Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights and Other Legal Help

45 Minute Free Consultations

We provide free consultations one day out of the month, in person, over the phone, or over the internet using WebEx. Please call us at (760) 804-1712 or send an email to meetings@iciplaw.com to schedule an appointment.

Hourly Rates

These rates are for all matters not covered by the flat fees listed below. All prices quoted in US dollars.

Provisional Patents

(Gives inventor a 1-year grace period to work on perfecting invention, selling his/her idea, obtaining financing, etc. At the end of the one year period, the inventor needs to either file a utility application or abandon the idea). Flat rate: Half of the corresponding Utility Patent Application Fee. The entire fee is due before work begins. Includes preparing and filing a provisional patent application, respond to any issues raised by USPTO. If you decide to file the corresponding Utility Patent Application, we will credit half of the provisional flat fee towards your Utility Patent Application fee. Note that our price does not include any fees required by the United States Patent and Trademark Office nor any drawings. 

Utility Patents

(Protects the way an invention works).
A.  Prior Art Search  (optional, applicants are welcome to perform their own searches but please realize that a patent filed without a prior art search is filed "blind" to other patents without knowing whether there are existing patents that may narrow your patent or even prevent you from getting one). There are many individuals and organizations that can provide this service; many of our clients have used National Patent Services (http://www.nationalpatentservices.com/) and been quite pleased with their work, but you are welcome to browse the internet for a list of names and contact information. While we generally do not perform prior art searches ourselves, we can analyze the results for a flat fee. Please  contact us for more details. 

B.  Utility Patent Application.  Half of the flat fee is due before work begins, and the remaining half is due when the application is filed. Flat Fees:

C.  Accelerated Utility Patent Application:  Under this new program, a "comprehensive" Prior Art Search is required, which can cost $3,000 or more. We can then submit the application under the United States Patent & Trademark Office's Accelerated Examination program, which has a goal of dealing with your application in one year or less. Half of the flat fee is due before work begins, and the remaining half is due when the application is filed. Flat Fees:

Design Patent

(Protects the way an invention looks, particularly applicable to inventions where the function depends on the shape). Flat Fee (includes preparing and filing application, but excludes drawings, fees required by the UPSTO, including filing fees and issue fees, and any response after the filing of the application):

A.   US Design Patent:   $900.  

B.   European Union Design Patent:   $2,000.  

Patent Drawings

All patent applications are assuming inventor can supply USPTO-quality drawings; if not, we can provide drawings for $200 / sheet of drawings. If you would prefer to deal directly with the graphic designer many of our clients use, his name is Mike Beatty and his email address is  JMBeattyGraphics@cox.net.

Trademarks.

A.  Trademark Search.  $675. Look for potential conflicting trademarks and advise client of likelihood of success in obtaining the desired name as a trademark. $100 of this cost will be applied to a Trademark Application if client hires us to file his/her Trademark Application within one month of the Trademark Search.

B.  Trademark Application.  Flat Fee: $500 per mark. Price is for filing one mark in any number of classes, but does not include filing fees (approximately $275 per class) or any responses after the filing of the application. Responses are billed at our normal hourly rate. 

C.  Trademark Application, Start to Finish.  Flat Fee: $2,500 per mark. Price is for filing one mark in any number of classes and any associated responses until allowance or final rejection, but does not include filing fees (approximately $275 per class). All other work is billed at our normal hourly rate. 

D.  Trademark renewal fees.  Trademarks need to be renewed between the 5th and 6th year. You can also file a Statement of Incontestability which sets forth a claim that a mark registered on the Principal Register is now incontestable at this time. We will perform both of these filings for you for a flat fee of $750, excluding any fees required by the USPTO.

Copyrights.

Flat Fee: $350 / copyright, includes preparation, filing fee, responses to all Office Actions.

Business Entities

We can file the necessary documents and assist the entrepreneur in starting a business. All of our work associated with business entities will be billed at our normal hourly rates. 

Licensing

We can help you with all the steps of licensing, from drafting agreements to negotiations. All of our work associated with business entities will be billed at our normal hourly rates. 

Preparation and Filing Time:

Average time (no extra charge) / Rush Job (50% surcharge) /  Extreme Rush Job (100% surcharge).
Note: Rush Jobs and Extreme Rush Jobs not always possible due to our workload.

Utility Patents: 6 weeks / 3 weeks / 1 week
Provisional Patents: 4 weeks / 2 week / 3 days
Design Patents: 2 weeks / 1 week / 3 days
Trademarks: 1 week / 3 days / 1 day
Copyrights: 1 week / 3 days / 1 day

Payment Terms:

For Utility Patents, we require half up front, half when work is approved by client, bill paid completely before patent application is filed. For all other work and Rush Jobs and Extreme Rush Jobs, full payment in advance is required.

Please note:  Flat fees for all services do not cover any responses to Office Actions, rejections, objections, requests for clarification, etc., from the governmental institution in charge of that branch of intellectual property, unless otherwise noted. Further, flat fees are exclusive of any filing fees associated with the appropriate government agency where the application is being filed, unless otherwise noted. Should there be a final refusal, we can appeal the ruling, and can discuss costs at that time. 

Payment Plans:

We offer monthly payment plans for amounts over $1,000, secured by a signed credit card agreement allowing us to charge the monthly amount to the client's credit card until the balance is paid in full. There is a 10% transaction fee added to each month's charge. The first month's payment will be charged before service begins, and then on the 1st or 15th of every month, depending on the client's choice. The monthly amounts are as follows:

Contact eric@iciplaw.com to request any of these services.