Scheduling a free patent consultation is the best place to start when seeking a design patent for your invention. Starting with a free consultation will give you the chance to ask any questions you may have. The design patent application process is complex. Like we frequently tell our inventors, the most important thing the inventor needs to focus on when working with a patent practitioner (patent attorney or patent agent) is whether they believe the practitioner understands the invention.
Our USPTO registered patent attorney has two degrees in engineering and is gifted at visualizing new inventions. To start the design patent application process for an invention, we need two things from the inventor (or patent applicant) in order to formally get started working on a design patent application for the invention:
- Signed client engagement letter and
- Prior art search payment ($1600).
Initial Free Consultation for Design Patent Application Process
We need 3 things from you to get started with your application: 1) make sure we understand your invention; 2) signed client engagement letter; and 3) prior art search payment ($1600).
Prior Art Search – Design Patent Application
We will conduct a prior art search and send you a first set of prior art documents for you to review. After you review, we ask that you set up a meeting with us to discuss the prior art found. After this meeting, we will complete a second, and final, prior art search. We will send anymore prior art that is found for review and ask you to set up another meeting to discuss.
Patentability Study – Design Patent Application
After the prior search is complete, we will send you a patentability study report in which we describe the viability of a patent for your invention. It is important to note that no invention is guaranteed to be issued a patent. At this stage, you will decide if you would like to continue with the writing and filing of a design patent application. We can provide guidance but cannot make this decision for you. You can anticipate receiving the patentability report two (2) weeks after the prior art search has begun.
Writing – Design Patent Application
Our fee for patent application writing will likely be $2400 – $3200 depending on the complexity of the invention. We require payment of half of this fee before we begin writing. We cannot determine our fee until after the prior art search is complete. While we are writing the application, we will send you the specification with the claim and the drawings (and forms) for review as we go. We will keep you posted throughout the writing process. This process can take anywhere from a couple weeks to a month.
Filing – Design Patent Application
We are ready for application filing after the application parts and necessary forms are complete. Whether we are submitting a Hague application or a U.S. application determines the filing fee. Your entity status (micro, small, or regular) also affects the filing fee. The USPTO filing fee information can be found here. Prior to filing, we will ask for the second half of our fee and the filing fee. After we file the application, we will receive a filing receipt that we will email to you.
Prosecution Pre-Grant – Design Patent Pending
Patent prosecution (pre-grant patent services) begins with receiving another filing receipt from the USPTO after it has been assigned to an art unit, reviewed by a supervising examiner, assigned to an examiner, and docketed for examination. It can take several months for an application to get all the way through this process. Next, we may receive multiple office actions, but responding to these would not require additional payment. We will let you know when we receive office actions and will send you the office action and our responses for your review prior to submitting the response.
Post Grant – Design Patent Issued
Please note that not every patent application is granted. We may not be able to overcome the rejections raised by the examiner in office actions to reach allowance. If we receive a notice of allowance in your application, anticipate $800 for the issue fee and processing to get your patent issued. After paying the issue fee, we will receive the notice of issuance that will tell us the patent number and publication date. It takes about 3 months to receive the patent after processing the issue fee payment.
Summary of Professional Fee Events:
- Prior Art Search – $1600
- Writing and Filing – Anticipate $2400 – $3200
- Prosecution – No additional fee
- Post Grant – Anticipate $800 for issue fee processing
You can click on the image on the right to read more about patent application costs. Please note that all inventions are unique and may have slightly different fees than the estimates provided on this page. The patent cost estimates provided here are general in nature and intended to offer the inventor a reasonable way to estimate the costs of the patent application process for an invention. Schedule a free patent consultation to begin the patent application process for your invention.
