Here at Karich & Associates, we specialize in Intellectual Property matters, specifically patents and trademarks. We can also assist with other matters including, but not limited to, patent searches, foreign filing, copyright, etc.

A patent for an invention is the grant of property right to the inventor, issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Generally, the term of a new patent is 20 years (utility) or 15 years (design) from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States.

A Utility Patent is a patent for an invention or discovery of any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof. The cost of a Utility Patent can range depending on the complexity of the invention, the average cost to prepare and file an application is between $5000 - $9000, not including government filing fees or post filing matters.

A Provisional Patent is an application that allowed you to file without a formal patent claim, oath or declaration, or any information disclosure statement prior to filing a Utility Patent. The Provisional application gives you "patent pending" status for twelve (12) months from the date of filing and there is no extension for Provisional patent applications. These applications are also not examined nor issued, so you will not have a registered patent at the end of the 12 months period.

The cost for a Provisional Patent application is around $2500 - $5000, this cost depends on the complexity of the invention and does not include the government filing fee or post filing matters.

A Design Patent is a patent for an invention of a new, original, and ornamental design for a product. The Design Patent cost to prepare and file is $1800, this includes the government fee but does not include any post filing matters.

The Utility and Provisional patent applications can take about 2 - 3 weeks to prepare while the Design patent is an average of 2 weeks. Upon completing the draft application, we will send you the draft application along with instructions for the documents that require your review and signature. Once we receive the documents, your application will be filed within the week. We will send you a confirmation after filing and will keep you up to date on the status of your application.

Yes, every quote for an application is only for preparing and submitting the application. It does not cover post filing matters such as responding to office actions, maintenance fees, etc. For a detailed list of fees, please see the Patents page.

For patent applications (mostly Utility patents) it is normal to receive an initial rejection, called an Office Action, from the examiner. In this case, we will notify you of the rejection and recommend next steps and let you know if any further fees are required. The cost to respond to an Office Action depends on the complexity of the initial application and the rejection we received.

A Patent Search reviews any existing patents that are similar to your invention and helps us determine if the invention is capable of Utility Patent protection. It is highly adviseable prior to preparing a utility patent application and may save on costs in the long run. The Patent Search costs between $849 - $1200 depending on the complexity of the product and the amount of patents found to review. We typically require about three (3) weeks to complete a Patent Search.

Examination for a Utility Patent normally takes quite a long time, sometimes up to three (3) years, but with acceleration this is reduced to ~6 - 8 months. These are general estimates, the USPTO is sometimes delayed, but this option is especially useful if you need to deal with infringers right away (or are simply eager to get your patent.) The acceleration costs $2000 and is completely optional.

Once the application is filed, the invention will be "patent pending," which means that nobody else will be able to file for this idea. Furthermore, marketing your product with "patent pending" will scare away most copycats. You will not be able to enforce the patent until it is granted, but most inventors begin working with manufacturers and selling the product at this stage. You may still wish to have suppliers sign an NDA for additional security.

If the general concept is there, that is often enough to proceed with a Utility patent, whereas a Design patent usually needs a final product to file.

Normally a designer or engineer following instruction or applying basic skill is not enough to make them a co-inventor. If the designer/engineer/etc. contributed any novel, functional element to the product then they would be considered a co-inventor. This also includes the inventive concept, not just the physical structure of the product. If you are unsure about the specifics, please feel free to contact us.

Foreign filing is simply filing your patent or trademark application after the US application has been filed. We generally advise that you only file in countries where you plan to actually sell your product, especially since foreign filing can get rather expensive, and sometimes complicated. If you plan to file in European countries, it is advisable to file your patent with the EU, as it is a similar cost to individual countries, and covers a large region. Please note that the EU applications no longer include the UK.

A trademark is a word, name or symbol (logo) that is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others.

The Trademark application includes a brief clearance search to make sure your mark is likely to be registered, it also includes the government filing fee for one (1) class. The cost of the trademark application is $1150 including the gov't filing fee. This cost does not include post filing matters.

Filing for an “in-use” trademark application means that the mark you are applying for is currently in use, the application must be submitted along with a photo showing the mark in use on the product and the date the mark was first used in commerce.

An “intent-to-use” trademark application means that the mark is not yet in use in commerce. Filing this way gives the applicant a few months to launch their product before submitting proof of using the mark to the USPTO.

Patents and Trademarks are entirely separate properties from each other and will not interfere with each other. For patent titles, we recommend keeping the title as simple and to the point as possible to avoid any issues with the USPTO.

Yes, every quote for an application is only for preparing and submitting the application. It does not cover post filing matters such as responding to office actions, submitting the statement of use, maintenance fees, etc. For a detailed list of fees, please see the Trademark page.