“What’s this going to cost?”  Don’t worry; every intellectual property attorney knows that you have this question when it comes to finding out how much you’ll need to invest to protect your patents, copyrights and trademarks.

The answer to this question, as you probably guessed, is not so clear cut.  Every business is different and so will be your needs and goals. While all businesses have intellectual property, some are more complex than others.  In this post, our IP attorneys will seek to give you a general idea of what patents, copyrights and trademarks may cost, but of course you will want to talk to an attorney to get a more accurate figure when you are ready to move forward.

 Trademark Costs

 Starting the trademark protection process generally starts around $1800, which includes a comprehensive search to ensure that you can use and register the mark without infringing on the rights of an existing business or brand. If the mark is available for use, the initial fee also generally includes preparing the application, filing it, and covering the filing fee for one class of goods or services. If you plan to use your mark in an additional class of good or services (say you initially file for t-shirts but you also want jewelry), you should expect an additional fee.

Here at the Law Office of Jason H. Rosenblum, PLLC a large part of our consultation process is figuring out how to get the most bang for your buck. In terms of filing, we’ll take a look at whether we should file for multiple classes from the start, or whether it makes more sense to file for the main product for now, and then at a later date, file to cover the other classes when you have more sales or revenue coming in to create a bigger portfolio of trademarks. We are very sensitive to our clients’ budgets, especially start-ups, and we work hard to ensure that we are maximizing every dollar that is spent on in IP costs.

Patent Costs

Patent costs are more difficult to estimate because there are a wide range of patents, and what you need depends on the nature of your invention.  It’s important to keep in mind that the product itself is not your invention.  The invention may actually require multiple individual parents to protect the product as a whole. For example, there is no single patent that covers an iPhone. Instead, the iPhone has individual patents for the design, the software, glass enclosures, batteries, etc.

Of course, in every case, we always recommend a patent search before filing to really help a client understand, “what do we have here?” It’s possible to have an invention that’s not ultimately patentable for a variety of reasons or the patent would not have much value.  So, by doing a prior art search, we can find that out from the start if the client has something that’s even patentable and whether there are things that would stop the client from getting a patent during the registration process.

Cost wise for the initial search you can estimate around $1,800. From there, you and your attorney will decide whether it makes sense from a monetary perspective to file for a patent based on what can be protected or how easily a competitor can get around your idea. This requires more in-depth searching and research, which you can estimate to cost around $3,500 to $4,000.

Then after that, preparing and filing an application can cost anywhere from $5,000, on the low range, up to $12,000 or $13,000. Again, this will depend on the nature of your invention and how much you are protecting.  Finally, after the patent is filed, we recommend budgeting around $7,500 to deal with final issues that will come up with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. You will also have fees to pay if the patent is ultimately approved. We generally say that$15-20,000 is the average cost you should expect to pay for a patent.

Copyright Costs

We don’t want to leave out copyrights! The fees to protect your copyright are much more affordable than a patent or trademark and the process is obviously more straight forward as well.  To copyright a work, you should expect to pay around $800- $900 which includes attorney’s fees and government fees.  Here a large part of our consultation process is figuring out how to file your works get the most bang for your buck or to get maximum protection.

Getting Help

While this post provides an estimate of intellectual property costs, it’s important to meet with an attorney to review your needs for a more accurate idea of what you’ll need to spend to accomplish your goals. If you have questions or you’re ready to get started, we invite you to contact our intellectual property law firm at (888) 666-0062 to schedule an appointment.

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney.