Any idea how much a Patent Costs in the USA ??

Question

Only Lawyers please.. " Iam looking to patent something in the USA only. . any ideas as to an approx cost for this.. help? . ."

Answer 1

Patentability search - approx. $500 (depends on the field of the invention)
Patentability opinion - 3-5 hours of attorney time (my rate is $140/hr)
Drafting of patent application - 30-50 hours of attorney time (same rate)
Drawings - $100 to $200 per sheet
Filing fees for a small entity - $500 plus any additional fees for excess claims or pages fees

That comes to a total up through filing of usually $7500 to $10,000.

Responses to later office actions are usually about $1,000 to $1,500.

There are also issue fees and publication fees that are due to the patent office when your patent issues.

The standard time from filing of the application to issue used to be about 3 years, but given the backlog in the patent office, I would say 4 years would be a better estimate with times taking much longer in some particularly busy technologies.

I am with a Memphis law firm, so our fees are significantly lower than for some Washington DC, New York, or Chicago law firms. I am also only in my third year of practice. Most attorneys with more experience have higher hourly rates.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

I am not a lawyer but I know where to find the information at; I posted the links below.

There were quite a few different types of fees listed so I just posted the main ones; check the main directory for the listing of the others.

Hope that helps!

Answer 3

Depending on how much legal and clerical work is involved, you are looking at three to five thousand dollars in most cases...