Scott Lefton is a Registered Patent Agent, (registration #53,200) and can provide your company with patent services including patent searching, drafting of patent applications, producing patent drawings, filing and prosecuting patent applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Read the FAQ for more information about patents.

Some of the latest court rulings in patent litigation cases emphasize how critical it is for patent applications to disclose and claim literally all foreseeable embodiments and variations of the invention. Thus, any variations on your invention that aren't directly in the patent claims are likely to be unprotected. By combining the skills of a patent agent with the skills of an experienced engineer and inventor, I offer a strategic advantage on the complete and thorough research, drafting, filing and prosecution of your patent application.

• Interview your technical staff about the invention, the development process, the specific areas of innovation, how it compares with and improves upon existing devices, and possible alternate ways to both realize the invention and to use it. As an engineer, I'm more able to speak the language of your technical staff than most patent attorneys can, and my work experience has covered both the invention side and the patent application side of the patenting process.
  
• Produce a disclosure report including all of the above, and outlining the key inventive features that are potentially patentable. Having this information is critical for your company to be able to make an informed decision on whether to order a formal patent search and possibly a patent application.
  
• Perform a formal patent search, and if potential anticipation or infringement is found, offer practical suggestions for design strategies to reduce the risk of a patent application rejection, or of infringement on existing patents.
  
• Write, file, and conduct the prosecution of the patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This way, you have the benefit of my combined experience through the entire patenting process.
  

If you already have a patent attorney:

• I may still be able to provide your company with a more cost-effective and thorough technical disclosure by interviewing your technical staff with an engineer's insight into the inventive process. I offer lower rates for writing and research than a patent law firm does, and I'm likely to catch technical details that they'd miss.
• When your patent attorney works with me, they'll have organized, complete information to accurately describe inventions and to compare them with existing patents in their field.
• My combined experience with new product design, engineering management, patent searching, analyzing patents and drafting patent applications enables me to bridge the gap between the technical world of inventors, engineers and product designers, and the intellectual property world of patent attorneys.

Areas of specialization:

• My areas of specialization within the field of patents are electronic and mechanical patents.
• Within these areas I've worked on patent applications for a diverse range of inventions including electronics enclosures, musical instrument electronics, kitchenware and stage magic devices.

  Patents Awarded (listing Scott Lefton as an inventor)
  

• 6,680,431 Violin Shoulder Rest
• 6,278,059 Electronics housing having a flexible outer flange
  
• 5,693,898 Hinged control panel for electrified acoustic guitar
  (Currently a Correction of Inventorship is in process to list my name on the patent; it was not included when filed.)
  
• 4,891,645 Digital-to-analog converter with on-board unity gain
  
• 4,791,318 MOS threshold control circuit
  
• Other patents pending.