You have a great idea. Is patenting the best way to protect it? How much do patents cost? How do you find out if your idea is patentable?
Registered Patent Agent
WebPatent.com
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You have a great idea. Is patenting the best way to protect it? How much do patents cost? How do you find out if your idea is patentable?
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Robert M. Hunter, Ph.D.
Registered Patent Agent WebPatent.com |
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REGISTERED PATENT AGENT
YEAR 2010 SCHEDULE OF FEES
Obtaining high-quality patent protection in the U.S. alone for a new technological invention can cost thousands of dollars. If you are unwilling or unable to make this level of investment in your invention at this point in time, read no further. Instead, consider whether other approaches to protecting your idea might work.
The following normal and expedited fees (in U.S. dollars) are associated with each step in the patenting process for a high-technology invention of average complexity. Add the components of the fee in each row to obtain a preliminary estimate. All fees reflect a small entity (less than 500 employees) discount. After a confidential disclosure of the invention is made to the registered patent agent, a lump-sum (fixed) fee or estimated (not-to-exceed) fee can be quoted. Only after I understand what your invention is and how much of the text of the draft patent application has already been prepared (by you) can I give you a better estimate of costs than is presented below.
Visa®, MasterCardC, Discover® and American Express® credit cards accepted. To arrange for payment by credit card, send a fax to (866)740-4144 toll free. Include your credit card type, number, expiration date, name as it appears on the card, billing address, home telephone number and credit card validation (CCV) code. You can also telephone us at (406) 581-2234 or send an encrypted e-mail to contact us.
You may also pay by PayPal or by credit card via PayPal by clicking on the button below.
| Activity | Patent Agent | Other Professional | U.S. Patent and Trademark Office |
| Initial consultation | Free | NA | NA |
Patentability search Mechanical invention Software invention Chemical invention Biotechnology |
Coordinate
$400-800 $600-1,100 $900-1,300 $900-1,300 |
Patent Search Firm
$650-800 plus copies $1,000-1,300 plus copies $700-1,100 plus copies $1,000-1,300 plus copies |
NA |
Provisional U.S. patent application Mechanical invention Software invention Chemical invention Biotechnology
|
Average complexity; priority established
$3,000-3,500 $4,000-5,000 $3,000-3,700 $3,700-4,700 |
Patent Draftsman $50-100 per drawing |
Provisional application filing fee (second column for small entity) |
Regular U.S. utility patent application Mechanical invention Software invention Chemical invention Biotechnology |
Average complexity; provided an adequate provisional U.S. patent application has been filed $3,800-6,900 $7,500-13,000 $7,500-11,000 $11,000-15,000 |
Patent Draftsman $50-100 per drawing |
Basic filing fee - utility (second column) Search fee - utility (second column for small entity) Examination fee - utility (second column for small entity) |
| International (PCT) patent application | $2,500 provided an adequate regular U.S. patent application has been filed | NA | PCT filing fees |
| Each response to USPTO action | $1,500-6,000 | NA | None required if no additional claims added |
| Appeal final rejection by Examiner | $7,000-9,000 | NA | Appeal fees (second column) |
| Petition to the Commissioner | $600-1,900 | NA | Petition fees |
| U.S. design patent application | $1,600-2,600 | Patent Draftsman
$50-$100 per drawing |
Design filing fee (second column for small entity) Search fee - design (second column for small entity) Examination fee - design (second column for small entity) |
| U.S. plant patent application | $1,500-2,500 | Patent Draftsman or Photographer
$50-$100 per drawing or photo |
Plant filing fee (second column for small entity) Search fee - plant (second column for small entity) Examination fee - plant (second column for small entity) |
| Prepare patent for issue | $800 | Modification of specification and/or drawings may be required | Issue and publication fees (second column for small entity) |
Pay patent maintenance fees 3.5 year fee 7.5 year fee 11.5 year fee |
Refer to reminder service, if desired
$400 $400 $400 |
NA | Maintenance fees (second column for small entity) |
Hourly Rates
Registered patent agent: $200 with a normal lead time (see below)
Litigation consulting/expert witness: $400 with a normal lead time (see below)
Payment
A handling surcharge of 10 percent is added to all out-of-pocket expenses.
Hawaii residents and businesses (only) pay a 4.166 percent general excise tax (GET) on the cost of my services. I ask my other clients to certify that the place of delivery of my services is outside Hawaii so that those services can be exempt from the tax. If a non-Hawaii client fails to sign and return the certification form I send him/her, he/she will be billed for the GET.
US dollars only.
Checks on U.S. banks accepted.
Visa®, MasterCard®, Discover® and American Express® credit cards also accepted. To arrange for payment by credit card, send a fax to (808)885-4114. Include your credit card type, number, expiration date, name as it appears on the card and billing address. You can also telephone us at (808) 885-4194 or send an encrypted e-mail to contact us.
Retainer--At the time the registered patent agent is retained to perform an assignment, a retainer equal to 100 percent of the estimated cost. Some patent searchers ask that their full fee be paid before services are provided. If time is critical, I ask that you submit a check covering a 100 percent retainer/advance for an invention of average complexity (see above) along with your invention disclosure. I will then prepare a free estimate of total costs. In this way, after I receive your OK, I can start working immediately and not have to wait for your check to arrive.
Balance of my charges are due upon task completion.
Emergency Actions
While emergencies do occur, my fee schedule is designed to encourage my clients to avoid them because I try to live a balanced life and, in the short term, my schedule is full. The term "lead time" means the calendar time period between the day when the client provides me the information and retainer I have requested to enable me to begin a task and the deadline for the task.
Expedited task surcharge for assignments with less than a 4-week lead time--25 percent of normal fee.
Expedited task surcharge for assignments with less than a 2-week lead time--50 percent of normal fee.
Expedited task surcharge for assignments with less than a 1-week lead time--100 percent of normal fee.
There are periods when I cannot perform any more emergency work. So, please plan ahead. Delaying filings beyond certain critical dates can bar the issuance of a patent.
Cautions
Patent search services and patentability opinions are not infallible. That is, a pre-examination (novelty) search of reasonable duration may not (and probably will not) find all of the prior art in existence everywhere in the world. The validity of an issued patent can be threatened if a prior art reference was not brought to the attention of the Examiner during prosecution of the patent application.
The quality of an issued patent can be affected by factors controlled by the inventor(s). One of such factors is the thoroughness of the patentability search. Another is the ability of the inventor(s) to "teach" the invention and the differences between the invention and the prior art to a competent and experienced, registered patent agent who has the ability to understand inventions of that type. There can be a vast difference between the quality of a "minimal cost" patent and a well-prepared, but valuable, one. In other words, in the intellectual property field as in many others, "You get what you pay for."
© 1998-2010 Robert M. Hunter PLLC