Patent & Trademark Fees
5 steps every Inventor must start with! To see a diagram click Inventor Diagram
1) document your invention, correctly (Title, List of parts (elements), Summary of how parts work, list of advantages, drawing or picture of prototype)
2) perform competing product research – stores, online, trade shows, trade magazines- know there elements
3) find a patent-trademark attorney
4) perform a patent search. www.uspto.gov
5) perform a trademark search
Grell & Watson Patent Attorneys LLC specializes in Intellectual Property Law, including Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Business Contracts, Inventor Entity Formation (LLC, S-Corp.), Internet and Related IP Matters.
Initial Step is to perform a search
Patent Search:
Patent Search: $700-900 to perform a patent search & provide you with copies of prior art references (US patents & published patent applications) located during our search of your invention, plus a telephone discussion regarding a broad analysis of the search results. Business Method patents can run $900 to perform the search. To prepare a written patentability opinion, read and analyze each piece of prior art, and draft patentability opinion letter ($500-1000) additional. Time 1-2 weeks
Cover Sheet US Provisional Patent: Attorney time $600 to prep the US Provisional Patent Office filing forms and efile your written description and figure(s), plus a $155 USPTO filling fee and paralegal charges. Internet service only. No attorney review of your invention form and figure(s) will be provided and the extent of your patent protection is subject solely to the material set forth in your invention form and figure(s). Time to prep: 1 week
US Regular Patent Application: Call for a quote (estimate) to prep a US patent application. Service price depends on complexity of your invention, number of drawings, and usefulness of any provisional application/written record of invention, plus a $300-$1000s USPTO filling fee (depends on the number of claims, figures, total page count), and $100 per drawing page draftsman charge. Additional fees are required to respond to a Patent office action or to file in foreign countries. Time to prep: 4-6 weeks.
US Design Patent Application: Attorney time $600-900 to prep patent application, filling fee ~$400, and $100 per drawing page draftsman charge. Each additional embodiment $150 attorney time and additional draftsman charge.Time to prep: 1-2 weeks. ~$1500-1800.
A product (not an idea) is patentable if it is novel (new) and nonobvious to one of ordinary skill in the art. Utility Patents cover the useful or functional aspects of your invention.
Also deadlines may exist regarding public use, offers for sale or sales if such activity is more than a year old it may be a bar to patentability. You are reminded that any public use, offer or sale of your invention in the United States or publication of the invention anywhere in the world more than one year prior to the filing of a patent application will prohibit the granting of a U. S. patent. Foreign patent laws in this regard may be much more restrictive than U.S. law.
Trademark:
Preliminary Trademark Screening: $300-500; federal Internet trademark search to spot potential federal registration problems. Time 1-2 days. Full US Trademark search and written opinion $1500-2000. Time to prep: 2-3 weeks.
Trademark Application: Attorney time $600 to prep trademark application (call for a quote to prep federal trademark application) plus a $325 USPTO filling fee for a single goods/service class & single mark; for each additional goods/service class $150 attorney time (plus $325 additional filling fee for each additional goods/service class). Trademarks fall into one or more of 45 classes of goods and services description categories. Time to prep: 1-2 weeks. Additional fees are required to respond to a Trademark office action.
Other Services: Business Contracts, Licensing, and LLC formation
Note, additional fees and expenses are likely to occur beyond the initial preparation and filing phase to protect and finalize your intellectual property.