You have an idea, an invention, and someone said you should get a patent for it. So you picked up the phone book and called a few patent attorneys. The big law firm quoted you eight to ten thousand dollars! After your initial shell shock, you called a medium size law firm who quoted you eight thousand dollars, plus or minus, depending on what exactly your invention was.
You probably figured that these law firms are busy doing work for large corporate clients and didn’t want to be bothered by an individual inventor. But then you called the small law firm and even the individual patent attorney and still heard quotes of over five thousand dollars just to prepare and file a patent application. And then they told you that draftsman and filing fees are extra.
Help! Where can I get a cheap patent application?
While some Internet sites may advertise “cheap” patent applications – Beware! There is no such thing as a cheap patent application. Most of the quotes you heard are right in line with what it costs to have a patent attorney or patent agent prepare and file a patent application for you.
First you should know that a patent application isn’t like an agreement, where you can take a form and populate it with information. Each patent application is unique. A patent application is a written description with accompanying drawings describing your invention in detail. This takes time to prepare. It takes even more time to prepare a good patent application.
But wait – I thought you were going to tell me where I can get a cheap patent application. While I wouldn’t endorse anyone who claims to be able to get you a cheap patent application, you should be able to find a patent attorney that will work within your budget to prepare a quality patent application for your invention.
Typically, these are not going to be the big law firms. They have too much overhead. Think of the rent they have to pay, the numerous salaries for their support staff, and not to mention the attorney salaries.
Even mid-size and small law firms are going to have too much overhead to offer affordable rates. They still have office space and a support staff, and the attorneys in mid-size and small law firms still want to take home an attorney salary.
Often, your best bet is going to be with solo practitioners. Solo patent attorneys work by themselves, often in less expensive office space (for example executive suites) and have a minimal staff (often a contract or pay-as-you-go staff). Solo patent attorneys often do their own typing (rather than having a secretary that takes dictation for them).
New technology often allows patent attorneys to work faster, more efficiently, and at lower costs. Solo patent attorneys often adopt technology faster than large law firms. Why? For one, large law firms have to replace 20 or more computers every time they want to upgrade. This can get expensive fast. The solo patent attorney only has to replace one or two computers. Large law firms often have extensive policies and procedures in place to ensure all staff works the same. It’s not their fault, it’s just the way any large entity is set up to operate. But changing a policy or procedure often involves management’s approval, which can take time. The solo patent attorney only has to make the decision to adopt a new technology, and then start doing it.
This combination of efficiency, adopting new technologies to lower costs, and lower expenses for office space and support staff (and other overhead), all allow the solo patent attorney to save money and pass those savings along to their clients.
So while you may not be able to get a cheap patent application, you may be able to save a substantial amount of money by working with a solo patent attorney.
