Costs of Patent Prosecution
When people decide to patent, the inevitable question of "how much will it cost?" comes up. While not everyone has a handy copy of each AIPLA cost survey, Alan Kasper, First Vice-President of the AIPLA, provided a brief glimpse into the costs involved in his testimony before Congress:
Average Cost of Preparation:
• Preparation and filing of an original application of minimal complexity (10 page specification, 10 claims) = $8,548.00.
• Relatively complex biotechnology/chemical cases = $15,398.00
• Relatively complex mechanical cases = $11,482.00
• Relatively complex electrical/computer cases = $13,684The average cost for filing an Amendment
• Minimal complexity = $2,244.00
• Relatively complex biotechnology/chemical case = $4,448.00
• Relatively complex electrical/computer case = $3,910.00
• Relatively complex mechanical case is = $3,506.00
The government fees related to such filings are the same (unless the Applicant is a small entity) -- $1,030.00. The cost for filing an RCE is $810.00 plus a service charge (around $350.00). The cost for filing of a continuation application is $1,030.00 plus a service charge (around $585.00).
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Peter - Thanks for posting this breakdown of upfront patent costs. Too few entrepreneurs approach IAM with the knowledge and expertise to do the cost/benefit analysis of various forms of IP protection.
What this article fails to convey, however, are the costs of then filing in multiple jurisdictions (Japanese filing and translation costs, etc., etc.) and the costs of maintaining a patent over its lifetime. I was speaking at an ipCG event last year, and one of the participants from a Fortune 500 company cited ~$400k in hard costs per patent over their life.
Love the blog/email...Lots of good stuff. In fact, I link to you off my own Blogroll (www.iplicensing.net)
Regards,
Martin Suter
Peter:
If for you other reason than to have a solid figure of what a patent can cost, your piece is one I linked to today in my blog post at the Innovators-Network ( http://blog.innovators-network.org ) where some of my readers are searching for information regarding intellectual property and patent procedure. Happy Leap Year!
I guess what all this means is that the individual American inventor, not associated with a company or not independently wealthy, should just forget about it! If you want to sell your idea or get help patenting your invention from a manufacturer, they dont want to talk to you if there isn't a patent pending etc. The average person cannot afford to patent their invention. And, if you divulge your invention, in order to get someone interested in perhaps assisting with financing etc, you can lose the ability to patent it? Too confusing. Its sad; we are a nation of creators and are limiting our potential. What are they telling those youngsters the Patent office wants to encourage to be inventors? You need to be wealthy to protect your creations? Are there alternatives? Perhaps the Patent office can offer a one-day a year free submissions:)--or perhaps they can lighten up and help us match up with interested people who will take a percentage of any resulting product if they take care of the patenting costs. I'd give the government a percentage of whatever i make if they would let me patent for free :) Think it's possible?
Do you think prosecution costs have been affected by the current economic situation? Have prices gone down since 2008?
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