Ongoing watch
Know when a competitor launches something your pending patents describe
We monitor your pending families and competitor launches, and alert you when a new product matches what your specs describe, before the deadline.
How the watch works
- 1
Send your families
Published numbers. Name competitors if you like; it’s optional. - 2
We monitor
Family status and deadlines, plus new competitor products. - 3
We check support
When a launch matches a pending spec, we check §112 support in the as-filed text. - 4
You get an alert
A cited report and the date to file by.
What we watch
- Family status
- Allowance, issue fee, Issue Notification, abandonment.
- Deadlines
- Last day to file, and the 6- and 9-year fee dates.
- Competitor launches
- Product pages, manuals, FCC filings, FDA 510(k) summaries.
- Competitors
- The ones you name, and others we find in the same space.
What an alert contains
Watch alert
Parent allowed- Family
- US 2024/0000000 A1 and 2 members
- Pending member
- Continuation, allowed, issue fee not yet paid
- New product
- Smart thermostat with room-by-room occupancy sensing
- Support
- Strong3 of 4 elements, ¶¶ [0042], [0057]
- File by
- Mar 2, 2027Issue fee due. Filing before payment is best practice; the window closes on the issue date.
Attached: cited report with draft claims.
Informational only, not legal advice. Have a registered patent practitioner review before filing.
Deadlines we track
A continuation must be filed while the parent is pending.
1
Notice of Allowance
Issue fee due in 3 months. No extensions (MPEP 1308).
2
Issue fee paid
The Issue Notification follows, about two weeks before issue (USPTO, 2025). Filing before payment is best practice (MPEP 211.01(b)).
3
Issue date
Last day to file a continuation. Patents issue on Tuesdays (MPEP 1306.03).
Fee dates
A continuation filed more than 6 years after the earliest benefit date owes a USPTO fee, higher after 9 years. Provisional and foreign priority dates don’t count (37 CFR 1.17(w); CAF Guide, Q4). We flag both dates for every family.
Questions
Do I have to name competitors?
No. You can name them, and we also identify companies launching products in the space your pending specifications describe.
How are families added?
Send published application, publication or patent numbers. We map each family and find its pending members. Add or remove families at any time by email. Nothing unpublished or confidential is needed.
What happens when a parent is allowed?
We flag it with the issue-fee due date and check it first. The window stays open until the issue date, but patents issue shortly after the fee is paid, so the MPEP calls filing before payment best practice (MPEP 211.01(b)).
Who files the continuation?
Your registered patent practitioner. Patentative is not a law firm. We don’t prepare or file applications, and we don’t say whether to file. Alerts and reports are prepared for your practitioner’s review.
Is it proper to aim claims at a competitor’s product?
Yes, if the specification supports them. The Federal Circuit has said it is not “in any manner improper” to amend or add claims to cover a competitor’s product learned of during prosecution (Kingsdown v. Hollister, 1988). The new claims still need written-description support in the original filing (PIN/NIP v. Platte, 2002), which is why every alert comes with a support check.