We find claims your pending applications can still support, before the window closes.

A patent family stays open while any member is pending. A continuation can take new claims, as long as the original specification supports them. It must be filed on or before the day the parent issues (MPEP 211.01(b)). How the deadline works.

Competitors often launch products that use features a pending specification describes but does not claim. Claiming them is legitimate: there is “nothing improper” in amending or adding claims to cover a competitor’s product (Kingsdown v. Hollister, Fed. Cir. 1988). The limit is written description. What the specification must show.

In small and mid-size prosecution firms, finding these is usually manual and occasional: someone happens to notice a product. Often that is after the parent has issued, when the window has closed.

Timing now costs money too. Since Jan 19, 2025, a continuation filed more than 6 years after the earliest benefit date carries a $2,700 fee for a large entity, rising to $4,000 after 9 years (37 CFR 1.17(w)). The surcharge explained.