Streamlined Processes: Exploring the Perks of Flat Rate Patent Applications

Securing a patent grant involves considerable expense on the inventor’s part. The average cost of drafting an application, registration, and prosecution ranges between a few hundred to thousands of dollars. While the fee charged by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is fixed, the attorney and other miscellaneous fees are a variable factor. 

The traditional arrangement between the attorney and inventor thus far has been an hourly billing model. This prevents the applicant from budgeting the costs in advance, especially in the case of utility applications that may receive multiple Office Actions. Small and medium businesses in particular do not want to undertake the risk of unpredictable and exorbitant costs. For this reason, flat rate patent applications are preferred by businesses seeking to build their IP portfolio.  

How Are Flat Rates Determined? 

Patent applications may range across a variety of topics with varying levels of complexity. Most firms use this as a criterion for determining the flat rates for patent applications. Generally, you will find three tiers of pricing as given below:  

• Basic Patent Applications: Patents that are very basic in nature and do not involve any intricate drawings fall in this category. The fee may vary from $5000 to $9000. 
• Moderately Advanced Applications: This refers to applications that require more work in the drafting stage, as well as more drawings. $7000-$12000 could be the fee range for such applications.  
• Advanced Applications: Such inventions are of high complexity and need concentrated drafting.  The number of drawings required to identify the application also increases. Expect to pay upwards of $16000 for such applications.  

It is advisable to carefully read and clarify the caveats before going ahead with a flat fee patent application. Since the payment is usually made in advance, one must be aware beforehand of what is and what is not covered in the arrangement.

Advantages of Flat Fee Application Arrangement 

The transparency offered by flat fee applications makes it the preferred payment method for inventors. Attorneys to get to benefit from the arrangement as it frees them from the tedious task of logging the specific times spent on transactions. Instead, they are able to focus on offering superior services that help in building a steady client base.  

As we can see, this system offers a win-win for both the inventor and the attorney. The option of flat rate fees is also available for other patent-related procedures such as Freedom-to-Operate Search, Patentability Searches, etc. Aside from the cost predictability, availing of these services allows businesses the benefit of professional advice and assistance in dealing with the patenting process.