Strategy precedes filing
We assess the prior art, the eligibility question, and the disclosure timeline before drafting — so the decision to file, and how, is informed rather than reflexive.
PRACTICE · INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Innovation & Patent Law
Patent strategy and prosecution support for innovators and growth-stage companies — provisional and utility applications, PCT filings, prior-art assessment, and office-action responses. Whether an invention can be patented, and whether a patent issues, is decided by the USPTO; our work is to position the application carefully, not to promise a grant.
- Discipline
- Intellectual Property
- Engagement
- Patent strategy & prosecution support
- Counsel
- Christopher Moye
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Strategy precedes filing
We assess the prior art, the eligibility question, and the disclosure timeline before drafting — so the decision to file, and how, is informed rather than reflexive.
The problem
An invention disclosed too soon, or filed too thinly, can lose the protection it might otherwise have had.
Most patent exposure is decided before examination begins: a public disclosure that starts a clock, claims drafted too narrowly to matter, prior art that was never searched, or a software invention pitched without regard to eligibility under Section 101 and Alice. The USPTO decides patentability and grant — but the strength of the position is set in the strategy and the drafting.
Principles · 01
How we draft the matter.
Every engagement is composed against these commitments. They shape the protections we add, the questions we ask, and the document that leaves the file.
Claims carry the value
The scope an application claims is what an issued patent would protect. We draft claims to present the invention at its defensible breadth, knowing the USPTO sets what ultimately issues.
Candor about what is uncertain
Patentability and grant rest with the examiner. We frame the work as strategy and prosecution support, and we do not promise an outcome we cannot control.
What we watch · 02
What can break the matter.
These are the terms, structures, and practical risks that usually decide whether the work holds when the file is tested.
FOUNDERENTERPRISE
Software-patent eligibility
For software and computer-implemented inventions, the Section 101 and Alice eligibility question often decides the matter. We assess where the invention sits and draft toward a technical improvement rather than an abstract idea.
FOUNDERGC
Disclosure and filing timing
Public disclosure can start a U.S. grace-period clock and forfeit foreign rights entirely. We map the timeline — provisional, utility, and PCT windows — against your launch and funding plans.
FOUNDERGC
Prior art and scope
A prior-art assessment shapes both whether to file and how broadly to claim. We search and read the field before drafting, so the application is positioned against what already exists.
The work · 03
Four steps. One engagement.
Each step is concrete; each step has a deliverable. The scope is defined, the matter moves, and the file closes.
- 01
Invention and prior-art assessment
We review the invention, search the relevant prior art, and assess the eligibility question in writing — so the decision to file is grounded before any application is drafted.
- 02
Filing strategy
We map the path — provisional, utility, and PCT — against your disclosure history, timeline, and budget, and explain the trade-offs in plain terms before committing to a filing.
- 03
Application drafting and filing
We draft the specification and claims to present the invention at its defensible scope and file with the USPTO, while being candid that examination and grant rest with the office.
- 04
Prosecution support
We respond to office actions with legal and technical argument or amendment, and keep the prosecution on calendar — without representing that any particular outcome will follow.
Proof
What stands behind the work.
What stands behind the work — credentials and representative engagements, stated plainly.
Patent strategy matters are handled by Christopher Moyé, Esq., who authors the firm's published writing on intellectual property.
Patent strategy and prosecution support — provisional, utility, and PCT filings, prior-art assessment, eligibility analysis, and office-action responses.
Every matter begins with a prior-art and eligibility assessment in writing, so the filing decision is informed before any application is drafted.
Common questions
Questions clients ask.
Plain answers to the questions that come up most. If yours is not here, send the facts — we answer in writing.
- Can you guarantee my patent will be granted?
- No, and no one can. Whether an invention is patentable, and whether a patent ultimately issues, is decided by the USPTO based on novelty, non-obviousness, eligibility, and the prior art. Our work is to assess the position honestly, draft claims that present the invention well, and respond to examiner objections — not to promise a result we do not control.
- What is the difference between a provisional and a utility patent application?
- A provisional application establishes an early filing date and gives you twelve months to file a corresponding utility application, but it is never examined and never issues as a patent on its own. A utility application is the one the USPTO examines. Many innovators use a provisional to secure a date while continuing development; we advise on whether that sequence fits your timeline and disclosure risk.
- Can software be patented?
- Sometimes — but software-related inventions face a distinct eligibility hurdle. Under 35 U.S.C. § 101 and the Supreme Court's Alice decision, an abstract idea implemented on a generic computer is not patentable, while a claimed improvement to how a computer or technical process works may be. We assess where an invention falls and draft toward eligibility, without representing that any application will clear examination.
- Why does it matter if I disclose my invention before filing?
- Public disclosure, sale, or offer for sale can start a one-year clock in the United States and can bar protection entirely in many other countries, which have no grace period. The safest course is to file before any non-confidential disclosure. We discuss your disclosure history early, because it can affect whether — and where — protection remains available.
- What is an office action, and what happens if I receive one?
- An office action is the examiner's written objection to an application — often a rejection over prior art or an eligibility question. It is a normal stage of prosecution, not the end of the matter. The response is a legal and technical argument, an amendment, or both. We prepare and file the response, while being candid that the examiner, not the firm, decides the outcome.
STRATEGY FIRST, FILED WITH CARE
Position the invention with care.
Bring the invention you are building toward — early concept or near-launch. We assess the prior art, map a filing strategy, and prepare the application, while being candid that patentability and grant rest with the USPTO.
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