17. How much a Patent Attorney in US charges at each stage in getting patent ?

How much a Patent Attorney in US charges at each stage in getting a patent?

Patent Attorney charges in US are: novelty search in the range of $250 to $400, drafting of patent application ranges from $1000 to $1500, and for office action in the range of $600 to $800.

Table of Contents

here are the stages and typical Patent Attorney in US charges :

This cost requires in stages as your invention proceeds from 

  • Novelty Search ($250 to $ 400)
  • Provisional patent application drafting ($400 to $600)
  • Non-provisional Patent drafting (from $1000 to $1,500)
  • and after 1 to 2 years for responding to office actions if any objections are received in an examination report, such response to office actions typically requires (from $600 to $800)

Novelty Search

Although an optional step, Doing a novelty search for your invention can really save you thousands of dollars before being involved in the patent process for an invention that is not novel and already known to the public.

Cost: the charges for conducting novelty search are in the range of $250 to $400
Time required: it takes about 2 to 5 working days for a researcher to complete a novelty search
The patent attorney generally prefers to have an independent opinion about the novelty search so most of them outsource it to a patent researcher.

Opinion about patentability

Upon receiving the novelty search report for your invention, the next step is a critical review by a patent attorney to build an opinion about the patentability of your invention. Here the cost defers based on the complexity of the invention and the number of closely associated prior arts found in the research. This opinion tells you (inventor) whether the invention is patentable or not. In other words, it answers the question regarding whether to proceed with the patent filing process or not!!!

Cost: the cost for providing patentability opinion ranges from $100 to $200.
Time required: The time required for providing patentability opinion ranges from 3-4 hours to a couple of days based on the complexity of the invention and prior arts cited in the novelty search report.

Patent writing or patent drafting

This is the step where the real skills of a patent attorney come into play. patent drafting is 

  • the most time consuming
  • most complex
  • and skillful task that requires years of experience in technology as well as patent law 

This is indeed the most important step in the entire life cycle of Patent for the protection of your invention.

Cost: The cost for drafting a patent application in the US varies a great deal as it is dependent on multiple factors like a field of invention and complexity and the cost can range from $1000 to $1500.

Time required: it takes about 1 to 2 weeks time for a patent attorney to draft an application for an invention. It certainly can take more time based on complexity, length of description, and availability of the patent attorney.

Why do Patent attorneys charge significant fees to write patent applications?

Before we proceed, One thing (question) most certainly hits the inventor’s mind at least once in the process of getting a patent for his invention that is:

“If I am the creator of the invention, I know it inside out and I can describe it in a detailed manner then why does Patent Attorney charge so much fees to write my patent application in the right format ?”

To get a quick and self-evident answer to your question, Just follow the steps below (it will hardly take 10 minutes) 

  • Just start looking at patents from your domain of invention… Let’s assume your invention is about a software application that “categories the object entering into CCTV cameras as human or animal or a vehicle and raise alarm only if a human is present in the given area”
  • Now go to USPTO patent search or Google patents and patents from your domain of invention (in our example here search for granted patents on live CCTV video processing and categorization software applications)
  • You may get thousands of results, just read or skim through the most relevant ones
  • Especially see the description and Claims section
  • Notice the language, complexity, and sentence structures in claims
  • Observe the way invention is described and tried to be protected as much comprehensively as possible
  • Observe different embodiments and preferred embodiment (best mode) if specifically mentioned…
  • Observe the scope of the entire invention is well covered and protection is as broad as possible with all possible variations

After spending a few minutes on some of the granted patents from your domain, you may get the sense of effort and experience required to write a good patent application; which is different and more complex than a simple technical explanation of the invention without considering the legal aspect. Hence the significant cost of getting help from a patent attorney.

Common mistakes in patent application done by DIY inventors

  • A detailed description of the invention is not sufficient enough or not enabling
  • Claims are not supported in the description of the invention
  • Claims are not protecting the actual invention properly
  • The claims written are too limiting and lack the proper legal terms to be able to have border scope
  • All possible variations, embodiments are not mentioned
  • The best mode of practicing the invention is not disclosed

and many other types of mistakes that can raise a lot of objections in the proceeding of getting a patent for your invention.

A patent is a Techno-legal document: Writing a patent application also called patent drafting is a specialized skill, and it takes years of practice and experience for a patent attorney/patent agent to be a good patent writer.

To write a good patent application:

you need to have a fair understanding and experience in 

  • Patent law and patent office rules and regulations
  • Case laws affecting the interpretation of patent law
  • Technical skills of the subject matter of the invention 

As an inventor, you can be a leading expert in your field of invention and have a very good understanding of the subject matter of the invention which is the technical side of Patent, but you may face challenges on the legal side. If you are writing a patent application on your own i.e. without patent attorney/agent chances are your patent application would be just a technical description of the invention and may fail for its sole purpose of “protecting your invention with the right patent”

Patent attorney/agent will be having an understanding of how existing prior arts (found in search results) can affect the possibilities of granting a patent for your invention, identify possible issues with the scope of the invention (sometimes narrowing the scope), and can adjust the patent application writing such that you stand a better chance of grant of patent.

Although it may look obvious or easy, patent drafting is a very difficult level job and involves years of experience, the right approach to balance the scope of patent application between protecting too much and protecting too little

An experienced patent attorney/agent can help you in

  • Writing a quality patent application that appropriately protects the invention
  • Writing the patent application in such a way that it not only gets through the examination stage to the grant but is also helpful in patent commercialization/monetization stage with strong claims
  • Preparing patent application and other relevant documents and forms for filing at USPTO
  • Doing Novelty search to ensure the novelty of the invention
  • Following patent procedures like filing, examination, office actions, and applicable fees at appropriate stages
  • Represent inventor in an entire patent procedure that is from filing to grant of patent 

A well-written patent application by a Patent attorney provides the strongest possible protection to your invention

What do we mean by the strongest possible protection?

  • The invention is protected by every possible angle and with all minute details
  • All possible number of claims are covered
  • Claims are written such that competitors should not be able to design around
  • All possible embodiments are covered
  • The description is written in as much detailed manner as possible
  • All elements of the invention mentioned in claims find it’s support in the detailed description
  • The best mode is disclosed

It takes an extraordinary amount of time and effort on the patent attorney’s part, hence the higher costs. 

Eventually, it better protects your invention from other parties trying to design around the invention by bypassing the claims to avoid infringing on your patent.

Conclusion:

The charges by patent attorney/agent at stage may vary case to case basis, overall patent attorney  cost is generally the function of

  • the experience of the attorney,
  • quality of patent draft and other work, and
  • the complexity of the subject matter of the invention to be patented.

You also don’t want to be working with an inexperienced patent attorney or who is charging ridiculously low fees compared to other patent attorneys.

In such cases, you are at the risk of losing the entire effort you put in research and development along with the rights on your invention if it is not well written and not protected with appropriate claims…

The ideal case would be a patent attorney with moderate charges and significant experience in your field of invention who can give justice to your efforts and protect your invention to the fullest possible extent.

If you happen to make a mistake, be sure that you are selecting the higher side of the costing… rather than selecting an attorney with the lowest possible charges. This is because you still will be on the winning side even if you choose a slightly highly charged patent attorney as he will ensure that your invention would be appropriately protected !!! and you do not end up losing rights to your invention due to the poor quality of the patent applicant

Otherwise, going with the cheapest possible attorney charges may end up losing some of or all right over the invention as the patent would not be properly written and may fail to be granted or fail to be able to commercialize.

If you are confused and not able to decide on whether you would end up saving a few thousand dollars by writing and filing your patent application on your own (without the help of a patent attorney) you need to read the section on do I really need to hire a patent attorney?

Prasad Karhad
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