Flat Fees
We do about a dozen things really well and charge flat-rate fees for more than half of those things. For the hourly stuff, we can tell you the average costs (based on 10+ years of data) so you can budget accordingly. We simplify our fee structure at least annually and welcome your feedback.
When you are considering various law firms, you should ask each how much they charge per hour, whether filing fees are included, whether follow-up filings will be required, and so on. For example, we are always honest about the fact that filing a patent represents 50% of the cost, overcoming objections from the Patent Office represents the other 50% of the cost.
While we do require reasonable initial retainers for all services, you may pay all bills (including the retainer) by check, credit card, or PayPal. See our proposal [PDF] for details.
| Service | CTLG Fees | |
| Patents | ||
| U.S. Patent Search (Flat Rate) | 3200 | |
| U.S. Patent Filing (Hourly) | 400 | |
| U.S. Patent Office Action Reply (Hourly) | 400 | |
| Foreign Patent Filing, PCT (Flat Rate) | 3200 | |
| Foreign Patent Filing, Other (Hourly) | 400 | |
| Trademarks | ||
| U.S. Trademark Search (Flat Rate) | 800 | |
| U.S. Trademark Filing (Flat Rate) | 800 | |
| U.S. Trademark Office Action Reply (Flat Rate) | 400 | |
| Foreign Trademark Filing, Madrid Protocol (Flat Rate) | 1600 | |
| Foreign Trademark Filing, Other (Hourly) | 400 | |
| Domains | ||
| Domain Name Disputes, UDRP Filing (Flat Rate) | 3200 | |
| Domain Name Buying/Selling (Hourly) | 400 | |
| NOTES | ||
| 0. Prices listed are U.S. Dollars (USD, US$). | ||
| 1. As of 2012-01-01, CTLG’s rate is 400/hour. | ||
| 2. Government fees are not included, vary wildly, and change frequently. See “Links To Other Websites” below. | ||
Government Fees (Links To Other Websites)
- USPTO: Trademark Fees (U.S. Trademarks)
- WIPO: Madrid Protocol Fees (International Trademarks)
- CIPO: Trademark Fees (Canadian Trademarks)
- WIPO: UDRP Fees (Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy)
- USPTO: Patent Fees (U.S. Patents)
- USPTO: PCT Fees (Patent Cooperation Treaty)
- EPO: Patent Fees (European Patent Office)
See also:
- Drawing That Explains Patent Costs
How to control the cost of filing a patent.
- To Search Or Not To Search
That is the (pretty simple) question.
- How To Get And Defend A Patent Without Going Broke
It is possible for independent inventors and small businesses to acquire patents and protect their ideas without going broke in the process.