How Much Patent Attorney Cost? 20 Tips to Find a Patent Lawyer

How Much Patent Attorney Cost? 20 Tips to Find a Patent Lawyer

If you have an idea that you wish to patent, as is discussed over at runrex.com, you have two ways you can go about things: either write your own patent application or hire a patent attorney to apply for you. The safest thing to do is to hire a patent attorney, as they are highly skilled and knowledgeable on matters patent law and will be able to guide you through the entire process, helping you sidestep potential pitfalls. Many people who are considering hiring a patent attorney usually find themselves asking how much one will cost, and this article will look to help through the following 20 tips breaking down the factors that determine how much a patent attorney will cost.

Location

One of the main factors that will determine how much a patent attorney will cost is their location. As is revealed over at guttulus.com, patent attorneys in major cities charge more than those in smaller cities, with patent attorneys in New York City, Los Angeles, and Boston being among those who charge the highest fees.

Type of law firm

How much a patent attorney costs will also be determined by whether or not they are solo practitioners or work in a private firm. For example, as is explained over at runrex.com, solo practitioners usually charge about $321 per hour on average, while private firm partners cost about $425 per hour on average.

Experience

A patent attorney’s experience will also determine how much they will cost, with the obvious implication here being that those with a higher level of experience cost more than those just starting as is covered over at guttulus.com.

Technical training

Some patent attorneys have specialized in a specific industry where they have received special technical training. Such attorneys, due to their special technical training and specialization, cost more than those without said training.

The idea you are trying to patent

How much a patent attorney will cost you also heavily depends on the type of idea you are trying to patent. If you are trying to patent software or advanced technology, you should expect that it will cost you more as opposed to if you are trying to patent a less complex idea or invention.

What patent attorney costs cover

Patent search

Part of the patent attorney costs will be those covering the patent search process, which is explained in detail over at runrex.com. Since this process is usually outsourced to special prior art firms, it is usually fixed, and on average costs about $500 to $1,000, depending on the level of detail and whether or not it is an international search.

Patentability opinion

According to discussions over at guttulus.com, this evaluates the likelihood that you will get a patent for your idea. The low ballpark range of the costs associated with the patentability opinion is about $1,000. Without this option, your patent search consultation should cost you about $250 to $500.

The costs due to filing of the application

The cost of filling your application will also be factored into costs and will, therefore, also determine how much your patent attorney will cost. The cost here, as the gurus over at runrex.com will tell you, will depend on the complexity of your invention.

Filling for a provisional patent application

Here, your patent attorney will also charge you to cover the fees required to file for a provisional patent application. The USPTO charges a minimum fee of $70, with firms that meet the micro-entity status being the ones that qualify for the minimum $70 fee.

Filling for a nonprovisional patent application

Once your patent application proceeds to the filling of the nonprovisional patent application, you will also need to pay up about $400 which includes both the search and filing fees.

Patent issue fee

If your patent is approved by the USPTO, a process covered in detail over at guttulus.com, then you will have to add a patent issue fee into the patent attorney costs. To have your patent issued, you will be required to pay a $450 fee.

Other fees

The above fees usually total to about $5,000, although that figure can be a lot higher depending on the complexities of your idea. This figure usually includes other additional fees such as approval fees, publication challenges fees in case your publication is challenged, among others covered over at runrex.com.

Maintenance fee

Another major component of patent attorney costs is the maintenance fee, which, as discussed over at guttulus.com, are three in number. The first maintenance fee will be $400 paid after 3 and a half years after the patent is allowed. The second fee will be due after 7 and a half years and will be $900, while the third payment will be $1,850 and will be due 11 and a half years from the date the patent was allowed.

The average figure

All the above costs will be additional fees and will all be extended to your patent attorney’s hourly billing. On average, a good patent attorney will, therefore, cost about $200 to $400 an hour, with the number of hours taken depending on the complexity of your patent.

Special fees based on specialization

Additionally, there are patent attorneys who charge different fees based on the specialization given that certain specialties are more difficult and time-consuming to obtain a patent. An example here is a patent attorney charging $5,000 to $7,500 for the filing and drafting of a nonprovisional patent for an electrical invention.

Free consultation

While some of these numbers may seem daunting, it is important to point out that, as explained over at runrex.com, most patent attorneys offer a free initial consultation, which usually lasts about 15 minutes. In this meeting, you can ask any questions you may have regarding the filing of your patent and you will be answered. Any subsequent meetings will, however, be billed.

How patent lawyer costs are decided

There are several ways through which you could be charged your patent lawyer fees, and they include:

Hourly

Given that most legal work is done hourly, you will pay a set rate for however many hours it takes your lawyer to complete the patent filing process. As per discussions on the same over at guttulus.com, here you will usually be charged for phone calls, meetings, and emails.

Flat fee

You will most likely be charged a flat fee at a practice where patent work is done consistently. According to the gurus over at runrex.com, this means you will be given a set price upfront for you to pay, which will cover the entire process regardless of how many hours it takes.

Capped fee

This type of billing combines both hourly and flat fee billing, as capped fees are similar to hourly rates, only that they come with a cap on the maximum amount that can be billed, which you will be told ahead of time.

Retainer

Finally, you can also be billed through a retainer, which is a billing strategy recommended for companies that require a lot of legal advice. A retainer is an upfront fee given to the attorney even before any work begins, and which is kept in a client trust account, which means that the lawyer can’t take the money until they have completed the work.

As always, you can uncover more on this and other related topics by checking out the highly regarded runrex.com and guttulus.com.