
Writing a patent is only step one; prosecution involves office actions, negotiating with the patent office to modify claims, and can take three to five years.
Discover the course structure for patent writing, outlining strategy, claims, drawings, and remainder, and learn how my framework reduces drafting time from 30–35 hours to under 20 hours.
NDA = non-disclosure agreement
An NDA is a legal document that you sign with another party agreeing to not disclose information. If you sign an NDA with another party and share your invention, it won't be considered a public disclosure. However, if you do not sign an NDA and share your invention, it will be considered a public disclosure (unless it's a backend invention and you do not share how the backend invention works)
This lecture was imported from my patent strategy class.
This lecture was imported from my patent strategy class.
This lecture was imported from my patent strategy class.
This lecture was imported from my patent strategy class.
This lecture was imported from my patent strategy class.
Conduct a self patent search on Google Patents for about 30 minutes; if you find an exact match, don’t patent it, otherwise you’ll address prior art in prosecution.
Adopt a claim drafting perspective that targets a single entity, avoiding divided infringement, and focus on what your company does to coordinate multiple parties.
Craft clear patent claims to avoid 112 clarity rejections by removing subjective terms and flowery language, and treat claim words as variables to prevent ambiguity.
Learn to draft patent claims by avoiding unnecessary limitations, eliminating unclear verbs, and focusing on explicit technical steps from a computer perspective.
Frame if-branches in patent claims by walking down a branch, such as determining an input is received and doing x. This limits prior art and clarifies use of continuation applications.
Explore how the phrase in response to narrows patent claims by demanding a specific sequence of steps, guiding prosecution, and distinguishing novelty from prior art.
Create a multi-perspective drawing set that clearly tells your invention's story, using high-, medium-, and low-level views across 4–30 figures to convey components and data flows.
follow patent drawing rules: avoid color unless you file a color petition with a fee, and label figures with reference numbers and arrows. number figures sequentially and maintain one-inch margins.
Use fictional names and faces in both the drawings and the specification (written description).
Avoid brand names like Starbucks.
Describe the problem and solution, distinguish it from previous solutions, note advantages and disadvantages, and convert the method claim set into sentence-form using 'in one aspect' with preambles removed for enablement.
Describe each figure with a one-sentence caption. Highlight a schematic illustration of an example architecture for a slide to unlock gesture and a flow chart of an example process.
Learn how to articulate patent variations using 'for example' and 'in some implementations' to describe different device actions, such as button unlocks and slide gestures, from user and machine perspectives.
Only do this after completing all of the sections in the patent and the patent is ready for filing!
You need the "Cross-Reference to Related Applications" section only you are filing for a non-provisional application AND want to claim benefit to an already filed provisional application. If you are filing for a provisional application, you do not need the "Cross-Reference to Related Applications" section.
Check micro entity or small entity status to save patent filing fees, as entities under 500 employees with income under 206k and up to four patents qualify for discounts.
File your patent online as a registered e-filer to simplify future office actions, using utility filing with provisional or non-provisional options, plus ads and a micro entity statement.
Congratulations on finishing the course! Tell me what you liked or disliked about the course, or what you wish I talked about. My email is jon@butler.tools, and I'll be adding content to the course over time based off of what folks ask about.
Testimonials
"Just wanted to drop a quick note that I bought your course and started it. It's simply the best I've found and I've read a few books and listened to patent lawyers. You're giving honest answers a startup needs to hear like how much a patent will actually sell for and how big you should be before it makes sense. I've never heard that from other patent lawyers -ever."
- John L, Founder
"I am loving Jon's course, this course is probably worth 10-20x the price! It's helped me save HOURS and gave me confidence in my patent. The way that the course is broken down shows me a big picture view that just makes sense. After following along in the videos, I just loved how I'm able to focus on writing the patent."
- Robert, Founder of real estate tech company
"Jon's writing course was a gold-mine of patent trade secrets. His lessons are extremely clear, and I searched for so long on how to write a good patent, but it was very hard to find. These video lessons take a lot of time to go through, but hey, I avoided lawyers, so that's a win."
- Alex, Founder of AI tech company
"So thanks so much for making this! I have 100% confidence I can do a great provisional to go and market test with your course."
- Matthew B, Founder of real estate company
Learn How To Write Patents The Smart Way
So you'd like a patent? Awesome. Owning a patent is one of the best ways to grow your business valuation, but the process can feel daunting. How do you even write patent language? How should you structure your patent? What concepts should you include? And after you get your patent, what can you do with it?
I'm going to help you cut through the confusion - to not only learn how to properly write a patent, but make sure it's usable by your business in the future, too. Top law firms charge tens of thousands of dollars for this expertise.
In this course, I'll walk you step-by-step through the entire process of writing a great patent. With high-quality videos (that aren't too long) and examples along the way, you'll write your patent in under 20 hours, so you can build and grow your business with confidence.
A Guide For The Inventor Who Wants To Have A Successful Business
The Zero to Patent course is the most practical, effective, and battle-tested course on writing patents ever created. Each of the 60+ lessons covers powerful techniques to write a strong patent.
Write your patent:
Apply battle-tested claim concepts. See why litigated Apple patents extracted $Billions from Samsung and learn how you can write a patent that does the same.
Learn the patent writing formula. Get a list of go-to words and structured templates for your draft. Patent writing is not like normal writing; the goal is to use simple, frequently-used words, not flowery language. Anyone can do it.
Then, watch as your patent achieves business results:
A patent grows your business valuation.
A patent makes your business more attractive for acquisition.
A patent prevents competitors from copying your idea.
A patent can be licensed or sold in a patent acquisition.
A patent bolsters your reputation as an innovator.
Plain and simple, this course will help you get the strongest patent while saving tens of thousands of dollars. Even if you don't have much time. Even if you aren't sure how to begin. And even if you already hired or are planning to hire a patent lawyer (use this course to quality-check a draft).
Here's what you'll get with this course:
Strategies: Learn my personal strategies, honed at the top patent law firm learning from the best where I spent thousands of hours and generated millions for the firm writing hundreds of patents.
Tutorials: This course includes walkthroughs of all parts of a patent application; best practices and pitfalls to avoid are all included.
Templates: Use spec, drawings, and claims templates for your next patent application. Just fill in the content and file!