A straightforward process designed to respect your time and get to strong claims efficiently.
30 minutes, no charge. We discuss your invention, your business goals, and whether a patent makes strategic sense right now. No pressure, no jargon.
The goal of this call is to give you an honest picture: Is the idea patentable? What's the realistic scope of protection? How does filing align with your funding timeline or product launch? If a patent isn't the right move at this stage, you'll hear that — not a pitch to file anyway.
Book a free discovery call →If it's a good fit, you'll receive a clear scope-of-work and a flat-fee or hourly estimate. Engagement letters are straightforward — no hidden costs, no surprise add-ons.
The proposal covers exactly what's included (prior art search, provisional vs. nonprovisional, drawings, office action responses), the USPTO fees applicable to your entity size (small or micro entity rates differ significantly from large entity fees), and the timeline we're targeting.
Nothing starts until you've reviewed and agreed to the engagement letter.
Drafting, filing, and USPTO correspondence handled with full transparency. You review everything before it goes out, and you're never out of the loop.
This stage covers the full prosecution cycle: drafting the application, preparing figures in-house, filing with the USPTO, and handling any office actions that come back. For each office action, you'll receive a clear explanation of the rejection and a proposed response before anything is submitted.
The goal throughout is granted, enforceable claims — not just an allowance on whatever the examiner is willing to give.
Common question
A provisional application is a lower-cost filing that establishes your priority date — the date that determines who got there first — without beginning formal examination. It expires after 12 months and never becomes a patent on its own, but it gives you a year to refine your invention, raise funding, test the market, and decide whether to invest in a full nonprovisional.
A nonprovisional is the application that actually enters examination and can mature into a granted patent. The key thing to understand is that your nonprovisional claims can only be supported by what was disclosed in the provisional — so a thin provisional can undermine your protection later.
Filing a well-drafted provisional from the start is worth the investment. It's not a placeholder; it's the foundation the granted patent will rest on.
Pricing
Patent costs come in two buckets: professional fees (drafting, prosecution) and USPTO fees. Here are typical ranges for small or micro entity filers:
$2,200–$4,400 in professional fees. Plus USPTO provisional filing fee.
$6,600–$8,800 in professional fees. Plus $800–$1,600 in USPTO filing fees (small/micro entity).
$1,500–$3,500 per round of prosecution, depending on complexity.
Considerably less expensive — typically $1,500–$3,000 in professional fees with lower USPTO fees.
From filing to grant, including prosecution, a utility patent typically costs $10,000–$15,000 — sometimes more for complex technologies or contentious prosecution. Fees are discussed transparently during the discovery call and included in every engagement letter before work begins.
Timeline
From filing a nonprovisional application to a first office action, the USPTO currently averages 18–24 months depending on the technology area — though some art units run longer. Total pendency from filing to grant, assuming the application is allowable, typically runs 2–3 years.
Applicants who need faster results can file a Track One prioritized examination request (additional USPTO fee), which targets a final disposition within 12 months and often delivers a first action in 2–3 months. For startups on a fundraising timeline or approaching a product launch, Track One is often worth serious consideration.
Book a free 30-minute discovery call. We'll discuss your invention and map out the right path forward.
Book a Free Discovery Call