USA Patent Application and Cost…Simplified
By admin in Copyrights and Patents on November 11th, 2009
There is no fixed cost for obtaining a US patent, but it may range anywhere between $5000 to $10000, depending on the searches and other uncertainities in the process of filing and obtaining a patent.
There is nothing called a patent application form. Rather, it is one of the most complex of legal documents that an attorney prepares. One can get an idea of that by taking a look at issued patents through search engines. Issued patents are just composed versions of patent applications which include modifications made to the initial application as well.
Below is a break-up of the stages of application and costs incurred at various stages of patenting, all of which together can take 24-36 months for completion.
Patentability search
This is a preliminary search to verify if the process/object is patentable. This can cost about $650 to $1000 if an attorney is approached, or the individual can perform the search themselves. Although a bit expensive, it is a good option to go for it before filing a patent application, given the expenses involved in the process.
Filing the patent application
If the search results are positive, one can go ahead and prepare a patent application for filing with the USPTO. Generally, a patent application needs 2-3 informal patent drawings, which can cost upto $150 per sheet, bringing the cost to $300-$450.
Description
Once the application is ready, a detailed description has to be prepared for submission aong with the application. This is an extremely difficult task and must be done by a registered patent attorney (a list of such attorneys can be found with the USPTO). Fees for simple applications range between $3500 to $4500, while more complex applications, like those related to electrical circuits, computers and software systems, are in the higher range, costing anywhere between $5000 to $7000.
Once this application is ready, it has to be filed with the USPTO which charges a filing fee of $355. Sending the application through Express Mail ($15) is preferable to obtain a filing receipt.
Prosecution of application
This is a stage where about 2-3 Official Actions are issued by the USPTO, each of which necessitates an amendment in the application. Depending on the degree of complexity of the suggested amendment, the attorney may charge anything between $800 to $2000, bringing the cost of prosecution to $1600-$6000.
On completion of this phase, a Notice of Allowance is issued.
Issuance of patent
The next stage is preparing formal drawings from the earlier informal ones, which can cost about $125-$150 per sheet, and ten extra copies of these can be obtained for an additional cost of $40. The USPTO also charges an Issue fee of about $685. The attorney would charge an approximate of $200-$300 for the finalisation of documents and their submission.
Maintenance fees
Lastly, once the patent is issued, the individual needs to pay some amount for the maintenance of the patent through its validity of 20 years from the date of application. These charges range from $2995 to $5790, depending on the classification of the patent as a small or large entity.
This is the cost break-up for obtaining a United States Patent. For patents in other countries, an additional cost of about $2000 per country patent has to be incurred.
Patenting, thus, is an expensive and time consuming process.