U.S. Patent Representation for Foreign Applicants and Firms

Since July 20, 2026, the United States Patent and Trademark Office requires applicants and patent owners domiciled outside the U.S. to be represented by a USPTO-registered patent practitioner. The requirement applies to papers filed on or after that date, including in applications that were already pending. If you file or maintain U.S. patents from outside the United States, you need registered U.S. counsel in place before your next deadline.

We have been that counsel for foreign firms and applicants since 2007.

For patent firms and agents outside the U.S.

We work as your U.S. associate, not your competitor. Your client stays your client. We handle signing, filing, and prosecution before the USPTO, keep you informed at every step, and follow your instructions on strategy. If you already file in Europe or Asia, you will find the cross-border workflow familiar.

Our $750 flat-rate U.S. national-stage and foreign filing service covers everything through the official filing receipt, with same-day filing often available for urgent deadlines.* Initiate a filing request

For companies and inventors outside the U.S.

We represent foreign applicants directly: national-stage entry from your PCT application, direct U.S. filings claiming foreign priority, and prosecution of pending applications through issuance. We work in all technical fields, and we quote costs before work begins.

Taking over a pending matter

If you have a U.S. application or patent with a deadline approaching, send us the application number and the due date. We will confirm within one business day whether we can take over in time to meet it. A clean handoff takes days, not weeks, but it cannot start after the paper is due.

Why Underwood & Associates

Our practitioners are registered before the USPTO, with seventeen years of experience across U.S. prosecution, PCT and international filings, and European Patent Office matters, in all technical subject areas. Law firms around the world use our filing services. Fees are predictable and communicated up front.

* A national-stage or foreign application is one that has already been drafted and is ready for filing. The $750 flat rate covers filing your completed application with the USPTO; it does not include preparing the patent application itself.