The following are some of the services I provide to you, along with the usual flat-fee pricing. If you prefer to pay by the hour, I can provide all of my services for an hourly rate of $225 per hour. An initial telephone consultation is free.
Initial Consultation: At an initial consultation regarding a possible patent application, you can ask as many questions as you like about patents and the patent application process. I will want to ask you about issues related to patenting your invention. These issues include who the inventors are, who owns the invention, whether the invention is something that can be patented, the date of the invention, your activity since the date of the invention, and other issues related to patentability. I will want to get a description of the invention, what process or technology was used before your invention, and possible different implementations of the invention that you may want to protect with a patent. I also discuss and answer questions about fees and costs. I provide legal advice regarding patent law issues at the rate of $225 per hour, but I provide the initial consultation at a flat fee of $100. The fee is due at the time of the consultation. It can be applied as a credit towards other services, such as the drafting of a patent application.
Advising on intellectual property matters: I can advise you regarding a variety of available methods for protecting your invention, writings, recordings, and other creative work. Although I focus primarily on patent law, I also advise clients regarding copyright and trademark law. I provide legal advice on intellectual property matters for $225 per hour, but the initial consultation is a $100 flat fee, which is due at the time of the consultation. This initial fee can be applied towards other services which you purchase.
Drafting and filing patent applications: Patent applications are among the most challenging of legal documents for an attorney to prepare. The flat fee for a patent application is about $4,000 to $7,000. The actual fee is negotiated and depends on the complexity of the invention, the number of different implementations (i.e., "embodiments") that I will describe in the application, and other factors. After we sign a written fee agreement describing the patent application and the fees and costs, I will prepare a first draft of the patent application for your review. After getting your comments, I will then prepare a proposed final draft application for your review. Then, I will file the patent application and the accompanying formal papers with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Sometimes the process is a more interactive, collaborative process, rather than the two-step process discussed above. A lot depends on your preference. Consultation regarding the patent application is included within the flat fee. Under my usual fee agreement, half of the flat fee and the anticipated costs must be paid as a deposit before I begin any work on the patent application. Half of the flat fee will be considered earned at the time that I present you with an acceptable first draft application. At that time, the other half of the flat fee needs to be paid as a deposit before I continue to finish and file the patent application. The second half of the flat fee is considered earned when you approve the final draft and the application is filed. A 10% discount is available if you pay the entire flat fee up front as a deposit before I begin work on the patent application.
Prosecuting the patent application: This includes responding to patent office actions regarding the patent application. A typical flat fee for responding to a patent office rejection of a patent application is about $1,500, but it can vary.
Appeals: I can also handle any appeals of the rejection of a patent application.
