The 3DPatentDrawing Distinction
James Fisher has been providing advanced technical 3D and 2D patent illustration services since 2000. As has been expressed to him on numerous occasions by attorneys he has worked with, the exceptional levels of detail and realism in his work have made a crucial difference in the high acceptance rate of their patent applications, and has helped them produce stronger, more robust patents with clearer, broader support for the claims. This has also been particularly helpful in patent filings where establishing novelty was expected to be a challenge.
All work is performed by James, with studious attention to detail and thorough communication with the attorney and/or inventor. Invention confidentiality is a top priority and work is never farmed out.
James was a pioneer in the use of 3D CAD models in the automatic generation of patent illustrations, being the first to identify and implement software plug-ins capable of generating editable vector line art when they became available. In addition, he was also the first (and to this day one of just a few) to develop a process for the computational generation of physically accurate and hyper-detailed stippled shading for design patents. The levels of realism and detail can be seen in many of the sample drawings on this website.
NOTE: This website is currently being rebuilt. To contact James, please call 925-949-4785 or email james@3DPatentDrawing.com
The key advantages 3DPatentDrawing provides IP attorneys, law firms, start-ups, and inventors
The efficiency and thoroughness with which I approach projects is typically able to save IP attorneys a significant amount of time. The attorneys I work will generally take one of the following two approaches:
A) The attorney brings a pre-defined project to me with the drawings already planned. With minimal communication I am able to understand the requirements and quickly produce a complete set of detailed draft illustrations for the attorney to review.
B) The attorney has me work directly with the account to develop the drawings. With just a few interactions (email, phone and if the client desires, an in-person or video meeting) I am able to quickly grasp the invention and inventor goals, import client CAD files as well as create 3D models from scratch, and get started. Attorneys are sometimes overloaded with multiple approaching deadlines, and really appreciate that I am able to relieve them of the process of having to fully grasp the details of an invention, especially where there are a lot of complex mechanical features, many of which relate to important claims.
If desired by the attorney, I am able to work completely autonomously, obtaining details and CAD files from the inventor, planning how to best depict the invention and all its components and capabilities, and finally producing a complete set of drawings in a logical sequence, with figure numbering and lead line numbering all in place. Following on, I am able to quickly turn around drawing edits and additions, and am used to working within tight deadlines. In many cases the attorney has had very little exposure to the invention until the point that they see the drawings. I have often been told by attorneys that my drawings provided a framework for them to fully understand an invention and efficiently write their specification.
One more thing, when it comes to detail, the drawings I produce are typically next-level, and attorneys have often expressed to me that the high degree of detail and realism was what made all the difference in convincing patent examiners that the invention was novel and worthy of a patent — often in cases where there was significant concern going in that the invention would be deemed obvious. I’ve had attorneys also tell me that as a result of the drawings I produce their patent acceptance rate is exceptionally high.
I have produced material for some of the largest media and tech companies on the planet as well as a host of small businesses and independent inventors. My rates are also very reasonable, especially considering the attention to detail, the time and effort I put in, and how much time my streamlined work, efficient communications, and precision-results is able to save attorneys and their clients.
The relationship is every bit as important as the drawing skill. There are many overseas patent illustration mills spamming out pretty drawing samples daily via email, but the devil is in the details, with poor responsiveness, ongoing and enormously frustrating misunderstandings (middle-men with poor communication skills handling all communications between the attorney and the artist), extremely sub-standard results and nickle-and-dime billing tricks being the reality. I’ve had a few attorneys admit to me that they tried this “budget” approach and will never do so again! While it’s obvious to any experienced attorney or law firm that sending invention material overseas opens up a host of legal risks and should never even be considered, one has to be careful even with “local” services. There are illustration service “fronts” that present themselves as being based in the USA, who surreptitiously farm the work out for cheap to overseas illustrators. Needless to say, it is far safer to develop a long-term relationship directly with an experienced and trustworthy US-based individual illustrator. If you are an IP attorney or law firm, please consider my services for your patent drafting needs. If you are a start-up or inventor, I can connect you with experienced, skilled IP attorneys.