How to Patent a Service

Patents can be obtained for processes and business models.

A patent, granted by the United States Patent and Trade Office (USPTO), provides an inventor the exclusive legal right to produce, sell and license intellectual property that falls within specific guidelines. Patenting a service can be a challenge, since patents are generally not granted for abstract concepts, and a service is essentially a bundle of customer benefits that is not tangible until it has been performed. Inventors of new services can, however, obtain a patent on the processes used to perform the service, and in some cases, the business model itself.

Things You'll Need

• Drawing tools
• Word processing software

Instructions

1. List and describe the specific attributes of your service that can be patented. Clarify exactly which components of your service are truly new concepts that either deliver a new type of value to customers or deliver value in a new way. Define what it is about your service processes that set your offering apart from competitors in terms of time, quality, cost efficiency, reliability or any other factor that is valued in the marketplace. This definition will guide you through the remainder of the patent application process.

2. Seek a patent for your business model itself if you have established a novel way of addressing a need that is already met in the marketplace. As an example, if you plan to offer a service online that has heretofore only been offered in person, you might seek patent protection for your specific method of online delivery.

3. Create drawings, specifications and detailed descriptions of your service. If your service will be performed in person by yourself or your employees, include layouts of the physical spaces in which the service will be performed. Track employee movements and activities along each step of service performance, and include information related to the tools, processes and machinery used to perform the service.

   If your service activities will be performed mostly behind the scenes, as in the technology-driven business model mentioned above, create a flowchart or process diagram listing each activity performed by the automated portion of your service as well as the customer and employee interaction points, and connect each activity with arrows to show the material and information flows.

4. Write a narrative describing your service process from employees' and customers' viewpoints. Remember that your goal is to illustrate exactly how your service process is new and different enough than existing offerings to merit patent protection.

5. Submit a patent application package to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. According to uspto.gov, patent application packages must include application transmittal forms, fee transmittal forms with fees included, and an application data sheet. Include all drawings and specifications you've created, and at least one written claim of origination, stating that you are the creator of the specific service process or business model. Include an executed oath or declaration taken in the presence of a notary public. (See References)

Tips & Warnings

• Patent applications can be filed online, using the EFS-Web system at uspto.gov, to save time and administrative expenses (see References).

References

• USPTO: Nonprovisional Utility Patent
• USPTO: EFS-Web Online Application Filing

Resources

• LSU: Patent and Trademark Subject Guide
• IPmenu: Patent Information Resources