4. Q. Is it necessary to go to the Patent and Trademark Office to transact business concerning patent matters?
A. No; most business with the Office is conducted by correspondence. Interviews regarding pending applications can be arranged with examiners if necessary, however, and are often helpful.
5. Q. If two or more persons work together to make an invention, to whom will the patent be granted?
A. If each had a share in the ideas forming the invention, they are joint inventors and a patent will be issued to them jointly on the basis of a proper patent application. If, on the other hand, one of these persons has provided all of the ideas of the invention, and the other has only followed instructions in making it, the person who contributed the ideas is the sole inventor and the patent application and patent shall be in his/her name alone.
6. Q. If one person furnishes all of the ideas to make an invention and another employs him or furnishes the money for building and testing the invention, should the patent application be filed by them jointly?
A. No. The application must be signed by the true inventor, and filed in the Patent and Trademark Office, in the inventors name. This is the person who furnishes the ideas, not the employer or the person who furnishes the money.
7. Q. Does the Patent and Trademark Office control the fees charged by patent attorneys and agents for their services?
A. No. This is a matter between you and your patent attorney or agent in which the Office takes no part. To avoid misunderstanding you may wish to ask for estimate charges for: (a) the search, (b) preparation of the patent application, (c) Patent and Trademark Office prosecution.
8. Q. Will the Patent and Trademark Office help me to select a patent attorney or agent to make my patent search or to prepare and prosecute my patent application?
A. No. The Office cannot make this choice for you. However, your own friends or general attorney may help you in making a selection from among those listed as registered practitioners on the Office roster. Also, some bar associations operate lawyer referral services that maintain lists of patent lawyers available to accept new clients.