Patenting an idea: design patent services

Design patents: USPTO patent help

Clients:
Tupperware
Yale University School of Medicine
Tiffany & Co.
CNOOC Limited
The Boston Consulting
        Group

Applying for a patent: design patents

A design patent protects the characteristic look and aesthetic of your product or invention. Unlike utility patents, which protect the specific functionality of an invention, a design patent applies to the ornamental design of your product. We charge a fee of $975 to prepare and file a Design Patent application.

Drawings

The patent drawing is the most important aspect of a design patent application. The drawings must be acceptable to the USPTO. These drawings should be precise and exhaustive, and show your object's novel or innovative features. It's essential to have a professional drafter do the drawings. We offer a full range of patent drawing and drafting services to help you with this process.

USPTO fees

Here are the fees to be paid when filing a design patent application.

  • $90 – Filing fee
  • $60 – Search fee
  • $230 – Examination fee
Office actions

You will typically receive a response from a Patent Examiner 6-9 months after filing the application. Most of the time, applications are rejected or receive at least one office action. These rejections may be due to problems with the application, or the Patent Examiner may have found your invention to be covered by preexisting patents. Or, the Examiner may find your invention obvious and undeserving of a patent.

Applicants are given three months to acknowledge and answer the Office Action by revising the claims, arguing against the rejection, or both. Note that this time period can be extended by up to 6 months from the date of the Office Action. However, you may need to pay extension fees. The fees are not generally set because the office actions vary in content. It may require several rounds of responses to the USPTO to address additional actions. Get a quote for more information about our fees in preparing a response.

Issue fee

The issue fee charged by the PTO is $280. For the preparation and filing of papers, we charge a $500 legal fee on top of the PTO fees. For the patent to issue, allow 3-4 months after paying the issue fee.

*Please note that all USPTO fees listed above are for applicants who qualify for Small Entity Status. These fees are doubled for large entities. Fees for Micro Entities are half of those shown above. See this page for more information on Small and Micro Entity Status.

Ready to start the patenting process? Get an estimate now from a professional U.S. patent attorney. See our copyright and trademark pages for more information on intellectual property law.