Patent application preparation, prosecution, and maintenance involves four separate sets of costs: 1) preparation and filing; 2) prosecution in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); 3) issuance; and 4) periodic maintenance fees. There is a time lapse between each set of costs and a decision not to continue can be taken at anytime. The USPT0 fees are usually adjusted semi-annually.

UTILITY PATENTS:

1) Patent application preparation and filing includes attorneys fees for writing the specification and claims, supervision of preparation of the drawings, and filing the application. Large firms charge between $10,000 and $15,000 to perform these services, and the work is usually done by the lesser experienced lawyers in these firms. In comparison, Bruce & McCoy's charges for the same services generally run between $5500 and $7500 (in 90% of the cases), except for complicated mechanisms or processes, and the work will be performed by a very experienced patent writer which may help reduce subsequent prosecution expense.

The additional costs for filing a patent application by an applicant claiming small entity status include the following:

USPT0 small entity filing fee $370 (since October 1, 2001)
Drawing costs at $125 per sheet (usually 2-4 required)
Copy costs at $0.15 per page (between $15-$60, depending upon the length of the information disclosure statement)
U.S. Express mail $13.75
USPT0 assignment recording fee $40

The time to prepare and file a case usually takes between 6 to 8 weeks depending upon the backlog of cases to write and the number of unanswered Official Actions from the USPTO outstanding at Bruce & McCoy requiring a response.

OFFICIAL ACTIONS

2) Usually between nine (9) months and one year and a half (18 months) after filing, the USPT0 issues an Official Action to which applicant must respond within three (3) months, without fees, extendable up to 6 months with incremental extension of time petition fees ($55- 1 month; $200-two months; $460-3 months; plus attorneys fees of $75 for the petition) after which the patent becomes abandoned. A response generally runs between $1000-2500 to prepare and file (in 75 % of the cases). When the Official Action is received, it will be forwarded to the client with comments on the action and with an estimate of the cost to prepare the response. A retainer in that amount must be forwarded to Bruce & McCoy in good time before the response is due in order for a timely response to be prepared and filed.

ISSUANCE

3) If the patent application is passed to issue, a notice will be mailed advising of the issue fee due. At the present time, the cost of the issue fee and attorney services for effecting payment of the same is in the amount of $790 (October 1, 2001, fee schedule). It must be paid within the three months of the notice of allowance or a severe penalty fee must be paid to revive the application.

MAINTENANCE

4) Maintenance fees become due at irregular times based on the issue date of the patent as follows for small entities: due at 3.5 years- $440.00 due at 7.5 years- 1010.00 due at 11.5 years- 1550.00 plus the attorney fee in the amount of $150 at each renewal for notifying the client, paying the fee when received, and confirming payment. If a patent application or an issued patent becomes abandoned unintentionally, revival is possible in some cases, usually at substantial additional cost.

DESIGN PATENTS

Design patent applications are considerably less expensive than utility patent applications. They take less time to prepare and file but are nearly as expensive to prosecute if they are rejected. They are not as often rejected as utility patent applications however. Design patent applications generally run between $900 and $1200 to prepare. Large firms charge considerably more than $2500 for the same service. The additional costs and filing fees include:

USPT0 filing fee $165
drawings at $125/sheet (usually 3-6 required)
copy costs at $0.15 per page (usually $10-$15)
U.S. Express Mail $13.75
USPT0 assignment recording fee $40

Prosecution expenses are slightly less than utility applications but still run between $500 to $1500 to respond to an Official Action. The issue fee including the attorney's fee for services for effecting payment is $380 (October 1, 2001, fee schedule).