How Much Does a Provisional Patent Application Cost?
By: Brian Downing | Published on: 10/22/2024
This article explains the cost of filing a provisional patent application.
Table of Contents
1. Summary
The two categories of fees to file a provisional patent application are:
a. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Fees.
b. Legal Fees (If choose legal services).
The USPTO fees are:
| 35 CFR § | Description | Fee | Small Entity Fee | Micro Entity Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.16(d) | Provisional application filing fee | $300.00 | $120.00 | $60.00 |
The professional legal fees to prepare a provisional patent application can vary depending on the service provided. To review the inventors' documentation before filing with the USPTO, the legal fee is typically between $250.00 and $2,000.00. When drafting a provisional patent application as a non-provisional patent application, the legal fees are the same as a non-provisional patent application which is typically between $5,000.00 and $15,000.00 (see Cost of Patent). The difference between the two is how much work is performed during the provisional patent application phase compared to what is done during the non-provisional patent application phase. A provisional patent application allows some of the patenting cost to be deferred.
A do-it-yourself (DIY) provisional patent application would be $0 in legal fees.
2. Introduction
Think of a provisional patent application as a one year placeholder for a full patent application (called a non-provisional patent application).
This article covers a provisional patent application. For the difference between provisional patent applications and non-provisional patent applications see: Differences between Provisional Patent Applications and Non-provisional Patent Applications
3. Cost of a Provisional Patent Application
USPTO Fees
The USPTO fees for a provisional patent application are as follows. The USPTO has different fee structures based on the attributes of the Applicant filing the patent application. Generally, the undiscounted fee is for large companies (500 or more employees), the small entity fee is for small companies with no more than 500 employees and independent inventors, and the micro entity is for small companies and independent inventors where the income levels are below a threshold and have filed a limited number of patents.
The USPTO fees are:
| 35 CFR § | Description | Fee | Small Entity Fee | Micro Entity Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.16(d) | Provisional application filing fee | $300.00 | $120.00 | $60.00 |
Legal Fees
As there are few formal requirements for a provisional patent application, there is a lot of flexibility in drafting a provisional patent application.
Common options include:
- Draft like non-provisional except with a few broad claims. Generally, if the client wants to eventually file for patent rights outside the U.S., we recommend drafting the provisional patent application like a non-provisional patent application except with a few broad generic claims. In our experience, the U.S. patent system is more friendly to less patent savvy inventors than the rest of the world. The legal fees for a provisional patent application when drafted similarly to a non-provisional patent application will typically be the cost of a non-provisional patent application minus between $1,000.00 and $2,000.00 for a total of between $4,000.00 and $13,000.00 depending on the complexity of the invention (See Cost of Patent for more details of the cost of preparing a non-provisional patent application). When filing the follow on non-provisional patent application, the cost is significantly less as generally, only the claims need to be drafted. If the technology has improved since the provisional patent application was filed, there may be an additional cost for adding the advancement.
- Draft same as non-provisional patent application. The legal fees would be the same as a non-provisional patent application of between $5,000.00 and $15,000.00 (see Cost of Patent for more details of the cost of preparing a non-provisional patent application). The advantage of this method is that when a non-provisional patent application is filed, the patent application will generally only need to be amended to reference the provisional patent application.
- Analyze and file inventors' documentation. We typically use this method when the inventor(s) and/or company does not want to file outside the U.S. The legal fees typically range between $250.00 and $2,000.00 depending on the depth of the analysis, the length of the documentation, and the number of revisions with the inventors.
-The inventors may choose to draft the provisional themselves or use a DIY provisional patent system. In these cases, the legal fees would be $0 or the cost of the DIY provisional patent system. Applicants may file the provisional patent application themselves. See Can I file a patent application myself? for more information about filing a patent application by the inventor(s). Risks in an inventor drafted patent application include the inventor failing to disclose enough information to enable the invention and the inventor making statements that could hurt any patents that issue from the patent application.
4. Provisional Patent Application is Pending for One Year and Non-provisional Filing
A non-provisional patent application must be filed within one year of filing the provisional patent application to continue the patenting process.
If additional advancements to the invention have been developed since the provisional patent application filing, these new advancements may be added to the non-provisional patent application. These new advancements have a filing date of when the non-provisional patent application is filed and the matter in the provisional patent application has a filing date of when the provisional patent application was filed. The filing date matters if another entity files for these new advancements between when the provisional and non-provisional patent applications were filed. In this situation, the new advancements in the non-provisional patent application would not be eligible for a patent unless these advancements are combined with patentable subject matter from the provisional patent application.
