing the patent application
If the search results are positive, one can go ahead and prepare a patent application for filing with the USPTO. Generally, a patent application needs 2-3 informal patent drawings, which can cost up to $150 per sheet, bringing the cost to $300-$450.

Description
Once the application is ready, a detailed description has to be prepared for submission along with the application. This is an extremely difficult task and must be done by a registered patent attorney (a list of such attorneys can be found with the USPTO). Fees for simple applications range between $3500 to $4500, while more complex applications, like those related to electrical circuits, computers and software systems, are in the higher range, costing anywhere between $5000 to $7000.

Once this application is ready, it has to be filed with the USPTO which charges a filing fee of $355. Sending the application through Express Mail ($15) is preferable to obtain a filing receipt.

Prosecution of application
This is a stage where about 2-3 Official Actions are issued by the USPTO, each of which necessitates an amendment in the application. Depending on the degree of complexity of the suggested amendment, the attorney may charge anything between $800 to $2000, bringing the cost of prosecution to $1600-$6000.
On completion of this phase, a Notice of Allowance is issued.

Issuance of patent
The next stage is preparing formal drawings from the earlier informal ones, which can cost about $125-$150 per sheet, and ten extra copies of these can be obtained for an additional cost of $40. The USPTO also charges an Issue fee of about $685. The attorney would charge an approximate of $200-$300 for the finalization of documents and their submission.

Maintenance fees
Lastly, once the patent is issued, the individual needs to pay some amount for the maintenance of the patent through its validity of 20 years from the date of application. These charges range from $2995 to $5790, depending on the classification of the patent as a small or large entity.

This is the cost break-up for obtaining a United States Patent. For patents in other countries, an additional cost of about $2000 per country patent has to be incurred. Patenting, thus, is an expensive and time consuming process.

Below is an outline of the various stages of patent application along with details of the role of the attorney in each.

Patent ability search
This is the first stage wherein it needs to be verified whether the object/process is patentable or not. This is usually done by an attorney, but individuals can carry out the searches themselves, thus saving on some expenses. Individuals can also do away with this stage and directly apply although that is not a very favorable option, as the patent application process is relatively expensive and it would be wiser to verify before the applying.

Filing the patent application
If the verification yields positive results, the individual can go ahead and file an application with the USPTO. This would require 2-3 informal patent drawings.

Description
Once the application is readied, a detailed description has to be prepared to submit with the application. This is an extremely important and difficult task and must necessarily be handled by a registered patent attorney (a list of such attorneys is available with the USPTO).

Once this document is ready, it has to be submitted to the USPTO, preferably through Express Mail for a filing receipt.

Prosecution of application
In this stage, Official Actions are issued by the USPTO, each of which requires an amendment to the application. There may be 2-3 such Actions issued. An attorney takes care of this paperwork. Once this is done, a Notice of Allowance is issued.

Issuance of patent
Once the Notice is issued, formal drawings have to be prepared from the earlier informal ones. These have to be submitted along with an Issue fee to the USPTO. Here too, an attorney is needed to finalize documents and submit the final application

Maintenance fees
This is the amount to be paid through the validity period of the patent, which is 20 years, to maintain the patent. This may or may not necessitate the involvement of an attorney.

Except for the first stage of preliminary searches, an attorney plays an important role throughout the application process and is indispensable.

A local home laundry business service is a small way of solving couple’s one of the most frequently faced problems. All we need to keep in mind is the cost of material, a little bit of market research, and how to make more money in a less time.

Cost of material:
This includes the electricity charges, detergent cost, a spacious utility room, washing machine, dryers, irons, hot water supply etc.

Market research:
This is nothing but finding friends in need of such a service and asking them to recommend you to their friends and neighbors. We should also know, how the other laundry stores are faring in the market and in what ways they are better, in order to be at par with them.

How to make more money quickly:
If you have a few regular clients, you can probably charge them a bit heavy for a larger load. The main time consuming factor is the ironing. You need to be a little more professional in it, so that you don’t give your clients a chance to pin point at the cost factor. In short provide them a good quality service.

The main secret for a successful food business is doing a little bit of market research. What is the main product that people crave for and then forming a clear picture of what you can feasibly sell to make money.

Now since it’s a vegetarian food business, you need to be very careful in choosing the right kind of product. The oil you choose, the shelf life of the raw as well as cooked product, storage etc should be taken care of.
Developing the product includes maintaining quality and adhering to the safety practices. Drainage, ventilation, waste disposal, lighting, safety, sanitation, ease of cleaning all becomes a part of the business.

Now marketing your product is another part of the business. You can start in your neighborhood, and gradually expand it to large areas. But before, marketing, a thorough research on the laws and government guidelines needs to be done and followed.

Running a home based food business is not an easy task. All you need is strong organizational skills, hard work, good interpersonal relations, high degree of commitment and flexibility. Most of all, you need to have fun in what you do.

Criteria to obtain a copyright as stated under the US Copyright Act have been outlined below.

Originality Requirement
The work under consideration must be original, but the extent of originality required is very small. The work should not be a mechanical reproduction of an earlier copyrighted work but, at the same time, cannot be a single word or phrase. Also, if it is a compilation, it should have some amount of originality in the arrangement of works (this point has been detailed later).

Works of Authorship
The "works of authorship" categories state the different kinds of works that are covered under the Act. They have beeen deliberately kept ambiguous and general so as to cover newer inventions and technologies as and when they come up, thus doing away with the need to modify the Act time and again.

Although the list seems restricted, it covers a wide range of works due to its ambiguity.

Fixation
This section refers to the tangibility of works covered under the Act. Any work, to be covered under this Act, has to be a concrete piece of work that's written on paper, cassettes, CDs, etc. I deas are not covered unless the are reproduced in a tangible medium.

Automatic Creation
After amendments to the Act in 1978, the need for registration of a work to be protected under the Copyright Act has been done away with. A work is protected as soon as it is “fixed” and meets the above 3 criteria. This is applicable to works after 1st January, 1978. Works that were unprotected until then remain so.

Compilation Copyrights
This is a special category of works that can be copyrighted. Compilations are defined as "collection and assembling of preexisting materials or of data that are selected in such a way that the resulting work as a whole constitutes an original work of authorship." (US Copyright Act). A good example of this would be a compilation of the most popular poems of the 17th Century. Such work would be covered under the Act as the works themselves would have no copyrights or their protection might be expired, and there would be some amount of creativity involved in selecting, sorting and ordering the works.
A compilation of facts put together would also be protected under the Act as this would involve some work and originality.