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[EveryMothersSon]

do you need a lawyer?  if not, ultimately what is the cheapest one can pay once having gone thru the whole process (assuming it gets that far)?

i dont have much money

thanks

[Wiscagent]

If you write and file your own US patent application, and a patent is granted, it will cost you a minimum of about $1000 in Patent Office fees.

Given that you are strapped for cash, I suggest that you reconsider whether a patent application is the best investment of your time and money.

[TataBoxInhibitor]

Richard is correct.   The filing fee is anywhere from $425 or $500, including $700 for an issue fee.  Throughout the life of the patent, you have maintenance fees, around $3400, due at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years. In total, around $4900 for the grant and life of the patent, assuming you file everything correctly and on time.

[patentsusa]

Patent law is extremely complex.  It would be very hard to write a solid valid patent on your own.  The allowance rate at the patent office is at record lows, even for applications drafted by highly experienced patent attorneys.  After you file an application, odds are that it will be rejected, and you will have to know how to overcome the objections.  To get an idea of the complexity of patent law, take a look at the MPEP, the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, which you can find at USPTO.gov

There are some patent cases that mean that slight errors in drafting can have harsh results for the patent holder.  Look up Gentry Gallery v Berkline for example.

Your best bet is to get quotes from multiple registered U.S. patent attorneys and go with the lowest quotes.  

You can consider a provisional patent application as a last resort but you have the same issues--unless the provisional application meets "best mode" and "enablement" requirements, it will be invalid.

Nolo press has some book on how to draft a patent application yourself.  It may give you some ideas to help do some of the work yourself but I'd still highly recommend hiring an attorney or patent agent.

Keep in mind that the average cost of a patent infringement trial is about 1.5 million dollars.  Which those kinds of fees, you can bet that opposing counsel will do everything they can to tear your patent apart.  Don't skimp on the application drafting.

[kellie]

You can get a provisional patent for $100. I did it.  Call the USPTO office and ask for the Inventors Assistance office.

[Bill Richards]

You can get a provisional patent for $100. I did it.  Call the USPTO office and ask for the Inventors Assistance office.

Oh, goodness, people!
Let's again make something crystal clear.  THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A PROVISIONAL PATENT!  REPEAT AFTER ME, "NO SUCH THING AS A PROVISIONAL PATENT!"  There is, in the US, a provisional patent application (PPA) that, at best, gives one a one-year window to file a non-provisional (real) application.  The $100 is only the filing fee for the PPA.  Without more, the PPA is worthless.
Yeesh!

[JimIvey]

Just to echo Bill's thoughts, what kellie did was to spend $100 and probably a few hours on something that has no hope whatsoever of producing enforceable rights -- rights to actually exclude someone from making, using, selling, or importing the invention.

Let's review the significance of an "application" (the only thing "provisional" from the PTO).  When you apply for a home loan, do you celebrate?  Most people wait unti the loan is granted.  I applied to Harvard and Yale law schools.  Yeah!  I didn't go to either, but I applied.  Something to brag about or put on a resume?  I've thought about applying for a research grant to determined (once and for all) if loads of money can really make you happy -- $100 million ought to provide a good test.  If I ever do apply, should I run out and buy a huge yacht and a small jet?

Once you've got your mind wrapped around the difference between and application and the resulting grant (of whatever), let's consider whether the content of the application influences the likelihood of success of the application, i.e., that the request inherent in the application will be granted.

If I re-apply to Harvard law school for their JD program, would it matter if I put in my application that I already have a JD?  Would it matter in a home loan application to note that I don't have a job or don't actually own the home involved?  I think we can accept that the content of the application matters.

So, with a provisional (meaning not-complete) application in which the content is whatever flowed extemporaneous from your  fingers in a 10-minute effort, what is the likelihood of any meaningful protection coming from that?  Somewhere between winning the lottery  and getting struck by lightning in the midst of a great white shark attack in Idaho.

Regards.

[SoCalAttny]

Cheapest path = buy a patent book at the local bookstore, go to the Patent Trademark Office website and look at issued patents, file and pay the fees

be prepared to spend lots of time and when the first office action arrives call the examiner and plead pro se

[Bill Richards]

Maybe the answer begins with a question.  Why do you want a patent?  Is it to underpin the core of a major business or otherwise protect your livelihood?  If so, a do-it-yourself approach may be a disaster for your fniancial security and the future of your business.  Would you defend yourself at a DUI trial?  What about a felony that could mean long jail time?  My guess is you'd get the best attorney money could buy.
Do you want a patent to add legitimacy to the hobby you're turning into a business but don't care if you make money or not?  Or, do you just want something to frame and hang in your family room next to the trophy for the local softball tournament?  If so, maybe a do-it-yourself philosophy might work.
Oops, one more problem, even with the latter example.  What happens if, as is usually the case, the PTO firmly and repeatedly rejects all your claims?  Then what?  Walk away with nothing?  Proceed pro se to the BAPI?  On to Federal court?
I've never thought of it in exactly these terms, but maybe knowing the reason for wanting a patent is a helpful initial inquiry.

[Patent Prosecutor]

People here are overly pessimistic.  First off, a provisional application does not afford exclusionary rights, so your comment about the provisional having “no hope whatsoever of producing enforceable rights” is of course true.  It is the non-provisional claiming the benefit of the provisional that affords exclusionary legal protection, and then only if granted by the PTO.

Second, even if the provisional doesn’t satisfy the statutory requirements, you are only losing the priority claim.  You can still file a non-provisional application and swear behind intervening prior art.

So yes, IMO if you can’t afford to pay an attorney to file a non-provision application, you should file a provisional application describing your invention with as much detail as possible.  Even if you cannot rely on it for priority purposes, at a minimum, you will have a document that a patent attorney can use to help draft the non-provisional when you can afford it.

And don’t spend ten minutes on it.  Spend some time and write a thorough disclosure.  I have seen many provisional applications written by pro se inventors that were excellent.  You as the inventor know your invention best!

[MrSnuggles]

Second, even if the provisional doesn’t satisfy the statutory requirements, you are only losing the priority claim.  You can still file a non-provisional application and swear behind intervening prior art.

Let's be clear about this, you can swear behind 102(a) art, but you cannot swear behind 102(b) art.

Don't take losing a claim of priority too lightly.

[Bill Richards]

Second, even if the provisional doesn’t satisfy the statutory requirements, you are only losing the priority claim.  You can still file a non-provisional application and swear behind intervening prior art.

Another problem is that to have an invention, one must have conception and reduction to practice.  Conception requires the inventor be in possession of his invention.  If the provisional is insufficient to even show that, perhaps the inventor is not in possession of the invention and may not be able to swear behind an intervening reference.

[IP4me]

I don’t think anyone is saying that there aren’t any potential problems with having inventors file their own provisional applications.

The question is what should you advise an individual inventor who, like a significant percentage of inventors, doesn’t have the money to hire a registered practitioner and likely only has only a couple hundred dollars to protect his invention.

The answer, in my opinion, is file a provisional application with as much detail as possible and start saving the money required to hire a registered practitioner.

So the options are:

1) file a provisional application and start saving until you can afford a registered practitioner.

OR

2) don’t file a provisional because the odds of obtaining meaningful protection are “Somewhere between winning the lottery  and getting struck by lightning” and simply save up for a registered practitioner.

The answer is clearly #1 (as Patent Prosecutor stated).

Remember, hiring a registered practitioner takes money, and therefore time to save the money.  For an average person it could take 6 months to save $4K, plus anywhere from 2-5 weeks for the registered practitioner to prepare and file.  So 102(b) can still get you.  

At least with #1 you have a priority claim to lose.  #2 doesn’t even get you that!  

Obviously, hiring an experienced practitioner is the best, but many inventors simply can’t afford this option.

[Bill Richards]

I agree with John.  I would just like to emphasize the importance of the provisional application.  I believe too many inventors think they can throw together some drawings and some text and they're good to go.  It's a bit more complicated than that and one needs to be prepared to study the issues before putting the application together.  At a minimum, 35 USC 112 needs to be considered carefully.

[JimIvey]

ISo the options are:

1) file a provisional application and start saving until you can afford a registered practitioner.

OR
 
2) don’t file a provisional because the odds of obtaining meaningful protection are “Somewhere between winning the lottery  and getting struck by lightning” and simply save up for a registered practitioner.

The answer is clearly #1 (as Patent Prosecutor stated).

I see.  If I must get from Oakland to Alexandria and can't afford a plane ticket, I should stand on my deck and flap my arms really hard.  I'd respectfully submit that the answer certainly isn't "clear" and probably isn't even #1.

Provisional applications, to have any effect at all, must meet the same requirements of Section 112p1 as a real application.  Filing anything less is a waste of $100.  If a provisional application cuts corners that a real application wouldn't, it's generally useless and a waste of money.

Point 2:  While a patent is often essential, it's rarely (if ever) sufficient to make money from an idea (that's the goal, right?).  Oh, how I wish a patent was a little money machine!!  But it simply isn't.  It's usually step one in a long, arduous journey.  If you don't have (and can't get) the resources for a legitimate effort at solid protection, affording a good patent application is likely to be the least of your worries.

If your goal is to get a nifty piece of paper from the Patent Office, go ahead and file your own provisional.  If your goal is to make money from your idea, then the specifics of what comes out of the Patent Office and its entire history through the Office are very important.

Regards.