Patent registration. Through our attorney network.
File.Business connects you to specialty patent attorneys for utility, design, and provisional patent applications. We handle the connection; the patent attorney handles strategy, filing, and prosecution with the USPTO.
Start here.
$1,500-$4,000 + USPTO filing fees. Buys priority date and 12 months to file non-provisional.
$10,000-$30,000+ over the prosecution period. Full functional patent.
$3,000-$8,000. Faster (12-18 months). Ornamental design protection.
$500-$2,000 before filing. Reduces risk of rejection.
Specialty for asexually reproduced plants.
The full picture.
Provisional patent applications
Filed quickly and cheaply ($1,500-$4,000 typical attorney fees + small USPTO fee). Establishes priority date. Does NOT get examined. Must be followed by non-provisional within 12 months or priority is lost. Useful for establishing "Patent Pending" status during product development.
Utility patent (non-provisional)
Full functional patent. Covers new and useful processes, machines, manufactures, or compositions of matter. 20-year term from filing date. Examination process takes 18-30 months. Total cost: $10k-$30k+ over the period.
Design patent
Covers ornamental design. 15-year term. Faster and cheaper than utility patents ($3-8k typical). Used for product appearance, packaging, GUI elements.
Patent search and analysis
Recommended before filing. Identifies prior art, assesses patentability, and helps refine claims. $500-$2,000 typical attorney cost. Can save significant money by avoiding doomed filings.
Patentability requirements
Novelty: not previously disclosed anywhere in the world. Non-obviousness: not an obvious variation of existing technology. Utility: must have practical application. Patentable subject matter: no abstract ideas, natural phenomena, laws of nature.
Software patentability
Post-Alice (2014), software claims face heightened scrutiny. Successful software patents tie inventions to specific technical improvements, hardware, or unconventional combinations. Generic "do X with a computer" claims typically rejected.
USPTO process
Application → assigned to examiner → first office action (often rejection citing prior art) → respond with amendments → continued examination → eventual grant or final rejection. Appeals possible.
International protection
US patents are US-only. Foreign protection requires Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) filing or country-by-country direct filing. Costly. Strategy decision: which countries actually need protection?
Maintenance fees
Utility patents require maintenance fees at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years. Without payment, patent expires. Total maintenance fees over 20-year life: ~$12,500 for small entity.
Common questions.
Should I file a provisional first?
How long does a patent take?
Can I file without a lawyer?
What does "Patent Pending" mean?
Do I need a US bar registration?
What about international patents?
Cost summary
How does File.Business help?
Need IP protection?
Patents (through our attorney network). Trademarks (we file). Copyright registration (we file). IP assignment templates (free).
Patent law is highly specialized. Professional patent attorney advice is essential for filing.
On the $129/yr Compliance Annual Filings plan, we cover state late fees.
When you autofile your annual report through the $129/yr plan and we miss the deadline, we pay the state's late fee. The guarantee applies to that specific plan and the filings it includes. Other File.Business services are billed at the prices on this page.