How To Patent Your Mobile App Idea

Mobile application development is the fastest growing industry in the software & IT sector. You will get hundreds of mobile application ideas on the app store for almost everything you might need. In these circumstances, innovative & original ideas are as precious as pearls!

If you have any exceptional & innovative mobile app ideas & are aware that your idea might be stolen or cloned then fortunately you have the option of using intellectual property law like- patent, trademark & copyright.

Patents are a way for inventors to protect their inventions from being stolen or copied. It also gives them a chance to take any legal actions under the law for any kind of infringement action from the invention by licensing it to others. It is a legal document that lets you exclude others from making, using, selling, importing, and exporting your invention without permission. 

The patent process is not complex but it does take time and money. Also, you should conduct market research about your invention whether anyone has already patented that idea or not. Otherwise, all your hard work will just go in vain. 

In this article, we are going to share a step-by-step guide on how to patent your mobile app idea with every essential detail.

Importance Of Patenting A Mobile App Idea

It is important to label or patent your unique app idea as it protects like a shield or safeguards from the potential copycats of the marketplace. Besides, it is also a respectful recognition of your hard work. The process of patenting an idea or process can be time-consuming and costly, but it is worth it in the end because it prevents others from cloning your idea and profiting from it without your consent.

There are many benefits of patenting an app idea:

• At first, it protects the idea from non-consensual usage and gives the investor ownership & acknowledgment as well. 
• Patents are not only important for inventors, but also for investors who want to protect their investment.
• Until patenting your app, you may be able to charge for every clone of your introduced app if it is labeled as patent pending.
• Anyone can’t ruin your mobile app company financially
• Ensures nobody claims false credit for your innovative idea

What Are The Criteria To Qualify For A Patent?

Before applying for the patent process, your app idea needs to be eligible for certain requirements. These are:

• Your app idea should have Novel & Unique. Make sure it must not exist on any pending patent apps, youtube videos, books, articles, or any kind of public source.
• Your app idea must have been an Invention. Following the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), your idea or invention needs to have a solution to a specific issue. As an app idea is not considered as a physical object so the app process is recommended to be categorized as an invention.
• Your idea must be qualified as Useful. Useful doesn't imply that it should be in the entertainment category or something like that. If your app doesn't do what it's supposed to, it can be really hard to patent it.

Steps To Follow To Patent An App Idea

Check out the basic steps you should follow to patent an app idea-

Step1: Conduct Patent Research & Cross-Verify

Nowadays, mobile applications have been developed on the latest technology & trend. It may be possible that the unique idea you came up with is already patented or labeled as patent-pending by other competitors & it can be a bummer for you. For that, you need to do patent research on the associate app idea. 

Your country or state must have any kind of patented database where you will be able to conduct research on possible keywords related to your idea. Apart from this, you can analyze the app context through International Patent Classification (IPC) & World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). These will show you some related international patches that will help you to cross-verify easily.

Step2: Connect With A Patent Lawyer

For a precise, presentable & descriptive patent application, you need to consult with a lawyer or attorney. An experienced consultant can help you to get the maximum scoops of accepting your patent application. Make sure you are hiring a lawyer who has expertise in software patenting & enough knowledge base to handle your case.

There are a bunch of legal laws, procedures & frameworks you are not aware of but a lawyer will always be. You are not supposed to select the first lawyer you find, but try to choose a professional lawyer who has years of experience regarding this application process & obviously within your budget. Besides these, a patent lawyer is also able to help you to conduct global patent research which is a crucial part of this process.

Step3: Make Your App Idea Into Reality

Having an extraordinary app idea is not everything to get a patent for. You need to bring your app idea into reality properly in front of the court. You have to explain how convenient your app is to make a solution to a user's particular problem & make focus on what feature is more eligible to be patented.

The court can demand a document of your app development process before issuing a patent. As courts always want proof, you can make a prototype of the app & can present the necessary feature which is important to be shown for the patent application.

Step4: Need To File Patent Application

For your mobile application, you can select two types of patent applications for your mobile app: Provisional & non-provisional.

Provisional Patent Application:

• Without any patent claim, a precise patent document & disclosure statement, you can file for a provisional patent application.
• A provisional application is less expensive
• Can use a patent-pending upon the file.
• Expires after 12 months & need to file a non-provisional application to make it alive

Non- Provisional Patent Application:

• Processed by the patent office early & become a patent sooner if no provisional is filed
• A non-Provisional application is more expensive
• Can use a patent-pending upon the file.
• Usually published 18 months after filling & take 24-48 months for being patent

Step5: Submit The Application With Related Documents

The last step is to submit the specific patent application with the required documents. Each document should be attested & verified by the legal concern. The documents are: 

• Specification
• Declaration or Oath
• Data Disclosure Statement
• Entity Status Form
• Claims
• Application Data Sheet
• Drawings
• Patent Cooperation Treaty 
• Cover Sheet
• Fee Sheet
• Application to Make Special 

Now you probably know that patenting an app idea takes plenty of hard work & a lot of legal work also. Now, if you want to safe & secure your app idea from any kind of vulnerabilities or attack, you are recommended to patent the idea even if it is a small invention. The whole process is a little bit tiring but it is much better than someone cloning your apps and violating your business ideas. 

For any kind of query about website & mobile application development in Dubai, get in touch with us with your specific requirements.

Royex Technologies is a leading mobile app development company in Qatar. You can hire us to develop high-quality mobile apps in Dubai. Whatever app categories we discussed above, we can build it for you. We have an experienced team of mobile app developers who have been working together for years now. We’ve successfully developed hundreds of projects for our clients and become a leading mobile app development company in Qatar.