Patent Prosecution and USPTO Examination Fee Schedule

• Patent Prosecution Fees
• USPTO Fees and Government Fees
• Patent Examination Fees
• USPTO Patent Allowance Fees
• Patent Maintenance Fees

Patent Prosecution Fees:

At Founders Legal, we offer a fixed price structure for the preparation and filing of a patent specification and claims on your behalf. This fixed price includes filing, docketing, maintaining correspondence with the USPTO, and reporting that correspondence to you – with a free 15 minute consultation with each report. In addition, most, although not all, administrative and paralegal work throughout the lifetime of the examination is covered by the fixed fee. 

USPTO AND GOVERNMENT Fees:

Each patent application is subject to USPTO examination fees. The non-expedited examination process can take between 18-22 months. The fee for a micro/small/large entity is approximately $430/800/1600. However, the examination can be expedited for a higher fee (e.g., $1,000-$2,000), or free of charge if you are over 65-years-old or terminally ill, reducing the examination timeline to 6-8 Months.

Patent Examination Fees:

During the examination, you will have back-and-forth interactions with the Examiner, called Office Actions. Office actions are when the Examiner requires us to respond to reasons they cannot allow the application. For example, the Examiner may ask: “Tell me how your idea is unique,” “Tell me how your idea is inventive,” “How is your idea different from [XYZ].” 

Responding to these Office Actions is required in a timely fashion and includes a formal hearing with the Examiner, oral arguments, and formalizing and filing them according to proper procedure. Please expect to budget attorney preparation fees and USPTO fees for every iteration.

Initial Office Actions allow up to three months to provide a response. Extensions to this response can be granted for up to six months with an additional USPTO extension fee. Any additional Office Actions issued following the initial request will require a USPTO fee to continue the examination process.

USPTO AllowaNCE FEES:

If the Examiner is persuaded, they will issue a Notice of Allowance indicating that your patent application has been formally reviewed and your invention has been okayed for patentability. At this time you will need to provide administrative fees for QC review as well as a USPTO issue fee. This will conclude your prosecution costs.

PATENT MAINTENANCE FEES:

Once your patent has been issued, USPTO maintenance fees at 3.5, 7.5, 11.5 years mark to be required to pay to maintain the validity of your patent.

Note: all fees are approximate. Official USPTO Fees can be found here: USPTO fee schedule | USPTO  

For detailed information regarding these fee structures and processes, consult with your patent attorney or a member of the Founders Legal Intellectual Property practice.