Overall General Patent Application Cost

Complete patent prosecution fees may range from $5,000 – $60,000+ depending upon various factors.  

 

Factors utilized to assess cost: 

• Patent Quality

• Type of Patent to File

• Type of Patent Protection Desired

• Experience Level of Patent Attorney (not Law Firm) and its team of qualified professionals

 

Industry Standard Patent Application Parts and Cost

According to the American Intellectual Property Legal Association bi-annual survey, "A typical US patent cost is over $60,000."

 

The patent costs include Prep for Filing, Examination, and Registration.  Preparation includes everything until filing, then the prosecution is everything from filing to the issuance of the registration.

 

Preparation is understanding the invention, drafting the claims and the specification, and the odds and ends that need to be done to file the patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office.

The prosecution portion is going back and forth with the patent examiner. The examiner issues an Office Action rejecting the claims, and the attorney/agent responds. This back-and-forth can be frustrating at times, but is a necessary part of making sure your patent is strong. The industry average is about 4.2 Office actions per patent. Just because your patent was rejected initially, that is not a bad thing.

Patent preparation costs average over $15K for drafting the patent application and all associated fees. This will include a very significant cost of learning your technology and your business goals, then crafting the patent application to match your needs.

Patent prosecution costs average over $25,000. This will include going back and forth with the patent examiner, interviewing the examiner and, where applicable, the examiner’s supervisor, and going to appeal if necessary. Once there is allowable subject matter, the issue fee is paid and the patent is granted.

There is a large variability in costs to get a patent. Some will issue quickly and not cost so much, but others may take a considerable amount of effort and cost to get allowed.

One thing to note that these are average prices. Your mileage may vary, and when you add in costs like Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) costs, divisional applications, continuation applications, and the like, it is easy to exceed $60,000.

 

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Flexibility of Patent Application Cost

Patent applications do not have flexible rates.  The costs are standard and fixed.  Certain clients will request fast services at a low price.  However, a fast-low cost patent equals a fast-low quality patent which may not enforce the type of provisions desired.  

 

The USPTO has no standard form or template for inventors or patent attorneys to complete to file a patent application.  Each application is a custom draft which includes detailed essential parts to successfully receive a Patent. 

 

Flat Fee vs. Hourly Rate vs. Monthly Retainer

Flat Fee general rates to file a patent application commence around $45,000+.  This does NOT include administrative patent application costs.  Flat fee clients include:

• Large Entity Clients

• Big Corporations and Businesses

• Flexibility to file the Application in four (4) weeks or less

 

Hourly Rates to file a patent application commence around $450/hour.  This does NOT include administrative patent application costs.  We require an $8,000 deposit retainer to commence service which equates to about 40 hours of work.  Depending on client requested time restraints, each client is assigned to one day per week for prosecution services.  Expect to replenish the retainer every month for six months.  This equates to an average of 240 hours of work for an average of about $48,000. 

Hourly clients include:

• Large Entity Clients

• Big Corporations and Businesses

• Flexibility to file the Application in six (6) months or less

  • Global Search

  • Prototype Drafting

  • Manufacturing Design

  • Sales Strategy

 

Monthly Retainers vary and commence around $2,500/month.  This does NOT include administrative patent application costs.  We require $0 retainer and engagement are based on the service need of a complete (not individual) patent portfolio.  Expect about 20 months of full portfolio patent prosecution.  This equates to an average of 800 hours of work for an average of about $50,000 during the 20 month prosecution period. Monthly retainer clients include:

• Small Entity Clients Only

• New Corporations and Small Businesses

• Flexibility to file the Application for two (2) years or less.  Prior to filing expect the following to transpire

  • Corporate Formation

  • Transactional Partnerships, Mergers and/or Acquisitions

  • Trademark Prosecution of two (2) or fewer marks (Design Mark and Standard Character Mark)

  • Copyright Prosecution of two (2) or fewer applications (Literary and Concept)

  • IP Global Search

  • Prototype Drafting and Design

  • Manufacturer PO and Shipping 

  • Product Packaging

  • Sales Strategy

 

The above rates are average quotes.  Each client portfolio may vary.

 

Patent Disclosure 

Each application submitted for registration must fully disclose the invention.  This includes the parts and subparts of the invention.  Only an experienced patent attorney or patent professional can prepare a quality patent application.

 

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