What does it Cost to Get a Patent?
There are two stages to getting a patent, each with its own set of fees. The first stage is the filing stage. The second stage is the prosecution stage, which occurs 1-2 years after the filing stage.
There are filing fees and attorney’s fees associated with filing a patent. Filing fees are fees you pay to the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) for filing your patent in their databases. These fees may increase slightly year to year, but for 2009 the costs are:
- $110 to file a provisional patent
- ~$600 to file a utility patent
Attorney’s fees to file a patent vary from about $3,000 up to $20,000 or more, depending on the complexity of the patent. Most patents for individual inventors fall on the lower end of the cost scale. These fees cover the actual writing of the patent, which includes:
- Drafting the claims – the claims capture the essence of your idea in broad terms. The claims are the most important part of the patent, and must be done correctly for maximum protection of your idea.
- Obtaining the proper drawings - a patent attorney usually uses a draftsman, who takes your sketches or ideas and turns them into drawings that meet all of the patent office’s criteria.
- Drafting the specification – this part of the patent uses the drawings and your ideas to describe your invention in detail, and is as comprehensive as possible to further protect your patent’s validity.
- Filling out the proper forms and submitting them to the patent office, with the proper filing fees.
Twelve to thirty six monthsafter the patent is filed, an examiner at the patent office reviews it, and typically rejects some of the claims. At this point, prosecution begins. Prosecution is the act of arguing the validity of the patent with the patent examiner, with the goal of convincing him or her to allow as many claims as possible. The fees for this phase are variable, and typically range from $1,000 to $4,000, depending on the amount of time involved.
