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The following is a short synopsis of what you may expect, in terms of procedure and costs, with respect to filing a patent application.
The major cost for preparation of a patent application relates to attorneys fees as a typical patent application requires 20-30 hours to prepare. In addition, there are certain U.S. Patent Office (PTO) fees, which generally change each October 1st. In addition to the hourly work and the required PTO fees for filing a patent application, other legal and official fees as well as miscellaneous expenses will be required to prosecute the patent application into an issued patent.
A patent application must be filed with a Declaration and Power of Attorney either at the time the application is filed or within two months after filing the application. There is a small surcharge for the filing the Declaration after the application has been filed. An Assignment to transfer the rights of the inventor to another entity may be filed and recorded in the Patent Office any time before the patent issues, and there is a small fee associated with preparing, filing, and recording the Assignment.
Three months after filing a patent application, an information disclosure statement (IDS) must be filed to advise the Patent Office of all prior art of which you are aware that relates to your application. The preparation time and fee for the IDS is generally small.
Once the patent has been examined, which usually takes approximately one to two years after the application has been filed, an Office Action or Notice of Allowance will be sent by the Patent Office. A reply to the Office Action, in the form of an Amendment and Remarks, must be prepared and filed within three months; otherwise, extension fees will be incurred. Additional Office Actions may thereafter be sent by the Patent Office and replies will be prepared with appropriate responses. The legal fees for preparing and filing each reply will be at the hourly rates indicated in our retainer letter, plus the cost of any miscellaneous out-of-pocket expenses.
Upon receiving a Notice of Allowance indicating that your patent application is in acceptable condition, an issue fee and any formal drawings not already filed will be due within three months of the Notice. The formal drawings will need to be prepared by a patent draftsperson skilled in the intricate requirements of acceptable patent drawings. Our fee for the filing of the above and for the review of the formal drawings will again be at our hourly rates.
After the patent issues, maintenance fees are due at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years. When possible, we will provide reminder notices to the client in advance of when the maintenance fees are due and, upon instruction, file the maintenance fees.
The cost of filing, prosecution, and maintenance of foreign patents which should start within one year of the filing of the U.S. patent application is very dependent upon particular countries of filing, and we would be happy to obtain quotes for you when the need arises.
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