Mousilli Legal Group Publishes Patent Counsel Resource for Startup Inventors

Mousilli Legal Group has launched a patent attorney resource for technology founders who need to search prior art, file, and prosecute U.S. patent applications before a public launch. The move lands as the USPTO backlog improves, but first office actions still take nearly 20 months on average.

Why it matters: - Public disclosure can weaken a patent strategy if inventors wait too long to file. - Startup teams often show products at demos, pitches, or launches before the USPTO has reviewed their claims. - A faster USPTO backlog does not change the basic pressure on founders to decide early whether to file, use a provisional application, or keep an invention as a trade secret.

What happened: - Mousilli Legal Group PLLC published a patent attorney resource on its website for technology companies and startups. - The resource is designed to help founders search prior art, file patent applications, and prosecute applications before a product launch. - The page is available at the firm’s patent services page. - Founders can also book a free 15-minute consultation at the firm’s booking page.

The details: - The USPTO reported 776,995 unexamined patent applications as of April 6, 2026. - That total was down from a high of 837,928 in January 2025. - For the first time in nearly a decade, first office actions in a fiscal year exceeded new applications filed in that year. - The USPTO counted nearly 545,000 first office actions in FY 2024, up from about 530,000 in FY 2023. - First-action pendency averaged 19.9 months in FY 2024, compared with 20.5 months in FY 2023. - Mousilli Legal Group’s patent counsel is admitted in Florida and Texas and registered to practice before the USPTO. - Benjamin Hanrahan, Senior Patent Counsel, leads the practice. - Hanrahan is a registered patent attorney, a computer science engineer, admitted in Florida, and Board Certified in Intellectual Property Law by The Florida Bar. - Hanrahan has more than 18 years of experience prosecuting applications in mechanical, computer, electrical, software, and internet fields. - Feras Mousilli, Founder and Managing Attorney, is admitted in Texas and registered to practice before the USPTO. - Mousilli previously served as corporate counsel at Apple Inc. in 2014 and Dell Inc. in 2006. - Patent prosecution is federal practice before the USPTO and is open to attorneys registered with the Office regardless of the state in which they are admitted. - State-court matters are handled by attorneys admitted in the relevant state. - The firm says its patent work includes prior-art searching, U.S. and foreign applications, prosecution of office actions, opinions on infringement and non-infringement, licensing, and enforcement. - A provisional application can preserve a filing date for 12 months. - Conversion to a nonprovisional application must happen within that window. - New matter added later does not inherit the earlier filing date.

Between the lines: - The new resource positions Mousilli Legal Group around an early-stage problem, not just a filing-service workflow. - The timing suggests the firm sees startup disclosure decisions as a legal risk point before launch, not after product-market fit. - The USPTO improvement is real, but the roughly 20-month wait for a first office action still leaves enough time for public exposure to affect patentability.

What's next: - Founders who are preparing a raise, demo, or launch can use the resource to decide whether to search first, file first, or preserve an invention as a trade secret. - The practical next step for many startups will be to align patent timing with product timing, not with marketing timing. - Mousilli Legal Group is offering direct consultations for inventors with a specific invention or filing question.

The bottom line: - The USPTO is clearing backlog, but inventors still need to move before public disclosure if they want the strongest patent position.